Up with People

Music establishes a bridge throughout the globe in ways that nothing else ever can.

I will never forget a beautiful June morning in 1983. It was a surprisingly sunny day in Ireland. School socks were roughly rolled down to our ankles showing off our bottle milk legs. White school shirts were effortlessly pushed up above our bony elbows. We were not used to this heat. At lunch break, a few of us decided to plaster baby oil over every naked piece of our bodies, hoping and wishing that the Sun God would bestow some beautiful tanning rays on our vitamin D deficient skin. The atmosphere was electric. The sun seemed to gift a happy smile on our faces, including the staff. There was an added layer of excitement however on that day. Visitors were due in the school. American, African, English and European. Musical visitors. And how excited was I! I knew about this for quite some time. Our form teacher, a few months previous, told us a little about our visitors: “‘Up with People’ is an educational organization. Their mission is to inspire young people to make a difference in the world through music. That is all I know.” The word music penetrated through my entire body. Visitors from different countries. Music. Making a difference. This sounded totally and utterly awesome. 

And it was. Twenty young adults dramatically entered our scorching, packed classroom. Fellow female students and myself were in awe of their brightly clothed bodies and energetically positive personalities. We must have looked incredibly dull and boring to these motivated musicians. Pale, with random blotches of sunburn redness. Green pinafores. Sweaty aromas. Messy hairstyles and vacant expressions. We sat. Quiet. Waiting for them to entertain and inspire us. Some of my friends giggled. They found it cheesy and rather embarrassing. Others were deeply interested in the organisation’s work, travel and message. I was interested in the whole package. Colour. Happiness. Rhythm. Energy. Teamwork. Travel. Culture. Song. Their message was portrayed through song and dance. They never really spoke and I loved that. They stayed in our classroom for approximately 45 minutes, electrifying me with their musical output. I wanted to join Up With People. In fact, I had it all planned out. When I turned 18 years old, I would join the organization, be a team player, and help change the world…through music. Even though I never joined the group, I continue to strive to achieve the latter .  

Up With People Theme song

Chorus

‘Up! Up with people!
You meet ‘em wherever you go
Up! Up with people!
They’re the best kind of folks we know
If more people were for people
All people ev’rywhere
There’d be a lot less people to worry about
And a lot more people who care
There’d be a lot less people to worry about
And a lot more people who care.’