Share Your Goodwill

If your holiday programs include songs about peace, brotherhood, kindness, and compassion, this song will be a nice addition to your repertoire. Particularly if you have a food drive or collect clothing and other goods, such as toys, to share in your community, this song will make the perfect accompaniment to your efforts.

Gently tugging at our heart strings, the lyrics speak of noting our own good fortune and remembering that there are those less fortunate. The chorus truly says it all, "Share your goodwill. Oh, share your goodwill. Oh, keep in mind humankind and share your goodwill." Simple. Powerful. Effective.

We have chosen to feature a soloist (Katy Gentry) on the verse the first time through. This is optional. If you choose to use a soloist, bring your choir in at the pick-ups to measure 28 (the chorus). Let the ensemble sing the second verse, then bring the soloist back in with them at the chorus again. Let her continue to sing out front through the rest of the song, if you wish. If she has a sense of improvisation, as our soloist did, let her sing more freely than the rest of the group. At the coda, the style becomes a bit more gospel-like, and so the soloist can join in as well. We suggest having her sing along with part 2 instead of part 1 for the most powerful effect. (Part 2 is optional as well.)

We don't think your students will have any difficulty picking up the melody or rhythms, despite the syncopations, especially if they listen to the recording. Remind them to begin the song gently and let it build naturally to a big ending. The rock anthem style lends itself well to this, so the song would be a good choice for a concert closer.