I was Raised to Love My Neighbor

I was Raised to Love My Neighbor.

I’ve written a song that’s so simple it feels like it already should have existed. But here it is, not fancy, not produced, more suited for singing in the streets than on an album. It’s outraged. It’s clear. It’s motivated by love.

This song is being released directly into the public domain, so my purpose here is to share it, not to sell it. This is what it sounds like, just a little unmastered demo:

Screenshot of lyrics to the linked audio above. Lyrics read:

"i was raised to love my neighbor
now i'm grown, now i'm grown
looks like everyone's my neighbor
i should have known, should have known
all those stories that they told me
as a child said it plain:
we're each other's and i'm standin here to say

	i know that's my neighbor, don't you hurt my neighbor
	you can't take my neighbor, they belong right here

	no sir, that's my neighbor, don't you hurt my neighbor
	you can't take my neighbor, they belong right here

				god asked cain where abel was
				he said am i my brother's keeper
				am i my brother's keeper
				am i my brother's keeper

				god asked cain where abel was
				he said am i my brother's keeper
				if we don't keep our neighbors who are we?

i was raised to love my neighbor
close to home, close to home
but home is everywhere for someone
i should have known, should have known
all those stories that they told me
as a child said it plain:
we're all each other's and i'm standin here to say..."

You can find the score for the very simple harmonies right here. You can also write your own, because this song is free to use, free to record, even free to sell. It’s in the public domain.

Photograph of Marian Call, Cate Ross, and Kelsey Riker performing on the Alaska Folk Festival stage in 2026. Photo by Brian Wallace.
Photo by Brian Wallace

I got to perform this song with my friends Cate Ross and Kelsey Riker at the Alaska Folk Festival (just as my voice was starting to crackle and short out completely from a long week of singing). It brought out the passion in all of us, and it struck a chord with the audience, who were singing along by the end.

The world is very complicated, but some things are simple. I was raised to love my neighbor. I hope you were too.