Be Kind. Be True. Be You.

Lyrics by Ophelia Ravenwood

Kindness sounds simple until it asks something of us. This song brings together respect for difference, the freedom to be ourselves, and a little humor. I imagine it filling a stage, with more voices joining as it goes.

Lyrics

[Intro: solo, simple piano]
My mother said, “Be kind.”
I thought I understood.
It sounded like a little thing:
Be gentle. Do some good.

[Verse 1: solo]
Then I grew up and watched the world
Make sport of someone’s pain,
And wondered why that little thing
Was hard to explain.

You can find it in your Bible.
You can find it without prayer.
You can start by asking someone,
“Would you like me there?”

But kindness isn’t looking down
And saying, “What a shame.”
It’s asking someone what they need
And learning their name.

[Chorus: solo, a few voices join]
Be kind. Be true. Be you.
Let somebody else come through.
We don’t have to be the same
To make room for me and you.
There’s enough that life can put us through
Without the hurt we choose.
Be kind. Be true. Be you.

[Verse 2: different voices, rhythm begins]
[Voice 1]
You laugh at how my body moves,
Then tell me it’s a joke.
[Voice 2]
A woman gives an answer;
You forget she ever spoke.

[Voice 3]
I’m trans. I came to join the game,
To practice, run and play.
You’ve made your mind up who I am
Before I’ve had my say.

[Lead]
And someone needs a bathroom.
Must we make that an affair?
A closed stall isn’t asking you
To hold a meeting there.

[Call and response]
[Lead]
Is that being kind?
[Company]
Then where’s the kindness?
[Lead]
Is that being fair?
[Company]
Then show us where.
[Lead]
Who gets to be themselves?
[Company]
They do. We do. You do.

[Chorus: stronger ensemble]
Be kind. Be true. Be you.
Let somebody else come through.
We don’t have to be the same
To make room for me and you.
There’s enough that life can put us through
Without the hurt we choose.
Be kind. Be true. Be you.

[Verse 3: playful duet]
[Voice 1]
Who cares whom I marry?
[Voice 2]
We’ve a wedding cake to choose.
[Voice 1]
We deserve the same old arguments—
[Voice 2]
Whose socks? Whose turn? Whose shoes?
[Both]
Let us be as happy,
Or as miserable, as you.
We’ll manage our own washing-up.
There’s plenty else to do!

[Verse 4: lead, strings enter]
I’ve walked with Chaucer’s pilgrims.
I’ve watched a miser change.
I’ve followed little hobbits
Into countries dark and strange.

I’ve shut a book and wondered
Whom I’d hurried past that day.
A story lets a stranger in.
Why turn the next away?

[Bridge: quiet, individual voices]
[Voice 1]
You talk of family values.
[Voice 2]
Then let your family stay.
[Voice 3]
Let your daughter finish speaking.
[Voice 4]
Let your son bring his love one day.

[Lead]
I can’t choose another’s face.
I can choose the words I use.
I can stop before the easy laugh.
I can change my point of view.

[Build: voices gather]
If there’s another life beyond,
We’ll learn what happens then.
This one is where we’re standing.
This is where we can begin.

[Counterpoint: introduce separately, then overlap]
[Group 1]
Let her finish.
[Group 2]
Let them play.
[Group 3]
Ask before you turn away.
[Group 4]
Love your neighbor, come what may.

[Lead]
What did my mother tell me?
[Company]
Be kind.
[Lead]
What does that ask of us?
[Company]
More than a line.

[Final chorus: full stage]
Be kind. Be true. Be you.
There’s a place here for you, too.
Bring the life that’s yours to live.
Let the next one live theirs, too.
There’s enough that life can put us through;
We can help each other through.
Be kind. Be true. Be you.

[Coda: brief silence, then full company]
[Lead]
Such a little thing to say.
[Company]
Such a lot for us to do.

[All]
Be kind.
Be true.
Be you.