Joe Uehlein
The kick off for the final session of this year’s Just Giving conference—a summit of sorts bringing forward-looking foundations and activists under one roof to explore winning strategies for a green, equitable economy. Instead of a speech, Joe offered a song.
You Can’t Giddyup by sayin’ whoa,
Ain’t gonna get ya where you want to go.
No time for movin’ slow;
You can’t giddyup by sayin’ whoa.
Well people often tell me, you can’t do things so fast.
Take it slow, be real careful, can’t upset the past.
Well I just don’t know, I don’t see things quite that way.
Best I can tell we’re about out of time so here’s what I’ve got to say!
You know we’re dumping carbon in the atmosphere,
It’s warming the earth, messin’ with the oceans, climate change is here.
We know what we’ve got to do, leave it the ground;
Look to the sun, feel the wind, listen to the sound.
The rich are getting richer, all across the land;
The poor are getting poorer, the middle class is slammed.
We know what we’ve got to do to solve this one as well,
Tax the rich, give the workers a raise, tell the bankers to go to hell.
When all is said and done, we want more done than said.
It seems like in this world of ours we just can’t get ahead.
We bailed out the bankers, real quick when they messed things up.
The rest of us left holding the bag, for me I’ve had enough; so—
You Can’t Giddyup by sayin’ whoa,
Ain’t gonna get ya where you want to go.
No time for movin; slow;
You can’t giddyup by sayin’ whoa.