Cries of Freedom Songs and Scenes

Bonnie Busco and Scott Swain researched the music and words for this show. The way they were used depicts the Cry of Freedom throughout history. The music came from popular musicals, popular songs and songs written specifically for the show. When necessary, karaoke versions were used to avoid copyright issues.

In the order as they appear in the show

I Love America: This song was added in 2023. Bonnie was listening to an old Osmond Brothers CD and found this song. She fell in love with it and wondered how she had missed it. She called Alan Osmond who said his son Nathan wrote it. Orrin Hatch is given credit for helping with the lyrics, but he only suggested two words, “Lady Liberty." Bonnie got permission from Nathan to use the song, and now it has become our opener--it’s PERFECT!

The House I Live In:  This is from an 11-minute movie by the same name made in 1945. In it Frank Sinatra takes a break during a recording session and sees a large group of boys chasing a Jewish boy and intervenes. His message to them is that all Americans are one, and all religions are to be respected equally. We have changed the words a little to fit our show.

America’s Defenders: The author is anonymous and Bonnie Busco performed this with her students during her teaching career.

Freedom Isn’t Free:  This song was written by a group called Up with People who began performing Sing Out Shows of Moral Re-Armament in the late-1950’s. In 1976, Up with People began to make frequent appearances at the Super Bowl; the group performed in five Super Bowl halftime shows between 1976 and 1986.  

Joan of Arc’s Prayer: Bonnie Busco wrote the original chorus for this song. In 2013, she enlisted the help of Richie and Laurie Brown who developed it into a finished song. 

Do You Hear the People Sing?: The song, composed by Claude-Michel Schönberg (music), Alain Boublil and Jean-Marc Natel (original French lyrics), and Herbert Kretzmer (English lyrics) is first sung in Act I by Enjolras and the other students at the ABC Cafe as they prepare themselves to launch a rebellion in the streets of Paris during the funeral procession of General Jean Maximilien Lamarque. This song has been in our show from the beginning. It was borrowed from Les Miserables. It is so iconic and speaks to the heart of anyone yearning TO BE FREE!

Into The Fire:  This rallying call comes from the famed Broadway musical, The Scarlet Pimpernel, which was written by Frank Wildhorn and opened in 1997. In the musical Percy starts to think the situation is almost hopeless and vows to go it alone, but the rest of his friends state that they will stand by him. This song was suggested by a member of our first cast, Eric Sackett. We added some speaking parts, and now we think it fits our show perfectly. Some people actually this it’s better in our show!

Let Us Be: Bonnie wanted this part added to increase the drama of this scene. Bonnie wrote the lyrics and Haven Christensen, a member of the 2018 cast, put it to music. This song was put in the 2018 show and has been there ever since.

If I Had My Way: If I Had My Way was written by Frank Wildhorn (husband to Linda Eder) with lyrics written by Jack Murphy. The lyrics were changed by Jack Murphy in response to 9/11. Scott and Leann Swain heard it performed by Linda Eder and both fell in love with it. Leann learned the song for a vocal recital. When Bonnie heard Leann sing it, she wanted to put this song in the show. 

A Place of Our Own: Bonnie Busco was inspired by a book she read and began to jot down some ideas for lyrics and a chorus. She enlisted the help of Richie and Laurie Brown who developed it into a finished song called "A Place of Our Own." In Cries of Freedom, this song is currently mashed up with "If I Had My Way" to tell the story of the early Puritans in England longing to escape religious persection. 

America: This is a patriotic song written and originally recorded by Neil Diamond and released in 1980 on the soundtrack album of Diamond's film The Jazz Singer. Although the single version was a studio recording, it sounds live because of crowd overdubs in the song. We just loved the joyous feeling that immigrants must have felt as they came to America, and we believe this song captures that feeling.

America Hymn: This is the fourth verse of My Country ‘Tis Of Thee. Sometimes you have to go to the last verse of a song to get the best parts! 

The King, The King: Even though this is a farcical rendition of the early colonists, we did actually take every grievance directly from the usurpations found in the Declaration of Independence.

Patrick Henry quote: We believe that the very essence of our show is found in these words, “Give me liberty, or give me death!” 

Paul Revere poem: This is a portion of the very famous poem, The Ride of Paul Revere, written by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow in 1860 that commemorates the actions of American patriot Paul Revere on April 18, 1775, although with significant inaccuracies.

The Ride of Paul Revere: This is a song written by Paul and Ralph Colwell and is one of the Classroom Classic songs written to be sung mostly in elementary school classrooms.

This is The Moment: This is a song written by Frank Wildhorn and Leslie Bricusse for the famous Broadway production Jekyll and Hyde in 1990. It is sung by Jekyll in his laboratory before he tests his formula on himself. Bonnie suggested this song, and once again, we think our version fits our show every bit as well as what it was written for!

Thomas Paine quote: “These are the times that try men’s souls!” is from Thomas Paine’s famous pamphlet published in Philadelphia on December 19, 1776 called Crisis Paper #1. It inspired George Washington and was read to his troops before crossing the Delaware River on December 24, 1776. It was written on top of a drum in George Washington’s camp. We can’t make this stuff up!

George Washington Song: Bonnie and I wanted to write a fun and celebratory song for George Washington. We used the music from the 1989 Broadway musical Miss Saigon. The song is called The Heat is On in Saigon and the words are really raunchy. However, we thought the music was awesome, so we adapted it for George Washington. We are sure our version is more virtuous than the Miss Saigon lyrics!

The Star-Spangled Banner: We all know the story behind this song, but most people do not know the fourth verse of our national anthem. This is the most spiritual verse, so we have our quartet sing it as they honor the flag on stage.

I Love Old Glory: In 2021 it was suggested that we shorten our show to closer to an hour. I Love Old Glory is so good it seemed like a closing song to many, and it confused the audience who thought the show was over after this number. So the song was removed even though it was well loved by the directors and cast. This song is taken from the album Freedom’s Light by Janice Kapp Perry and Senator Orrin Hatch. Both of them attended our performance in 2015 right before Colonel Gail Halverson’s candy drop. They loved the show, but Mr. Perry didn’t like it when Scott announced that the song was written by Ardith Kapp Perry! (Ardith is Janice’s cousin.)

Alexis de Tocqueville quote: He was a French aristocrat, diplomat, sociologist, political scientist, political philosopher, and historian. He is best known for his works Democracy in America (appearing in two volumes, 1835 and 1840). He really understood what made America great and the quote we use signifies this.

Immigrant Song: This song, Anatevka, is part of the musical Fiddler on the Roof. It is sung as the Jews are being kicked out of their town, Anatevka. They mention all the shortcomings of their little town, but they still love it and are very sad to leave. In our show the immigrants are reluctant to leave the Statue of Liberty. 

God Bless America: Irving Berlin wrote this song in 1918 but didn’t release it until 1938 with Kate Smith singing it on an Armistice Day broadcast. With all due respect to Irving Berlin and Kate Smith, we use the Celine Dion version because we think it’s the best. Cindy Blevins arranged it and Celine Dion performed it in response to 9/11 at a telethon on September 21, 2001 called America: A Tribute to Heroes.

The Glory: We all love this song! It is from the 1999 Broadway musical The Civil War by Gregory Boyd and Frank Wildhorn with lyrics by Jack Murphy and music by Frank Wildhorn. It’s the story of one of the first all-black regiments in the Union Army. It’s a compelling true story of how these grateful soldiers fought for freedom in the country that they were once slaves. This song was also introduced to us by Eric Sackett.

Make Them Hear You: To challenge the audience to internalize this show, we added Make Them Hear You. It’s from the 1996 Broadway musical, Ragtime that tells the story about three groups in the early 1900’s: African Americans, white upper-class suburbanites, and Eastern European immigrants. The three groups are charged to change society through the power of their words and by telling their children their story. It is a great way to end our production by calling on the audience to remember and to tell the story of freedom to those that need to be reminded. It’s the final message to our audience, “When they hear you, we’ll be near you, again!”