Give us all the store clerks n all the traffic cops
We’ll take all the bartenders n janitors with mops
All ex-husband truck mechanics paying child support
Every peaceful ex-offender headed back into court.
Give us all the school teachers n the merchant marines
We’ll take all the toolmakers n the jacks who pump latrines
All ex-boxers turned pro-wrestlers ex-employees now retired
Every soothsayin’ sad sack who fell asleep and got fired.
‘cause this is what it takes
This is what it takes
This is what it takes
To make a revolution.
Give us all the book binders the clockwinders n rumrunners
We’ll take all the freehanders the firebranders n goodfunners
All extraordinary gardeners who love planting trees n flowers
Every sharp-elbowed stevedore who’d storm the palace tower.
Give us bricklayers dragonslayers cardplayers – forming squads of three
We’ll take all the debtor slaves who conjure parting of the sea
All ex-lawyers turned bus drivers ex-females turned into men
Every bright-eyed smithy who hammers swords outta fountain pens.
‘cause this is what it takes
This is what it takes
This is what it takes
To make a revolution.
Give us digital wizards gourmets with gizzards hard-bark grenadiers — set to ignite
We’ll take overflowed union halls clerics sewing coveralls ham-fisted scrappers who last all night
All windswept wanton equestrian women who’d flip off his highness n trample his ambition
Every unshorn lowborn lock-jawed leveler who’d convene the congress n commence the abolition.
Give us all these stand-up people — those who want a fair deal
We’ll welcome all the injured sick n tired who keep an even keel
All the underlings footstompers sword swallowers n hip cats
Every noisy discontented heart-attacked worker who’s gnawing through the slats.
‘cause this is what it takes
This is what it takes
This is what it takes
To make a revolution.