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Here we Are (all together)

This is a folk-style song about unity 

The song lyrics and music were written by American social justice advocate and at-the-time Roman Catholic seminarian, Ray Repp (1942-2020).  It was included in the Mass for Young Americans which was first recorded in 1965 by Friends of English in the Liturgy (FEL), and copyright was registered in 1966 by Otter Creek Music.

Books where it was published include:

The original words included a lot of gender-exclusive language. An updated version has been used in some places - it is not clear whether this was created by Repp or with his permission, or by someone else entirely.

The unnamed tune by Repp has a Cut time-signature.  In the the key of C, the first few notes are C G E z F EDCBF C G E.

The song was not included on either The Best of Ray Repp Vol.1 or Volume 2. However the number of YouTube videos and the volume of requests on this website show that it is known and used in many countries.   

No current sources of MP3 tracks or sheet music  have been found, other than 2nd hand copies of the books listed above.


Group of people singing together - Here we are all together as we sing a song our song joyfully; Here we are joined together, as we pray we’ll always be. 1 Join we now as friends And celebrate the unity we share, all as one Keep the fire burning, kindle it with care And we’ll all join in and sing ... 2 Let us make this world an alleluia, Let us make this world a better place Keep a smile handy, lend a helping hand And we’ll all join in and sing ... 3 Glorify our God with all our voices Show him we are sincere by all our deeds Shout the joys of freedom everywhere Let us all join in and sing ....


Downloads

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chord chart
Guitar chords

Examples

American high-school choir, circa 1970 - guitar accompaniment:


Church choir with praise band:


Singer with guitar, contemporary setting:


Solo singer, unaccompanied:


Solo singer with guitar:


Instrumental - keyboard - with chords in the video track:


Lyrics

Original lyrics

Chorus
Here we are, altogether as we sing our song joyfully.
Here we are, altogether as we pray we always be.

Join we now as friends, and celebrate the
Brotherhood we share, all as one.
Keep the fire burning, kindle it with care,
And we'll all join in and sing.

Freedom do we shout, for everybody,
And unless there is, we should pray,
That soon there will be one true brotherhood.
Let us all join in and sing.

Glorify the Lord, with all our voices,
Show him we're sincere by all our deeds.
Shout the joys of freedom everywhere,
And we'll all join in and sing.

Happy is the man who does his best to
Free the troubled world, from all it's pain.
Join we now with that man and free the world,
As we all join in and sing.

Let us make the world an alleluia.
Let us make the world a better place.
Keep a smile handy, have a helping hand,
Let us all join in and sing.

Updated lyrics

Chorus
Here we are, all together as we sing our song joyfully.
Here we are, all together as we pray we always be.

Join we now as friends, and celebrate the
Fellowship we share, all as one.
Keep the fire burning, kindle it with care,
And we'll all join in and sing.

Freedom do we shout, for everybody,
And unless there is, we should pray,
That soon there will be one true fellowship.
Let us all join in and sing.

Glorify the Lord, with all our voices,
Show we're sincere by all our deeds.
Shout the joys of freedom everywhere,
And we'll all join in and sing.

Happy is the one who does their best to
Free the troubled world, from all it's pain.
Join we now with our friends and free the world,
As we all join in and sing.

Let us make the world an alleluia.
Let us make the world a better place.
Keep a smile handy, have a helping hand,
Let us all join in and sing.

See more ...

KEEP IN CASE ORIGINAL IS REMOVED, BUT DO NOT DISPLAY
Chorus
Here we are, altogether as we sing our song joyfully.
Here we are, altogether as we pray we always be.

Join we now as friends, and celebrate the
Brotherhood we share, all as one.
Keep the fire burning, kindle it with care,
And we'll all join in and sing.

Freedom do we shout, for everybody,
And unless there is, we should pray,
That soon there will be one true brotherhood.
Let us all join in and sing.

Glorify the Lord, with all our voices,
Show him we're sincere by all our deeds.
Shout the joys of freedom everywhere,
And we'll all join in and sing.

Happy is the man who does his best to
Free the troubled world, from all it's pain.
Join we now with that man and free the world,
As we all join in and sing.

Let us make the world an alleluia.
Let us make the world a better place.
Keep a smile handy, have a helping hand,
Let us all join in and sing.

Updated lyrics

Chorus
Here we are, all together as we sing our song joyfully.
Here we are, all together as we pray we always be.

Join we now as friends, and celebrate the
Fellowship we share, all as one.
Keep the fire burning, kindle it with care,
And we'll all join in and sing.

Freedom do we shout, for everybody,
And unless there is, we should pray,
That soon there will be one true fellowship.
Let us all join in and sing.

Glorify the Lord, with all our voices,
Show we're sincere by all our deeds.
Shout the joys of freedom everywhere,
And we'll all join in and sing.

Happy is the one who does their best to
Free the troubled world, from all it's pain.
Join we now with our friends and free the world,
As we all join in and sing.

Let us make the world an alleluia.
Let us make the world a better place.
Keep a smile handy, have a helping hand,
Let us all join in and sing.

8 comments:

  1. Unknown18 July 2017 at 16:08

    Glorious and melodious song. All Glory, praise and adoration to God

    ReplyDelete
  2. Unknown15 October 2018 at 23:03

    my morning songs everyday

    ReplyDelete
  3. Tony V28 January 2019 at 06:58

    'Gender exclusive'....give me a break! That's called English.

    This song takes me back to the late 60s/early 70s, nuns newly in mufti, Jesus Christ Superstar and Godspell. At Mass we sang Bob Dylan, George Harrison, Phil Ochs...I never heard Gregorian chant till CD players appeared in the late 80s/90s, and never heard it in a church till I was in my late 40s.
    Not to say I don't have the wee soft spot for "Here We Are", "Allelu", and "Sons of God" (oh no! gender exclusive!!)...but on balance, was it really worth all the destruction?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Editor, GodSongs.net5 February 2019 at 14:35

      Thanks for commenting Tony. I understand that you aren't concerned with gender-exclusive language. But equally some people are concerned about it, and don't believe statements like "in English, man means man or woman". These issues have affected how hymns are used, especially in Western countries, so they are going to be noted here.

      I have a feeling you won't appreciate what some people have done with Sons of God either - I'll try to get it written up soon.

      I'm glad that you've found Gregorian chant, if that is what is feeding you spiritually now.

      Delete
  4. Unknown22 December 2019 at 09:13

    Thank you, editor, for explaining to this man why gender inclusive language is important to some of us, especially we women. And brotherhood clearly does not include sisters! I'm wondering if he'd feel the same way if he had been born a woman.

    ReplyDelete
  5. Unknown22 June 2020 at 11:59

    Thanks for the lyrics

    ReplyDelete
  6. Unknown23 January 2021 at 00:49

    Mind lifter song.. Father I thank you

    ReplyDelete
  7. Unknown7 July 2021 at 11:49

    Pls how do I download the song from Google

    ReplyDelete