 Thank you What is it about the music we make that makes get the music of yesterday today and forever Maybe that today is a result of the yesterday spent in wooden churches Singing the praises of our maker and joyous harmony and love And part of it has to be the songs we sang Working under the blazing sun to help pass the hard times Yesterday was also a Bessie Smith Satchmo, New Orleans, and gospel choirs, slavery, and folk songs Bojangles, Ethel Waters What about those rent parties? Yesterday was hot Yesterday was hurting And yesterday was the birthplace of today You know, today is 25 years of climbing and building and opening doors and breaking old rules Today is also love songs And guy and girl songs and songs of protest and anger Songs of Jonas and songs of wounds left unattended for far too long It's songs to dance to It's songs to march to, to fly to, to make love to To make love to It's music pure and simple and hard and soulful if you insist Full of promise and determination, unity, and humanity My loved ones, today is the birthplace of forever Run, run, run, that's what you escalate Oh, dance, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh