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Saturday, September 13, 2014

Springsteen's 'Manifesto'--for Victor Jara

His tribute one year ago in Santiago to the famed Chilean political folk singer, who died over 40 years ago in the U.S.-backed coup.   Sung in Spanish after his intro, also in Spanish.  It's the last song Jara wrote before he was tortured and killed.   See my recent Jara post here.   Bruce first read about Jara in our 1974 Crawdaddy opus.  Lyrics:

I don’t sing for love of singing
or to show off my voice
but for the statements
made by my honest guitar
for its heart is of the earth
and like the dove it goes flying.... 

Yes, my guitar is a worker
shining and smelling of spring
my guitar is not for killers
greedy for money and power
but for the people who labor
so that the future may flower.
For a song takes on a meaning
when its own heart beat is strong
sung by a man who will die singing
truthfully singing his song.

I don’t care for adulation
or so that strangers may weep.
I sing for a far strip of country
narrow but endlessly deep


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