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David Rovics is one musician who remains decidedly socially oriented. |
What
would a good protest be without a good protest song? In the 1960s
there were folks singers like Pete Seeger and Bob Dylan who helped write the
soundtrack for an era of social conflict. And who can forget the 1969
Woodstock performance of Country Joe and the Fish’s “I Feel Like I’m
Fixin’ To Die” in which they rail against the Vietnam War singing:
Yeah,
come on all of you, big strong men,
Uncle
Sam needs your help again.
He's
got himself in a terrible jam
Way
down yonder in Vietnam
So
put down your books and pick up a gun,
We're
gonna have a whole lotta fun.
And
it's one, two, three,
What
are we fighting for ?
Don't
ask me, I don't give a damn,
Next
stop is Vietnam;
And
it's five, six, seven,
Open
up the pearly gates,
Well
there ain't no time to wonder why,
Whoopee!
we're all gonna die.
But
the art of the protest song is not lost on the latest generation of
protesters, and one musician in specific has penned a tune that touchingly
pays tribute to the people of Palestine and more specifically, the people of
the city of Jenin who, in 2002, endured the savage onslaught of the Israeli
military.
David
Rovics is something of a model musician. Instead of creating vapid senseless
music that has a flash-in-the-pan type of longevity, he has spent the
majority of his career writing songs that comment on the social situation of
the world around him. As such, he has become a regular feature on the
protest circuit where he often shares the stage with other legendary protest
musicians.
One
of his more recent musical social commentaries is entitled “Jenin”. As
the title suggests, it deals with the awful tragedy that befell the
Palestinians of that town in April 2002 when the Israeli Defence Forces
invaded the city killing over 50 civilians and demolishing countless homes
and businesses.
Unsettled
by this act of aggression, Rovics wrote the following words:
Oh,
child, what will you remember
When
you recall your sixteenth year
The
horrid sound of helicopter gunships
The
rumble of the tanks as they drew near
As
the world went about it's business
And
I burned another tank of gasoline
The
Dow Jones lost a couple points that day
While
you were crying in the City of Jenin
Did
they even give your parents warning
Before
they blew the windows out with shells
While
you hid inside the high school basement
Amidst
the ringing of church bells
As
you watched your teacher crumble by the doorway
And
in England they were toasting to the Queen
You
were so far from the thoughts of so many
Huddled
in the City of Jenin
Were
you thinking of the taunting of the soldiers
Or
of the shit they smeared upon the walls
Were
you thinking of your cousin after torture
Or
Tel Aviv and it's glittering shopping malls
When
the fat men in their mansions say that you don't want peace
Did
you wonder what they mean
As
you sat amidst the stench inside the darkness
In
the shattered City of Jenin
What
went through your mind on that day
At
the site of your mother's vacant eyes
As
she lay still among the rubble
Beneath
the blue Middle Eastern skies
As
you stood upon this bulldozed building
Beside
the settlements and their hills so green
As
your tears gave way to grim determination
Among
the ruins of the City of Jenin
And
why should anybody wonder
As
you stepped on board
The
crowded bus across the Green Line
And
you reached inside your jacket for the cord
Were
you thinking of your neighbors buried bodies
As
you made the stage for this scene
As
you set off the explosives that were strapped around your waist
Were
you thinking of the City of Jenin
Jenin
isn’t the only place on Rovics mind. He’s also penned songs about the
southern Iraqi city of Basra, the Kurdish areas of northern Iraq, Chile and
other places where injustice has been the order of the day.
Rovics’
most recent CD, Hang a Flag in the Window (September 2002), deals with the
world post-9/11. He also continues to tour and play at protests and rallies.
While
he welcomes the purchase of his music, Rovics says on his website that
“the main thing is to get the music out there. You are hereby
encouraged not only to buy CDs, but to COPY THEM in part or whole, download
and distribute MP3's, sing the songs, photocopy part or all of the
songbooks, etc. If you know a radio programmer or other such person
who you'd like to give a CD to, just ask and I'll send you one, or feel free
to copy one you have and give it to them. Have I made my point
clear...?”
Rovics’
music can be sampled at his website, www.davidrovics.com;
and the song ‘Jenin’ can be heard by clicking here.
