Karen Schell of Indivisible Benton County shared a great story with us via email:
Barbara West, a member of Indivisible Benton County, modified the lyrics to the song “We Belong”, originally sung by Pat Benatar [above, right] in 1984, to shift the song from being about a painful romantic relationship to referencing our current moment in history. She sent her revised lyrics to Dan Navarro, the surviving member of the duo who wrote the song.
To her surprise, Navarro replied, giving his blessing for the performance of the song at No Kings 3: “To me, the issues we face now in this country, in this world, are not about Right and Left, but about right and wrong. Not about liberal or conservative, but about common decency and tolerance. … You have my permission to use the song in your service, in your rally, wherever the message is one of peace and rejection of the negativity we are witnessing from the power brokers…”
Local musical theater performer Elli Smith [above, left] agreed to sing the lead vocals, with instrumentation by KC Bowman. West has posted an inspirational video [below] on her YouTube channel that demos the modified version of the 80s classic.
Photo of Elli Smith (left) recording vocals, courtesy of Karen Schell. Photo of Pat Benatar (right) by Heidy Escobar from Valparaiso; Laguna Verde, Chile, CC BY-SA 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons
