You Belong In This World
Stand up proud. Take your space. You belong.
Trust the tone of your voice. You belong.
Throw your shoulders back.
Hold your head up high.
You belong in this world!
Chorus:
Yes, You belong. Oh, You belong.
And you belonged long before the day that you were born.
Throw your shoulders back.
Hold your head up high.
You belong in this world!
Tell ‘em what’s on your mind. You belong
Only you know your lines. You belong
Smile to the mirror
Say it loud and clear
“You belong in this world.” (ch)
To the sky, sing it out: You belong
Let’s remove any doubt. You belong
If you see no place
There’s been some mistake
Squeeze in there. You belong (ch)
Feel it deep in your bones. You belong
Even now you’re at home. You belong
Every place you go.
Every crowd you know
You belong in this world (ch)
Words and music by Bret Hesla.
© 2011 Bret Hesla. All rights reserved. Use with permission, please.
Licensed via OneLicense.net, Contact: Bret.hesla@gmail.com.
Notes: I wrote this for my 16-year-old daughter. She was telling me about some group project at school, where she kept deferring to the ideas of her teammates, and not injecting her own thoughts. I told her to get in there, your ideas count just as much. Then I made a little note that said, “You belong in this world” and taped it up on the kitchen cabinet. I noticed how wonderful it felt, even to me, to read that affirmation several times a day.
Since then, this song has been used in a lot of settings. So many people in this world are made to feel that they don’t belong. For their skin color, hair style, sexual orientation, gender. You name it. “You belong” seems to be an important message that we all need to hear, and to tell each other. Sure feels good when you sing it, too.