Το παρακάτω κείμενο αφιερώνεται στα γενέθλια της Λεξιλογίας. Κουτσά στραβά το μωρό έκλεισε δύο χρόνια επίσημης λειτουργίας! Εύχομαι να έρχονται εδώ να γράφουν τα δισέγγονά σας.
Γράφει ο Μπάμπης Παπαδημητρίου στην αρχή του χτεσινού του άρθρου στην Καθημερινή:
Ε, τι, εκεί θα μείνουμε; Εδώ υπάρχει ολόκληρη ιστορία από πίσω, κοτζάμ Τζο Χιλ. Ο Joe Hill ήταν Σουηδός μετανάστης (πήγε στις ΗΠΑ το 1902, σε ηλικία 23 ετών). Ακτιβιστής του εργατικού κινήματος και τραγουδοποιός, έπεσε θύμα δικαστικής σκευωρίας, όπως λένε, και τον έστειλαν στο εκτελεστικό απόσπασμα όταν ήταν 36 ετών. Λεπτομέρειες της δίκης του θα βρείτε στο άρθρο της Wikipedia. Ο Μπο Βίντερμπεργκ γύρισε το 1971 ταινία για τη ζωή και το θάνατο του Χιλ, αλλά στάθηκε αδύνατο να τη βρω.
Όμως για τη ζωή του προτείνω να ακούσουμε το παρακάτω τραγούδι, με θαυμάσιους στίχους του λαϊκού τροβαδούρου Phil Ochs, σε παραδοσιακή μουσική. Τραγουδά ο Billy Bragg και το βιντεάκι περιέχει πλούσια εικονογράφηση. Θα έλεγα πάντως να ακούγατε και τον ίδιο τον Ochs, να το τραγουδά
. (Θα πρέπει να ανοίξετε το νήμα και σε δεύτερο παράθυρο και να τα βάλετε πλάι πλάι αν θέλετε να διαβάζετε τους στίχους και να βλέπετε το βίντεο.)
Στο βίντεο βλέπουμε χαραγμένη σε τοίχο μια στροφή από το τραγούδι που έγραψε ο Τζο Χιλ στη φυλακή:
Workers of the world, awaken!
Rise in all your splendid might;
Take the wealth that you are making,
It belongs to you by right.
Στο τέλος, διαβάζουμε τις πληροφορίες: After the funeral, Joe’s body was cremated. His ashes were sent to IWW activists across the country. His ashes were scattered in every state of the Union, except for Utah.
Ο Τζο Χιλ είχε γράψει σ’ έναν φίλο του από τη φυλακή:
Goodbye, Bill: I die like a true rebel. Don't waste any time mourning—organize! It is a hundred miles from here to Wyoming. Could you arrange to have my body hauled to the state line to be buried? I don't want to be found dead in Utah.
Είμαι βέβαιος ότι θα έρθει ο κολλητός μου να προσθέσει την Μπαλάντα του Τζο Χιλ από την Μπαέζ. Οπότε ας έρθω στον ιδιωματισμό. Πολλά από τα εργατικά τραγούδια εκείνης της εποχής ήταν παρωδίες θρησκευτικών ύμνων, από εκείνους που τραγουδούσαν τα μέλη του Στρατού της Σωτηρίας. Έτσι και το τραγούδι The Preacher and the Slave που έγραψε ο Τζο Χιλ βασίστηκε στον χριστιανικό ύμνο In the Sweet By and By. Στο ρεφρέν των στίχων του Χιλ διαβάζουμε τη φράση «You'll get pie in the sky when you die».
Διαδικτυογραφία
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Joe_Hill
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/IWW
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Preacher_and_the_Slave
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/In_the_Sweet_By_and_By
http://www.poprocknews.gr/3,86,0,0.aspx
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Little_Red_Songbook
Γράφει ο Μπάμπης Παπαδημητρίου στην αρχή του χτεσινού του άρθρου στην Καθημερινή:
Η καλύτερη προσαρμογή στην αγγλική γλώσσα της δικής μας έκφρασης για τις «φρούδες ελπίδες», αυτές που μας αρέσει να καλλιεργούμε σε εαυτούς και αλλήλους, είναι pie in the sky. Την έκφραση φέρεται να έχει πρώτος καθιερώσει Σουηδός μετανάστης σκληρά δοκιμαζόμενος από τον θριαμβεύοντα καπιταλισμό στην Αμερική του 1911. Ήθελε να απαντήσει στα αφεντικά που έταζαν «καρβέλια», κάτι σαν τον επί γης παράδεισο, προκειμένου να συνεχίσουν να υποφέρουν τα πάνδεινα στην (εδώ) ζωή τους.
Ε, τι, εκεί θα μείνουμε; Εδώ υπάρχει ολόκληρη ιστορία από πίσω, κοτζάμ Τζο Χιλ. Ο Joe Hill ήταν Σουηδός μετανάστης (πήγε στις ΗΠΑ το 1902, σε ηλικία 23 ετών). Ακτιβιστής του εργατικού κινήματος και τραγουδοποιός, έπεσε θύμα δικαστικής σκευωρίας, όπως λένε, και τον έστειλαν στο εκτελεστικό απόσπασμα όταν ήταν 36 ετών. Λεπτομέρειες της δίκης του θα βρείτε στο άρθρο της Wikipedia. Ο Μπο Βίντερμπεργκ γύρισε το 1971 ταινία για τη ζωή και το θάνατο του Χιλ, αλλά στάθηκε αδύνατο να τη βρω.
