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<title>The Free Software Song
- GNU Project - Free Software Foundation</title>
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<h2>The Free Software Song</h2>
<p>by Richard Stallman</p>

<p>You

<address class="byline">by <a href="https://www.stallman.org/">Richard
Stallman</a></address>

<p class="announcement">
You can read the story of <a href="/music/writing-fs-song.html">the writing of the song</a>,
too.</p>

<p>The lyrics of the “Free <cite>Free Software Song” Song</cite> are sung to the melody of the Bulgarian folk 
song “<a <a href="#SadiMoma" id="REFSadiMoma">Sadi id="REFSadiMoma"><cite>Sadi moma bela loza</a>” loza</cite></a> <!-- :] --></p>

<div class="lyrics">
     <p>Join us now and share the software;<br />
     You'll be
     free, <a href="http://stallman.org/articles/on-hacking.html">hackers</a>, href="https://stallman.org/articles/on-hacking.html">hackers</a>,
     you'll be free.<br />
     Join us now and share the software;<br />
     You'll be free, hackers, you'll be free.</p>

     <p>Hoarders can get piles of money,<br />
     That is true, hackers, that is true.<br />
     But they cannot help their neighbors;<br />
     That's not good, hackers, that's not good.</p>

     <p>When we have enough free software<br />
     At our call, hackers, at our call,<br />
     We'll kick out those dirty licenses<br <a href="/music/writing-fs-song.html#dirtylicenses">dirty licenses</a><br />
     Ever more, hackers, ever more.</p>

     <p>Join us now and share the software;<br />
     You'll be free, hackers, you'll be free.<br />
     Join us now and share the software;<br />
     You'll be free, hackers, you'll be free.</p>
</div>

<p>This song is in a rhythm of 7/8; those unaccustomed to odd rhythms
often take the unevenness to be a mistake. The meter can be analyzed
into three subgroups as slow-quick-quick or 3-2-2. Such meters in
Bulgarian music can often be stretched, and some musicians analyze
this song as 3-2-3 instead; however, Yves Moreau, who collected and
taught the dance, endorses the rhythm of 7.</p>

<h3 id="download">Downloads</h3><!-- ## added by www-de ## --> id="download">Downloads</h3>

<h4>Performances</h4>

<ul>
  <li>A <a href="/music/free-software-song.au">recording (.au format)</a> of <a
    href="http://www.stallman.org/">Richard Stallman</a>
    Richard Stallman singing this song, also available in <a
    href="/music/free-software-song.ogg">Ogg Vorbis format</a>.</li> format</a>. (If you are
    not used to a meter of 7/8, you may perceive it as inability to keep time.)</li>
  <li>A <a href="/music/FreeSWSong.ogg">recording (.ogg)</a> of the piece
    accompanied by Bulgarian instruments played in traditional style.</li>
  <li>A <a href="http://audio-video.gnu.org/video/stallman_free_software_song_320x240.ogv">video
    href="https://audio-video.gnu.org/video/stallman_free_software_song_320x240.ogv">
    video of RMS performing the song (ogg)</a>, released under GFDLv1.3+ by
    the videographer, Julian Coccia.</li>
  <li>A <a href="/music/free-software-song-herzog.ogg">recording (.ogg)</a> of
    Katie Herzog  performing the Free Software Song, released under <a
    href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/3.0/">CC
    href="https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/3.0/">CC BY-NC-ND</a>.</li>
  <li>A <a href="https://archive.org/details/the_free_software_song-cover-by-daniel_kelly">
    video of Daniel Kelly</a> performing the Free Software Song,
    released
    under <a href="https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/">CC
    BY-SA 4.0</a>.</li>
</ul>

