[2014]
Testo di Przemek Paśko
Musica di Paśko i zespół Co To
Dall'album "Błędne koło"

Frédéric

Chanson française – Frédéric – CLAUDE LEVEILLEE – 1962
Paroles et Musique: Claude Léveillée 1962



Québec, 1962. Claude Léveillée avait écrit cette chanson en s'inspirant de son idole au piano: Frédéric Chopin. En 2004, il fut terrassé par un ACV, suivi d'un autre l'automne de la même année, ce qui l'a paralysé en mettant fin à son grand talent de pianiste, ce qui est un deuil épouvantable pour lui. Il nous a hélas quittés le matin du 9 juin 2011, victime d'un problème cardio-vasculaire à l'âge de 78 ans, laissant derrière lui plus de 400 chansons.

Ah, enfin ! La voilà ta chanson de paix… dont tu me rebattais les oreilles l'autre soir dit Lucien l'âne en redressant le front. Je croyais que tu l'avais oubliée…

Mais pas du tout, comme tu vois, Lucien l'âne mon ami. D'ailleurs, tu sais bien que cette chanson de Frédéric, elle hante les têtes et les oreilles de tous ceux qui l'ont... (continua)

(2009)

Un altro testo della rapper di Detroit di origine israeliana, scritto nel 2009 durante l'operazione "Piombo fuso" contro Gaza, che attacca frontalmente Israele.

Invincible (Ilana Weaver) è una rapper che vive a Detroit. Ha passato l'infanzia in Israele e si è trasferita in Michigan con la famiglia nel 1988.

A sette anni ha imparato l'inglese ascoltando l'hip hop. Nel giro di due anni ha cominciato a scrivere canzoni in inglese.

Nonostante le origini israeliane, Invincible è una convinta sostenitrice della causa palestinese e in questa canzone canta della necessità della resistenza "fino al giorno in cui non ci sarà più bisogno di combattere".

(2015)

Canzone che rappresenterà l'Ungheria all'Eurovision contest di quest'anno. Una canzone abbastanza generica e innocua, ma che ha scatenato le ire dell'ambasciatore israeliano per una didascalia nel videoclip della canzone che recita "2014 – Gaza – two-thirds of the victims were civilians, including more than 500 children.".

Marengo

Chanson française – Marengo – Marco Valdo M.I. – 2015

ARLEQUIN AMOUREUX – 1

Opéra-récit historique en multiples épisodes, tiré du roman de Jiří Šotola « Kuře na Rožni » publié en langue allemande, sous le titre « VAGANTEN, PUPPEN UND SOLDATEN » – Verlag C.J. Bucher, Lucerne-Frankfurt – en 1972 et particulièrement de l'édition française de « LES JAMBES C'EST FAIT POUR CAVALER », traduction de Marcel Aymonin, publiée chez Flammarion à Paris en 1979.

Voici donc, Lucien l'âne mon ami, une nouvelle série de canzones qui s'en vont te raconter l'histoire d'un Arlequin amoureux, ci-devant fantassin de l'Empereur autrichien François. Enrôlé de force, déserteur par vocation, il passera sa vie à fuir, fuir et à se réfugier en songe dans les bras imaginaires de son Arlecchina. On verra bien à la fin comment tout cela finira. Oui, Monsieur Po, oui, Monsieur Li, Oui, Monsieur Chi, Oui, Monsieur... (continua)

Another song-poem about My Lai, released in Boston, Massachusetts - these are song lyrics, sent to specialist publishing and recoding companies, usually in response to an advertisement, that have been set to music for a fee (around $200-400). (1) Composed by Ann Parks and Lew Tobin (he co-founded the label with Shelley Stuart, and he presumably took the writing credit for the music side). Performed by Norm Burns & The Satelites. The track, called "The Babies of My Lai" (Sterling Records # S-547), probably released in either late 1971 or early 1972 (based on the label discography), focused on the death of the children at the massacre. The narrator sarcastically said that "a little baby raised it gun" and so a soldier "raised his weapon in defense". The narrator mourned the deaths: "sleep baby sleep", and declared to "never forget what has been done". The lyrics did not mention or comment on William Calley's trial, but it leaned towards criticising his actions, and therefore it fell into the anti-Calley camp.

Justin Brummer

The song "Will There Ever Be a Time?" (Bold Records # 377 / 358), probably released around 1969-1971 by Captain Foam, an obscure psychedelic folk group, based in Ohio, took a general anti-war position, while referencing the My Lai massacre. Written and sung by Richard Bertram, produced by Nick Boldi, and engineered by Gary Rhamy, the song was recorded in Peppermint Productions Studios, in Youngstown, Ohio. (1) Firstly, it expressed opposition to war, counting the dead, and questioning why they had to "see them fall". The narrator accused presidents of "trying to play god". He then called for the "money that they spend to build the guns and bombs", to be redirected towards clearing the "world of hunger", which would contribute towards "peace and equality". Then onto the subject of Calley and the massacre, the narrator argued that the "guns of...My Lai" represented a "curse upon the world".... (continua)

The country rock band Mason Proffit formed in 1968 in Indianapolis, Indiana, led by The Talbot Brothers - John Michael Talbot and Terry Talbot. While their two previous records made the charts, this one failed commercially. The song "Were You There" (Warner Bros. Records # BS 2657) contained socially conscience lyrics, running through several injustices throughout history - from slavery, to the Holocaust: "you cried when Hitler killed the Jews". It then moved to Vietnam, posing the question "were you there at My Lai?", and then entering into a plea for people to protest: "come all of you, it's time to take a stand".

