THE SONG NIGHT CREED

Exceedingly Good Song Night is a joyful and accessible space. We ask everyone who attends Song Night to keep the following tenets in mind:

Respect each other. 

At Song Night, we want everyone to feel welcome, supported, and excited to be here. That means looking at each person you’re singing with as a fellow human with thoughts and feelings, and looking out for them.

Use and respect pronouns. 

Using people’s correct pronouns is essential to showing them respect. If you’re not sure of someone’s pronouns, ask them privately, or ask a mutual friend. 

Choose songs kindly. 

Song Night is a welcoming space for everyone. To that end, please avoid singing songs that can be hurtful and alienating to others. This includes songs that describe people by their race or use racial stereotypes, songs that romanticize sexual assault or abuse, and songs that mock the LGBTQ+ community. Some melodies also parody music from other cultures in a harmful way. If you’re not sure about singing something, ask us!

Look for the Honoring Voice.

We encourage you to discover your own voice and tone when singing. Especially when we share songs from groups that are historically marginalized, it's important not to do impressions of those groups - our voices are enough to honor the original singers, just as they are.

We are the folk process. 

If part of a song is harmful, change it! Some of our favorite songs have historically been changed, to preserve the song while removing hurtful lyrics. You can be part of that process! You can replace a line or word, or leave out a verse. If you need help, ask!

Call in, don’t call out. 

If a particularly harmful song comes up during Song Night, the hosts will ask the singer to stop and choose something else. Otherwise, if you notice a difficult lyric or element, consider starting a conversation with the singer afterward. You can help people understand more about the context of what they’re singing, but don’t put them on the spot mid-session. Likewise, if someone points out something you didn’t know about your song, listen to them! We’re all learning from each other. 

No recording. 

Song Night is a space for people to experiment and share, and not everyone wants to be recorded while they do that. Please do not record Song Night without singer permission. 

Lift each other up. 

At Song Night, we are here to sing and, most importantly, to listen. This means avoiding distracting side chatter while someone is singing, and keeping song introductions short to allow time for others. If you’re not sure how to introduce a song, choose one interesting fact ahead of time to share about it. 

“I hate a song that makes you think you are not any good. I hate a song that makes you think that you are just born to lose. Bound to lose. No good to nobody. No good for nothing. Because you are too old or too young or too fat or too slim. Too ugly or too this or too that. Songs that run you down or poke fun at you on account of your bad luck or hard traveling. I'm out to fight those songs to my very last breath of air and my last drop of blood. I am out to sing songs that will prove to you that this is your world and that if it has hit you pretty hard and knocked you for a dozen loops, no matter what color, what size you are, how you are built, I am out to sing the songs that make you take pride in yourself and in your work. And the songs that I sing are made up for the most part by all sorts of folks just about like you.” — Woody Guthrie