|
30 May 09 - 06:16 PM (#2644451) Subject: Victor Jarra killer arrested-36 yrs late From: Art Thieme http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2009/may/28/chile-regime-murder-charge-victor-jara 36 years later!!!! Hard to believe... If you ever doubted that a song could bring change, look back to how the powers that be responded to the songs of Victor Jarra and Joe Hill -- and many others. (Dare I include the messages of Jesus?) Art Thieme |
|
30 May 09 - 06:18 PM (#2644452) Subject: RE: Victor Jarra killer arrested-36 yrs late From: skipy His hand where gentle! |
|
30 May 09 - 06:23 PM (#2644461) Subject: RE: Victor Jarra killer arrested-36 yrs late From: Art Thieme Your post seems unrelated to the topic. Please, define your statement. |
|
30 May 09 - 06:25 PM (#2644463) Subject: RE: Victor Jarra killer arrested-36 yrs late From: skipy Victor Jara of Chile Lived like a shooting star He fought for the people of Chile With his songs and his guitar His hands were gentle, his hands were strong Victor Jara was a peasant He worked from a few years old He sat upon his father's plow And watched the earth unfold His hands were gentle, his hands were strong Now when the neighbors had a wedding Or one of their children died His mother sang all night for them With Victor by her side His hands were gentle, his hands were strong He grew up to be a fighter Against the people's wrongs He listened to their grief and joy And turned them into songs His hands were gentle, his hands were strong He sang about the copper miners And those who worked the land He sang about the factory workers And they knew he was their man His hands were gentle, his hands were strong He campaigned for Allende Working night and day He sang "Take hold of your brothers hand You know the future begins today" His hands were gentle, his hands were strong Then the generals seized Chile They arrested Victor then They caged him in a stadium With five-thousand frightened men His hands were gentle, his hands were strong Victor stood in the stadium His voice was brave and strong And he sang for his fellow prisoners Till the guards cut short his song His hands were gentle, his hands were strong They broke the bones in both his hands They beat him on the head They tore him with electric shocks And then they shot him dead His hands were gentle, his hands were strong Repeat first verse ©1977, 1990 by by Adrian Mitchell & Arlo Guthrie All Rights Reserved. |
|
30 May 09 - 06:30 PM (#2644465) Subject: RE: Victor Jara killer arrested-36 yrs late From: McGrath of Harlow Christy Moore singing Adrian Mitchell's song |
|
30 May 09 - 06:56 PM (#2644477) Subject: RE: Victor Jarra killer arrested-36 yrs late From: Art Thieme Skipy--Thanks for that! |
|
30 May 09 - 07:04 PM (#2644480) Subject: RE: Victor Jarra killer arrested-36 yrs late From: Spleen Cringe Well, it's good to see that even 36 years on there's a chance for justice. |
|
30 May 09 - 07:49 PM (#2644506) Subject: RE: Victor Jarra killer arrested-36 yrs late From: Valmai Goodyear Thank you for the song. It's easy to believe the people who sneeringly say that singing songs of protest never changed anything. If that was so, the brutes wouldn't bother to suppress it. Keep singing. Perhaps in this case, the young man who pulled the trigger had no understanding and no choice; more shame on the brutes who put him in that position. Valmai |
|
30 May 09 - 09:52 PM (#2644582) Subject: RE: Victor Jarra killer arrested-36 yrs late From: CarolC Including the CIA who put Pinochet in power. Does anyone ever write protest songs about the CIA and their multitudinous crimes and human rights violations? |
|
30 May 09 - 10:33 PM (#2644595) Subject: RE: Victor Jarra killer arrested-36 yrs late From: GUEST,.gargoyle The wheels grind slow....
From my point of view - the USA - and cohorts (UK,IS,CN,FR,SA,DE) thanks to the 16 years of combined, positive Bush focused attention...have helped create a far safer world....I shudder to think of the abdominations we would be enduring .... if the Good Lord had not placed them at their time and place in history. Father and Son will, in one hundred years ... be viewed as the greatest presidents in the USA's history.
Sincerely,
|
|
30 May 09 - 10:45 PM (#2644598) Subject: RE: Victor Jarra killer arrested-36 yrs late From: Janie Victor Jarra singing on YouTube. I did not know anything about him, and am assuming that many others did not. Thanks for starting this thread, Art, and calling attention to him. |
|
30 May 09 - 10:52 PM (#2644600) Subject: RE: Victor Jarra killer arrested-36 yrs late From: CarolC More likely, in 100 years, they will be remembered by history in the same way as war criminals from other countries are viewed. |
|
30 May 09 - 10:56 PM (#2644601) Subject: RE: Victor Jarra killer arrested-36 yrs late From: Effsee Garg, your grasp on reality has definitely lost all control! |
|
30 May 09 - 11:31 PM (#2644613) Subject: RE: Victor Jarra killer arrested-36 yrs late From: Maryrrf Today I was going through some music and found one of my Victor Jara song books. He was an inspiration to so many. His music was beautiful and powerful. I had many friends who suffered under the dictatorship of Pinochet. Reading through the links reminded me of what they went through. Those were dark days indeed. |
|
31 May 09 - 12:09 AM (#2644622) Subject: RE: Victor Jarra killer arrested-36 yrs late From: Art Thieme DON LANGE wrote a simply grand song after the death of Allende at the hands of the CIA in the coup that put Pinochet into power in Chile. It's hard for me to realize that people know so little about the killing of Salvatore Allende!!?? It was well known to everyone-- at least in the folk -- scene back in the 1970s. Sing Out! printed this song I'm pretty certain. .................Well, for two hours nearly I've been trying to find Don Lange's song of the killing of the democratically elected communist President of Chile--Salvatore Allende. All I can recall are snippets. But I'm sure of the chorus!: The night owl hoots and the hawk it swoops And I'm traveling on down the road, And like it or not it's country or rock on the all night radio show, The announcer comes on says, "If you've got ideas I've got something for you, What good's an idea that's not in the bank Making a buck or two. Chorus) It's a long long way from the heartland From Santiago Bay, And the good doctor lies with the blood in his eyes And the bullets read the U.S. of A. And the bulletts read U.S. of A. |
|
31 May 09 - 01:23 AM (#2644639) Subject: RE: Victor Jarra killer arrested-36 yrs late From: katlaughing Thanks, Art, for telling us more. I hope they get the rest of the murderers. Janie, thanks for the link. |
|
31 May 09 - 01:43 AM (#2644647) Subject: RE: Victor Jarra killer arrested-36 yrs late From: CarolC That looks like a good song (from what's been posted so far). |
|
31 May 09 - 01:49 AM (#2644649) Subject: RE: Victor Jarra killer arrested-36 yrs late From: CarolC Here's the rest of it... The nighthawk flies and the owl cries As we're driving down the road Listening to the music On an all night radio show The announcer comes on Says, "If you've got ideas I'll file the patent for you" What's an idea that's not in the store Making a buck or two We drive to the town but the shutters are down And the all night restaurant's closed It's the land of the free, they've got booze and TV There's tramps in the telephone booths But the stars and the trees and the early spring breeze Say, "Forget what assassins have done Take our good soil in the palm of your hand And wait for tomorrow's sun" It's a long way from the Heartland to Santiago Bay Where the good doctor lies with blood in his eyes And the bullets read US of A The truck driver's wife she has rough life Driving down the road Carrying the goods all the copper and wood That's what makes America great But the dollars like swallows, they fly to the south Where they know they've something to gain Allende is killed And the trucks are soon rolling again It's a long way from the Heartland to Santiago Bay Where the good doctor lies with blood in his eyes And the bullets read US of A The nighthawk flies and the owl cries As we're driving down the road The full moon reveals all the houses and fields Where good people do what they're told Victor Jara he lies with coins in his eyes There's no one around him to mourn Who needs a poet who won't take commands Who'd rather make love than war It's a long way from the Heartland to Santiago Bay Where the good doctor lies with blood in his eyes And the bullets read US of A http://www.kovideo.net/lyrics/l/Luke-Kelly/Allende.html |
|
31 May 09 - 03:14 AM (#2644665) Subject: RE: Victor Jarra killer arrested-36 yrs late From: Jim Carroll "Including the CIA who put Pinochet in power." Not forgetting Margaret Thatcher, who was his friend and helped prevent him being put on trial for his crimes of torture and mass murder. Jim Carroll |
|
