(Verse 1) How many must we refuse and deny Before you and I realize our shame How many eyes gotta cry in vain Before we take away their pain How many lives must we claim Before we decide to make a change So what will it take for us To put down our arms And make our stand Stop bringing harm To our fellow man
(Chorus) What will it take to make a stand What will it take to take someone’s hand What will it take to make our stance What will it take to take a chance What will it take to say we have had enough What will it take to give away our love What will it take
(Verse 2) Because of the way we disregard And close our doors and our hearts to others There are those sleeping on cardboard On concrete floors, who are our brothers And our sisters, who can’t afford to eat Or have the clothing to stay warm Have no shoes for their feet And are left tattered and torn No homes just the streets they roam So don’t talk change, because talk is cheap If you and I ain’t gonna make a change (Chorus repeats 1)
(Verse 3) Because of the way we disregard, Soldiers bombard poor countries With mortars, while children starve Go hungry and get our cold shoulder As our wars pillage and burn their village Turn their underprivileged places Into our coliseums, giving them no relief Just sad faces that have seen too much carnage Strife and defeat as we take away their very freedoms And tarnish their dreams, so don’t talk change Because talk is cheap, if you and I ain’t gonna make a change (Chorus repeats 1)
(Verse 4) Because of the way we disregard Our earth is scarred by our many demands Left hurt and discarded by our own hands As we disgorge our resources Leaving our shores and sky to surely weep Our rainforests torched, our lands scorched Our oceans, rivers and seas are forced to bleed Nowhere for you or me to retreat So don’t talk change, because talk is cheap If you and I ain’t gonna make a change (Chorus repeats 2)
(Outro) Isn’t it time we become the prayer Show the world that we care Loving we can spare, loving we can share So help the ones who are in despair What will it take for you to be there?