<h4>Alternate versions</h4>

<ul>
  <li><a href="http://audio-video.gnu.org/audio/Fenster-Free-Software-Song.ogg">Another href="https://audio-video.gnu.org/audio/Fenster-Free-Software-Song.ogg">
    Another song</a>, inspired by this one but mostly different, sung by the
    band Fenster (4.5M).</li> (4.5MB).</li>
  <li>A rhythmic version of free software song in <a
    href="/music/free-software-song-rhythmic.ogg">Ogg Vorbis</a> format by
    Thor.</li>
  <li>An improvised piano version by Markus Haist in <a
    href="/music/markushaist-free-software-song.ogg">Ogg Vorbis</a> format (1.2 MB),
    (1.2MB), released under <a href="/licenses/gpl-3.0.html">GPLv3</a>.</li>
  <li>Another rock-like version by Pjj & Hairyone in <a
    href="/music/pjj-and-hairyone-freesoftwaresong.ogg">Ogg Vorbis</a> format (1.6 MB).</li>
    (1.6MB).</li>
  <li>A Spanish punk variant by ALEC in <a
    href="http://www.pc-freak.net/files/free-software-songs/Free_Software_Song_en_espa%c3%b1ol.ogv">Ogg
    href="https://www.pc-freak.net/files/free-software-songs/Free_Software_Song_en_espa%c3%b1ol.ogv">
    Ogg Vorbis</a> format (1.7 MB).</li> (1.7MB).</li>
  <li>A version with a different structure in <a href="/music/freesoft.ogg">
    Ogg Vorbis</a> format (3.7 MB) (3.7MB) by Robert Kay, released under <a
    href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/3.0/legalcode">CC-BY-NC-SA</a>.</li>
    href="https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/3.0/legalcode">
    CC-BY-NC-SA</a>.</li>
  <li>A version by the band Zweitgolf: <a
    href="free_software_song_sunnata.ogg">free_software_song_sunnata.ogg</a>,
    href="/music/free_software_song_sunnata.ogg">free_software_song_sunnata.ogg</a>,
    released under the
  GPL</li> GPL.</li>
  <li>Here is a metal version by Jono Bacon in <a
    href="http://www.pc-freak.net/files/free-software-songs/jonobacon-freesoftwaresong2.ogg">Ogg
    href="https://www.pc-freak.net/files/free-software-songs/jonobacon-freesoftwaresong2.ogg">
    Ogg Vorbis</a> format (3.9 MB), (3.9MB), released under <a href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.0/">
    CC
    href="https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.0/">CC BY-SA</a>.</li>
  <li>This rock/metal version is put out by <a
    href="https://web.archive.org/web/20150719082345/http://freesoftwaresong.altervista.org/">
    Loneload</a> available in <a href="/music/loneload-free-software-song.ogg">Ogg href="/music/loneload-free-software-song.ogg">
    Ogg Vorbis</a> format
    (2.2 MB), (2.2MB), released under <a href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/">CC
    href="https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/">CC BY</a>.</li>
  <li><a href="http://archive.org/details/M00GNU">MooGNU</a> href="https://archive.org/details/M00GNU">MooGNU</a>
    by the anonymous posters on the 4chan technology image board /g/
    is licensed under the 
    <a href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/legalcode">Creative href="https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/legalcode">Creative
    Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported License</a>.
    Available
    in <a href="http://archive.org/download/M00GNU/Freedom-catmoognu.ogv"> href="https://archive.org/download/M00GNU/Freedom-catmoognu.ogv">
    Ogg Video</a> format (4.5 MB).</li> (4.5MB).</li>
  <li>In 2012, the band Sebkha-Chott released a <em>matricide</em> of the
    Free Software Song to celebrate the death of <a
href="http://www.laquadrature.net/en/ACTA">ACTA</a>.
    href="https://www.laquadrature.net/en/ACTA">ACTA</a>. It's available in <a
href="http://archive.org/download/Sebkha-Chott_FSFSongIsHip_2012/SC_FSF.ogg">Ogg
    href="https://archive.org/download/Sebkha-Chott_FSFSongIsHip_2012/SC_FSF.ogg">
    Ogg Vorbis</a> (2.3MB), or in <a
href="http://archive.org/download/Sebkha-Chott_FSFSongIsHip_2012/SC_FSF.flac">FLAC</a>
    href="https://archive.org/download/Sebkha-Chott_FSFSongIsHip_2012/SC_FSF.flac">
    FLAC</a> (10.1MB), under the <a
href="//directory.fsf.org/wiki/License:Free-Art-L-v1.3">Free
    href="https://directory.fsf.org/wiki/License:Free-Art-L-v1.3">Free Art
    License, version 1.3</a>.</li>
  <li>The <strong>ecantorix</strong> program, 
    a singing synthesis frontend for espeak, released under the GPLv3+,
    features the <a href="/music/free-software-song-ecantorix.ogg">Free
    Software Song as an example output</a>.</li>
  <li><a
    href="https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File%3AFreesoftwaresong_126_mix.ogg">
    Yet another version from Wikimedia Commons</a> (967kB) is licensed under
    CC0.</li>
<li>A
  <li>An <a
href="https://anonfile.com/93uaA2j5b1/freesoftwaresong_organ-kalimba_ogg">
Kalimba
    href="/music/free-software-song-organ-kalimba.ogg">organ and
    kalimba version</a> (Ogg Vorbis format, 690kB) is offered by Vaba
    <vaba@riseup.net> under the <a href="http://www.wtfpl.net/about/">WTFPL</a>.</li>
    href="https://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/zero/1.0/">CC0 1.0</a>.</li>
  <li>A rock-style <a
    href="https://downloads.woralelandia.com/audio/ivan_chavero/Iv%C3%A1n%20Chavero%20y%20Renich%20-%20Canci%C3%B3n%20del%20Software%20Libre.ogg">loose adaptation</a> by Renich 
    Bon Ćirić and Iván Chavero. <a
    href="https://downloads.woralelandia.com/audio/ivan_chavero/Iv%C3%A1n%20Chavero%20y%20Renich%20-%20Canci%C3%B3n%20del%20Software%20Libre%20-%20kareokee.ogg">Karaoke version</a>.
    Released under CC BY-SA 4.0 (<a
    href="https://downloads.woralelandia.com/audio/ivan_chavero/README.rst">full 
    credits</a> in Spanish). </li> 
</ul>

<p>You can get a <a href="/music/free-software-song.pdf">typeset score</a> of
the song made with <a
href="http://lilypond.org">GNU
href="https://lilypond.org/">GNU LilyPond</a>. The LilyPond <a
href="/music/free-software-song.ly">source</a> for the typeset score is also
available.</p>

<h4 id="SadiMoma">“Sadi id="SadiMoma"><cite>Sadi moma bela loza”</h4> loza</cite></h4>

<p>Here is a description of the tune of “Sadi <cite>Sadi moma bela
loza,”
loza</cite>, a Bulgarian dance tune, in an ad-hoc
form of notation using letters for notes. A dash means the previous note
continues. There are seven
beats per measure, thus seven characters in each group.</p>
<pre>
    D-CB-A- B-CBAG- G--A--B C--B-BD A--A--- D-CB---
    D-CB-A- B-CBAG- G--A--B C--B-BD A--A--- A------</pre>

<p>It is also available as an <a href="/music/sadi-moma.abc">ABC file</a>.</p>

<div class="infobox" role="contentinfo">
<hr />
<h3 id="license">Licensing</h3> id="Disclaimer">Disclaimer</h3>
<p>Richard Stallman and the Free Software Foundation claim no
copyright on this song.</p>
</div>
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<p><!-- TRANSLATORS: Ignore the original text in this paragraph,
        replace it with the translation of these two:

        We work hard and do our best to provide accurate, good quality
        translations.  However, we are not exempt from imperfection.
        Please send your comments and general suggestions in this regard
        to <a href="mailto:web-translators@gnu.org">
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        <p>For information on coordinating and submitting contributing translations of
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Please see the <a
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<p>Copyright © 1993, 2001, 2002, 2003, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2001-2006, 2010, 2011, 2014, 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018 2018, 2023, 2024 Richard Stallman</p>

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