31 May 09 - 03:39 AM (#2644668) Subject: RE: Victor Jarra killer arrested-36 yrs late From: alanabit History has a way of relegating murderers like Nathuram Godse and Gavrilo Prinicip to the footnotes. I hope the same happens to the murderer here. Blaming a hapless eighteen year old conscripted trigger squeezer for Victo Jara's death (which is what he was at the time) is a pretty pointles exercise. It is the officers and the tyranny, which they represented, who should be on trial. Above all, the cloak of false dignity should have been stripped from the ugly criminal Pinochet years ago. Why is it that when a gangster reaches a certain level, we begin to recognise him as a "statesman"? |
|
31 May 09 - 04:33 AM (#2644686) Subject: RE: Victor Jarra killer arrested-36 yrs late From: Monique Here is the address of the Fundación Victor Jara site (all in Spanish) . His widows says "-No tengo la sensación de que un joven de 18 años pueda tener toda la culpa." (I don't feel that a 18 years old young man can be the only one guilty). For some time, he's been the director of the Quilapayún group who wrote a song for him called Canción para Víctor Jara, they still sing songs of his ("Te recuerdo Amanda"...). They also wrote a song for Allende |
|
31 May 09 - 02:23 PM (#2645001) Subject: RE: Victor Jarra killer arrested-36 yrs late From: Art Thieme CarolC Thanks for that set of words for Don Lange's song. I don't think they are all correct, but at least it's an o.k. paraphrase. Art |
|
31 May 09 - 02:44 PM (#2645026) Subject: RE: Victor Jarra killer arrested-36 yrs late From: GUEST,iancarterb Below is a link to a Warren Zevon performance of Zevon's song Roland the Headless Thompson Gunner. Central to the story is the concise description of a CIA life or death decision; "The CIA decided they wanted Roalnd dead, So that son-of-a bitch Van Owen blew off Roland's head." Not sure I didn't get the link from Mudcat. Victor Jara was a far more important figure in Chile and the western hemisphere generally than Zevon, although Warren did write some terribly disturbing and powerful songs. Victor Jara personified the threat to US economic terrorism that pervaded South America for two centuries, and sang about it bravely and widely enough to get himself killed. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WhRRWwH3Fro |
|
31 May 09 - 04:33 PM (#2645109) Subject: RE: Victor Jarra killer arrested-36 yrs late From: Mick Tems Thatcher - that ugly, vicious, Tory bitch. I will never forgive this evil crone for the cruel right-wing policies she committed as premier, including being Pinochet's ally - her involvement in Victor Jara's murder being a direct consequence. When she pops her clogs soon, I implore you (along with countless thousands of other decent right-minded people) NOT to let Thatcher have a state funeral. Justice must be seen to be done. |
|
31 May 09 - 06:24 PM (#2645181) Subject: RE: Victor Jarra killer arrested-36 yrs late From: alanabit Laying aside my (to put it mildly) non-Conservatism for a moment, I think we have to get the charge sheet right here. We can safely leave the charge of befriending the horrible gangster on the indictment, but we shall have to dismiss the charge of any involvement in the murder of Victor Jara. It happened in autumn of 1973, when the Right Honourable Margeret Thatcher was still a minister in Edward Heath's cabinet. She certainly wanted Pinochet to get away with it though. I think we can make that one stick. |
|
31 May 09 - 06:31 PM (#2645186) Subject: RE: Victor Jarra killer arrested-36 yrs late From: McGrath of Harlow The people to go for would be the ones in Washington who authorised the coup. Posthumously if need be. |
|
31 May 09 - 06:31 PM (#2645187) Subject: RE: Victor Jarra killer arrested-36 yrs late From: Peter T. The amusing thing is that in 100 years time George Bush will be damned for not having done anything about climate change, wasting eight years. That will be the great indictment, and it keeps piling up..... Our children's children will curse us for making so much of the world uninhabitable and destroying, recklessly, so much of the fabric of life on the planet for no good reason. Georgie boy will be one of the damned. yours, Peter T. |
|
31 May 09 - 06:39 PM (#2645190) Subject: RE: Victor Jarra killer arrested-36 yrs late From: Rowan I think a recitation of the following poem by Keith McKenry might be appropriate at this point. September the Eleventh In these awful times, as we struggle to understand what is happening to our world, we must keep in mind the events of the recent past. At dawn on September the eleventh he received his orders. While others would attack the citadels of commerce and defence To his team would go the greatest honour, That of targeting the President himself. They would attack by air the central symbol of the Infidel's power – The Presidential Palace – And they would take out this obscene man And all who stood by him. 