Multilingual Song Playlist on Unity, Diversity, Peace, Love, and Tolerance
published 10/20/20; updated 8/15/25
by Catharine Hannay, founder of MindfulTeachers.org
Continuing the popular series of Song Playlists for Teachers, here are a variety of songs in Albanian, Arabic, ASL, Bengali, Douala, English, French, Gujarati, Hebrew, Italian, Korean, Lakota, Latin, Oneida, Portuguese, Rom, Sesotho, Spanish, Swahili, Urdu, and Yiddish.
Teachers, please note: With such a multicultural audience teaching young children through adults, I can’t guarantee that all of the songs and videos will be appropriate for your particular context. I’ve included brief descriptions to help you choose, but please preview anything you plan to share with your students.
Asalamo Aalekom (Peace Be Upon You), Shadia Mansour
audio; Arabic lyrics with English translation
Cambiar el Mundo (Change the World), Alejandro Lerner
video by Artistas Unidos (with captions in Spanish); English translation of lyrics
C'est dur d'être doux (It's Tough to Be Sensitive*), Grain de sable
(*literally: "It's Hard to Be Soft"); video
Cuando Se Acabara (When Will It End?), Manny Oquendo
audio
When will racism end? When will the rich share with the poor?
Dona Nobis Pacem (Grant Us Peace)
performance by Cantus (Norway); performance by Seoul Catholic Singers; performance by Spectrum Choral Academy; solo ukelele by Samantha Muir
Every Color is a Good One, Rechov Sumsum (Israeli Sesame Street)
video (in Hebrew with English subtitles)
No matter what color someone is, you can smile and say "Shalom." Moishe Oofnik (the Grouch) thinks color doesn’t matter because he finds everyone equally annoying.
Hate, Sean Forbes
lyrics; video; Sean Forbes is a deaf rapper who performs in English and American Sign Language (ASL).
You might also like Sean Forbes’ songs “I’m Deaf” on the Identity, Diversity, and Empathy playlist and “Watch These Hands” on the ASL song playlist.
I Am Your Friend, Joanne Shenandoah
lyrics not available; audio
World-renowned singer and peace activist Joanne Shenandoah was a member of the Wolf Clan of the Oneida nation.
Il Faut de Tout Pour Faire Un Monde, Les Enfantastiques
video; lyrics (Scroll down and click ‘translate to English’)
The title comes from a French proverb which is sometimes translated as “It takes all sorts to make a world.” The literal translation is more like “It takes everything to make a world” or “Everything is necessary to make a world.”
Ken Y'hi Ratzon, Elana Arian
video (in English and Hebrew)
This song is based on traditional Buddhist and Jewish lovingkindness practice. 'Ken Y'hi Ratzon' means 'let it be so,' 'may it be so' or 'may it be G-d's will.'
Un Mensage al Mundo (A Message to the World),
Jorge, Helena y Matias Otamendi
video; lyrics in Spanish (You can scroll to the bottom and click on 'Translate to English.)
Mitakuye Oyasin (We Are One), Chamber Music Festival of the Black Hills
Virtual Choir featuring over 200 children singing in English and Lakota throughout the Black Hills and Pine Ridge Indian Reservation of South Dakota. (FYI, this song is adapted from the Christian hymn “We Are One in the Spirit.”)
Mot'a Benama (Human Being), Henri Dikongué
I can’t find the English lyrics elsewhere, so here are a few lines of the translation from Henri Dikongué’s Mot'a Bobe CD:
“Why are there such barriers between people? […] Are cruelty and rivalry necessary in order to succeed? […] Strength makes people think they can get away with anything. […] Riches make people disparage the poor. What a shame, what sadness, what narrow-mindedness.”
Nyansapo: The Wisdom Knot, Steven Chesne
audio; video with images of the chants, performers, and researchers
This is an interweaving of peace prayers from many different traditions, part of the Sapient project.
Peace, Thebahatizz
‘Thebahatizz’ is a group made of four sisters who are refugees from the Democratic Republic of Congo. (song in English, French, and Swahili)
Peace National Anthem, Voice of Ram
Indian and Pakistani singers perform a blended version of their national anthems.
Peace in Twelve Languages, Tom Knight
Signore, fa di me uno strumento della tua pace (Lord, Make Me an Instrument of Thy Peace)
video of Philippine Madrigal Singers; Prayer of St. Francis in Italian; Prayer of St. Francis in English
Together Today, Nimo Patel and Carlos Lopes for Ponte Cultural
video (in English, Portuguese, Gujarati, and Spanish)
Peace Song, Lena Park (Park Jyung-Hyun)
audio in Korean; English version (lyrics in video description)
Same and Different Song, Rruga Sesam/Ulica Sezam (Kosovo Sesame Street)
video (Albanian with English subtitles)
Sneham Ezhuga (World Peace Song), Vasant Desai; Rameshvaidya
video by S. J. Jananiy with English subtitles
Tunaomba Amani (We Ask for Peace)
Un Monde Meilleur (A Better World), Keen'V
video; lyrics in French; English translation
"In a better world, we can clear it all up. The mistakes of the past that prevent us from moving forward. In a better world, we do not judge based on appearance. We all live in peace, together in respect."
Yaweran Masseme (A Song for Peace)
Sufi chant, in Arabic, Rom, and Yiddish
video of performance at benefit concert for l'Association Act & Help at the Church of St. Roch
Yo No Soy Diferente (I am not Different); Gian Marco
audio; lyrics in Spanish (You can scroll to the bottom and click on 'Translate to English.')
Related Posts
There are many more song playlists and resources on diversity and community here at MindfulTeachers.org, including the following posts: