Dr. Emily AronoffWhen kids see injustice, they call it out. This song builds on the naturally occurring phenomenon of justice sensitivity, which is a hallmark trait of middle childhood (or your whole life if you have an ADHD brain like mine)
I wanted my babies to have a “power to the people” song in their soul.
The Moses narrative in early childhood settings often sorta jumps from baby in a basket to burning bush, skipping the part where Moses grows up, walks outside the palace walls, sees something he cannot ignore, and has to act…but commits murder.
We don’t want to teach kids about killing…but that gap is where the justice teaching lives. For years I glossed over it because I did not have a developmentally appropriate way in.
This song is my way in.
Why Blues Music Is the Right Vehicle for Teaching Justice to Young Children
Moses’ It’s Not Fair Blues is a 12-bar blues built on E7, A7, and B7. Blues music carries emotion in the sound before any words arrive. When children hear those chords, they feel something. That feeling is the doorway into Moses’ moral experience. He witnessed injustice. It felt heavy. That heaviness has a sound, and children can feel it before they understand it.
Justice education starts with speech. Babies learn from watching how people treat people. We talk about fairness, we model sharing, we name feelings. But we rarely give children a song that says: someone in power was doing something wrong, a person saw it, and that person had to act. This song does exactly that.
What Moses’ It’s Not Fair Blues Teaches About Passover, Justice, and Jewish Values
The theology is simple and profound: b’tselem Elohim, all people are made in the image of God. The line “those poor workers, they could be me” is that theology in a child’s voice. Moses saw slaves and recognized his own humanity in theirs. That recognition is the beginning of justice.
The call-and-response structure puts children inside Moses’ response. You sing the narrative. They respond: THIS ISN’T FAIR. Young children already know in their bodies what unfair feels like. This song gives that knowing a home in the Torah story.
Leading Moses’ It’s Not Fair Blues in an Early Childhood Passover Program
Teach the call-out before anything else. Tell the group: when I point to you, you say THIS ISN’T FAIR as big and loud as you can. Practice it two or three times before the song begins. Once they have the response, the song carries itself.
Before you sing, strum E7, A7, and B7 slowly and ask: what do these chords make you feel? Happy? Sad? Heavy? There is no wrong answer. That question is the lesson: music communicates emotion before language does.
Verse two requires care. Moses killing the Egyptian is morally complex. Name it simply, with a puppet: “Moses saw a cruel boss hurting a slave. He got so upset that he hurt the cruel boss back. Then he hid.” Hide the puppet. “Moses ran away because he was afraid he was going to get in trouble.” Pause. Children know that feeling immediately. You do not need to say more.
Use this transition from the Baby Moses story: “Moses grew up in Pharaoh’s palace. But one day, he went outside the palace walls and saw something he could not ignore. Let’s find out what he felt.” Pick up your guitar. Play E7 slowly. Let the chord land before you sing a word.
Passover Song Lyrics: Moses’ It’s Not Fair Blues
Oh no, this isn’t fair
I see sadness everywhere
The rulers here, they do not care
The slaves work hard and are not free
They have no choices or money
Oh, those poor workers, they could be me
Chorus
I’ve got to stop that Egyptian one
The resistance, it has just begun
And once I’ve stopped him
I’ll have to run