'Democracy' the infidels called it. Let them call it thus And carp at the virtue of 'elections'. Elections were fallible. And now things had to be put right. He had chosen his team well. While others might quake at the magnitude Of their mission, they would not flinch. They boarded the aircraft carrying with them the hopes of all true believers. They had the support, too, of powerful friends abroad, Of a courageous foreign government that supported their cause, Equipped them, trained them, and put up cash. And when victory was won and the revolution complete It would recognise them, and give them honour. To it, too, must go the glory. The plan was meticulous. His destiny – and that of his colleagues – was in his own hands. Flying low, he turned the aircraft towards the capital And prayed his aim would be true. * * * The attack succeeded. The President, given warning by developments elsewhere, Chose to stay in his residence and dared them do their worst. He was dead by evening. His regime – like his palace – rubble around him. He made a final broadcast to the nation. Here is part of what he said: "This is surely the last opportunity I will have to address you... With my life I will pay for defending the principles Dear to our nation…these are my last words". And so they were. On September 11 1973 Salvador Allende, President of Chile died, Refusing to flee an air attack on the Presidential Palace. His murderers, a military putsch supported by the government of the United States, Overthrew the democratically-elected government And established a rein of terror that saw thousands murdered. Thus did the date September 11 First associate terror with the United States. Keith McKenry Cheers, Rowan |
|
31 May 09 - 06:45 PM (#2645197) Subject: RE: Victor Jarra killer arrested-36 yrs late From: Lizzie Cornish 1 Thank you for this thread, Art....It's really interesting. Poor Victor. I totally agree with you about the power of political song. Totally. But what a terribly tragedy that Victor had to suffer like that purely for singing the truth. I found this, the sound isn't too good, but if you watch it whilst looking at the lyrics you and Carol have posted, you can just about make out the words...I hope you enjoy it. Song for Allende - Don Lange (cover version) youtube |
|
31 May 09 - 07:19 PM (#2645211) Subject: RE: Victor Jarra killer arrested-36 yrs late From: Lizzie Cornish 1 Pete Seeger talking about Victor Jarra |
|
31 May 09 - 07:54 PM (#2645229) Subject: RE: Victor Jarra killer arrested-36 yrs late From: McGrath of Harlow And here is Victor Jara singing his Luchin Lovely song. And here were the words, Spanish and an English translation of sorts: Frágil como un volantín en los techos de Barrancas jugaba el niño Luchín con sus manitos moradas con la pelota de trapo con el gato y con el perro el caballo lo miraba. En el agua de sus ojos se bañaba el verde claro gateaba a su corta edad con el potito embarrado con la pelota de trapo con el gato y con el perro el caballo lo miraba. El caballo era otro juego en aquel pequeño espacio y al animal parecía le gustaba ese trabajo con la pelota de trapo con el gato y con el perro y con Luchito mojado. Si hay niños como Luchín que comen tierra y gusanos abramos todas las jaulas pa' que vuelen como pájaros con la pelota de trapo con el gato y con el perro y también con el caballo. Fragile as a kite on the roofs of Barrancas played little Luchín with his wet little hands with the ball of cloth with cats and dogs and the horse looked at him. In his eyes water is bathed light green crawling at his young age with his mudded little ass with the ball of cloth with cats and dogs the horse looked at him. The horse was another game in that small space and the animal seemed he liked that job with the ball of cloth with cats and dogs and with Luchito wet. If there are children as Luchín that they eat worms and land open all the cages so they fly like birds with the ball of cloth with cats and dogs and also with the horse. |
|
31 May 09 - 08:21 PM (#2645237) Subject: RE: Victor Jarra killer arrested-36 yrs late From: Eve Goldberg Thanks Art, for alerting us to that story. Let us hope that they go after some of the people who ordered the torture and killings, rather than just the young conscripts who did the dirty work. |
|
31 May 09 - 08:35 PM (#2645245) Subject: RE: Victor Jarra killer arrested-36 yrs late From: Art Thieme Eve, right on! It is quite nice to meet you here in cyberspace. I wish it had happened in real life one of the times I played Winnipeg Fest. All the best, Art |
|
31 May 09 - 09:03 PM (#2645255) Subject: RE: Victor Jarra killer arrested-36 yrs late From: Monique A two year old blog post about him and his song "Te recuerdo Amanda" with a link to YouTube |
|
31 May 09 - 09:28 PM (#2645264) Subject: RE: Victor Jarra killer arrested-36 yrs late From: Eve Goldberg Art, Nice to meet you too. I've never been to the Winnipeg Folk Fest, alas! But I have been to the Chicago area a couple of times. In fact, I was there last weekend, doing concerts in Naperville and Evanston... |
|
01 Jun 09 - 07:37 AM (#2645451) Subject: RE: Victor Jarra killer arrested-36 yrs late From: Black belt caterpillar wrestler Rod Shearman's "Here's to friends" was dedicated to many friends, including Victor Jarra, and included his song "Brother Victor" about him. I also recollect Dr Price performing "The right to live in peace" to a pin-drop atmosphere. |