“PROPHECY GIRL” RECORDING SUBMISSIONS

an excerpt from SLAYERS, EVERY ONE OF US

“In New York, the room fell silent as everyone took their places onstage for the final song. Most of the folks in the audience knew what we were about to play, and it felt like the room held its collective breath as the opening piano chords sounded.

Jenny began singing the first words, and a handful of people in the audience sang along. With every passing lyric, it seemed that more voices were joining in. To our surprise, by the time we reached the chorus, the entire room was singing with us.

If I just keep fighting, just keep fighting,
maybe I'll believe it too

Jenny finished singing the second verse, and the audience sang the second chorus even louder.

If I just keep fighting, just keep fighting,
I think that I'll believe it too

When we sat down to write the song, we'd made the decision to anchor our message to that final line of the chorus; we felt that was the place where we could try to shine a small light — for ourselves, as well as for our listeners. While in the first iteration Buffy sings, "maybe I'll believe it too," by the second chorus she is singing, "I think that I'll believe it too."

In early December, we had been writing the song from inside of those first two choruses, uncertain that we could ever really make it any further. We hoped that by writing it, speaking it, singing it, and repeating it, we could somehow will ourselves into a place of strength.

Union Hall was a sold-out show, so folks were shoulder to shoulder with each other, all singing, some crying. One month after the election, three weeks before the inauguration. Together, we all sang the final chorus:

If I just keep fighting, just keep fighting,
I know that I'll believe it too

This was the moment that made us ... us.

What began as two people talking into microphones about our beloved vampire show was changing, morphing, expanding into a community. We were somewhat accidentally becoming a hub, a meeting place, a little beacon to which an increasing number of listeners were finding their way—people who wanted to revel in the collective love of their favorite story, and also find strength in one another. Though our experiences were varied, our fear during that time was something that we all shared. We didn’t know what to do, or how to do it, but singing together in that room, we felt—all of us—a sense of purpose, and a certainty that we were not alone.

Once they enter the battle, Buffy and the Scoobies can’t control whether they win or lose—they can only choose how to fight: together.”

• Record Simply! You can record on your phone just using the voice memo feature, and do not need to have anything professional to create the file. If you use GarageBand or anything of the sort, that is also fine — just a basic mp3 or mp4 file is great.

• Use the Guiding Track! When you record, play the below audio track (also linked on Dropbox here) in your headphones so that you are in the same tempo/rhythm/etc as Jenny and everyone else!

LYRICS

If I just keep fighting, just keep fighting,

maybe I’ll believe it too

If I just keep fighting, just keep fighting,

I think that I’ll believe it too

If I just keep fighting, just keep fighting,

know that I’ll believe it too