(1971)

The soulful track "Lieutenant (Had Any Lately?)" (Stang Records # ST-5027), out of New Jersey, took an anti-war line and condemned Calley - one of the few to do so.

Is this record performed by Sylvia Robinson?

A year earlier she released the single Have You Had Any Lately (Stang # 5015) - the same melody and with almost identical lyrics, without the Calley references, written by Robinson.
(1) Robinson did in fact have three children.
(2) The song later appeared on the 1973 album Pillow Talk (Vibration Records # VI-126).

Anyhow, the structure of the verses, formed by repeating questions ('how long' and 'how many') took a similarly effective approach to Bob Dylan's "Blowin' in the Wind" - the narrator wanted to know "how many children did you kill" and "how much...of their blood did you spill". She declared that Calley's actions made him "inhuman" and "not fit for society".
Vietnam War: My Lai & Lt. William Calley Songs

The Cry of "My Lai" / It Makes No Difference (1971) [Single]

The traditional country song "The Cry of My Lai" (Gold Standard Records # GS-310) - one of the few songs that condemns the massacre, with the narrator telling Calley that "the devil possesses your soul", against the background sound-effect of an infant crying. He asked: "hey lieutenant, can you still hear the small babies cry?". He also wondered if Calley had acted as if in a childhood game: "did the frightened child remind you of a smiling boy, who plays war at home and the gun is only a toy". Released in Nashville, Tennessee, written by Johnny Adams and Ivan Meece.

album: Massacre at My Lai (1970)

A spoken word release (Flying Dutchman # FDS-118) in which Rosko narrated the newspaper articles of Pete Hamill - an American journalist who in the 1960s wrote for the New York Post, reporting from Vietnam. (1) It took a highly critical view of the Vietnam War, the military, and the politicians of the era, such as President Eisenhower and President Nixon. Produced by Bob Thiele, founder of Flying Dutchman, it featured background music from Ron Carter (bass) and James Spaulding (flute). Nat Hentoff, music critic and historian, wrote the linear notes to the record. Hamill also wrote the words for the 1970 record Murder at Kent State University (Flying Dutchman # FDS-127).

Billboard noted the album on 28 February 1970, saying that "Bob Thiele's Flying Dutchman label again collaborated with WNEW-FM's Rosko...to spotlight writer Peter Hamill's description of... (continua)

1970
testo e spartito



Il massacro di Mỹ Lai, conosciuto anche come massacro di Sơn Mỹ, fu un massacro di civili inermi che avvenne durante la guerra del Vietnam, quando i soldati statunitensi della Compagnia Charlie, della 11a Brigata di Fanteria Leggera, agli ordini del tenente William Calley, uccisero 347 civili - principalmente vecchi, donne, bambini e neonati.

Il massacro avvenne il 16 marzo 1968 a My Lai, una delle quattro frazioni raggruppate nei pressi del villaggio di Sơn Mỹ, nella provincia di Quang Ngai a circa 840 chilometri a nord di Saigon. I soldati si abbandonarono anche alla tortura e allo stupro degli abitanti. Come venne riferito da un tenente dell'esercito sudvietnamita ai suoi superiori, fu una atroce vendetta, che avvenne poco dopo uno scontro a fuoco con delle truppe Viet Cong che si erano mischiate ai paesani.

Il massacro fu fermato dall'equipaggio di un elicottero... (continua)

1970
Wake up America!

The album Wake Up, America (Big Toe Records # 1) contained several references to Vietnam, such as the tracks "Our National Anthem", "Chicago", and "The Drug Company". On the track "Texas Tweezers" Hoffman took a phone call on a radio show. The caller attacked Hoffman for being ignorant, an exhibitionist, and for criticising the country, which, according to the caller, would have got him killed in Russia. Hoffman responded by arguing that the US "killed a million people in Vietnam" which damaged her reputation. He then rhetorically ask the caller "what do you think My Lai was, a god damn Connie Island trip".

[2015]
di e con Ezio Mauro
regia di Pietro Babina
concept audio di Alberto Fiori & Pietro Babina
esecuzione live di Alberto Fiori
voci di Umberto Orsini e Alba Rohrwacher
Produzione Elastica srl

Ieri sera qui a Torino è stata inaugurata quarta edizione di Biennale Democrazia, una manifestazione culturale il cui “obiettivo è la diffusione di una cultura della democrazia che sappia tradursi in pratica democratica.”
Checché se ne possa dire (borghesi, buuu!, cattocomunisti, buuu!, le lezioni magistrali di Draghi e della Boldrini, buuu!... ) di questo progetto ideato da Gustavo Zagrebelsky – ex membro e presidente della Corte Costituzionale, nonché mio quasi compaesano ed il migliore docente che io abbia mai avuto – checchè se ne possa dire del Repubblicano Ezio Mauro e del suo giornale “di regime”, beh, questa è un’opera in memoria di

Antonio Schiavone
Giuseppe Demasi
Angelo... (continua)