Όμως για τη ζωή του προτείνω να ακούσουμε το παρακάτω τραγούδι, με θαυμάσιους στίχους του λαϊκού τροβαδούρου Phil Ochs, σε παραδοσιακή μουσική. Τραγουδά ο Billy Bragg και το βιντεάκι περιέχει πλούσια εικονογράφηση. Θα έλεγα πάντως να ακούγατε και τον ίδιο τον Ochs, να το τραγουδά
Joe Hill came over from Sweden shores
Looking for some work to do
And the Statue of Liberty waved him by
As Joe came a-sailing through, Joe Hill
Oh his clothes were coarse and his hopes were high
As he headed for the promised land
And it took a few weeks on the out-of-work streets
Before he began to understand
Then he got hired by a bowery bar
Sweeping up in their saloon
As his rag would sail over the barroom rail
It sounded like he whistled on a tune
You could almost hear him whistling on a tune
And Joe rolled on from job to job
From the docks to the railroad line
And no matter how hungry the hand that wrote
In his letters he was always doing fine
Oh, the years went by like the sun goin' down
Slowly turned the page
And when Joe looked back at the sweat upon his tracks
He had nothing to show but his age
So he headed out to the Californian shore
Where there things were just as bad
So he joined the Industrial Workers of the World
Cause the Union was the only friend he had
Now the strikes were bloody and the strikes were black
As hard as they were long
In the dark of night Joe would stay awake and write
In the morning he would wake them with a song
And he wrote his words to the tunes of the day
To be passed along the union vine
And the strikes were led and the songs were spread
And Joe Hill was always on the line
In Salt Lake City a murder was made
There was hardly a clue to be found
Oh, the proof was poor, but the sheriff was sure
That Joe was the killer of the crime
Joe raised his hands but they shot him down
He had nothing but guilt to give
It's a doctor I need but they left him to bleed
And he made it 'cause he had the will to live
Then the trial was held in a building of wood
And in there the killer would be named
And the days weighed more than cold copper ore
Cause he feared that he was being framed
Now, strange are the ways of the western law
And strange are the ways of fate
For the government crawled to the mine owner's call
And the judge was appointed by the state
Now Utah justice can be had
But not for a union man
As Joe was warned by summer early morn
There'd be one less singer in the land
Oh William Spry was Governor Spry
And a life was his to hold
On the last appeal fell a governor's tear
May the lord have mercy on your soul, Joe Hill
Now President Wilson held up the day
But even he would fail
For nobody heard the soul-searching words
Of the man in the Salt Lake City jail
Now for 36 years he lived out his days
And he more than played his part
For his songs that he made, he was carefully paid
By a rifle bullet buried in his heart
Yes, they lined Joe Hill up against the wall
A blindfold o’er his eyes
It's the life of a rebel that I chose to live
It's the death life of a rebel that I died
In his time in the cell he wrote to his friends
And his wishes they were plain
My body can't be found on this Utah ground
So they laid him on a fast departing train
And the rebel rode to Chicago town,
There were thirty thousand people to mourn
And just about the time that Joe lay dying
A legend was just a-being born
(Now some say Joe was guilty as charged,
Some say he wasn't even there
And I guess nobody will ever know
Cause the court records all have disappeared)
Now, wherever you go in this fair land
In every Union hall
In the dusty dark these words are marked
In between all the cracks upon the wall
It's the very last lines that Joe Hill wrote
When he knew his days were through
Boys, this is my last and final wish
Good luck to all of you, good luck to all of you.
Looking for some work to do
And the Statue of Liberty waved him by
As Joe came a-sailing through, Joe Hill
Oh his clothes were coarse and his hopes were high
As he headed for the promised land
And it took a few weeks on the out-of-work streets
Before he began to understand
Then he got hired by a bowery bar
Sweeping up in their saloon
As his rag would sail over the barroom rail
It sounded like he whistled on a tune
You could almost hear him whistling on a tune
And Joe rolled on from job to job
From the docks to the railroad line
And no matter how hungry the hand that wrote
In his letters he was always doing fine
Oh, the years went by like the sun goin' down
Slowly turned the page
And when Joe looked back at the sweat upon his tracks
He had nothing to show but his age
So he headed out to the Californian shore
Where there things were just as bad
So he joined the Industrial Workers of the World
Cause the Union was the only friend he had
Now the strikes were bloody and the strikes were black
As hard as they were long
In the dark of night Joe would stay awake and write
In the morning he would wake them with a song
And he wrote his words to the tunes of the day
To be passed along the union vine
And the strikes were led and the songs were spread
And Joe Hill was always on the line
In Salt Lake City a murder was made
There was hardly a clue to be found
Oh, the proof was poor, but the sheriff was sure
That Joe was the killer of the crime
Joe raised his hands but they shot him down
He had nothing but guilt to give
It's a doctor I need but they left him to bleed
And he made it 'cause he had the will to live
Then the trial was held in a building of wood
And in there the killer would be named
And the days weighed more than cold copper ore
Cause he feared that he was being framed
Now, strange are the ways of the western law
And strange are the ways of fate
For the government crawled to the mine owner's call
And the judge was appointed by the state
Now Utah justice can be had
But not for a union man
As Joe was warned by summer early morn
There'd be one less singer in the land
Oh William Spry was Governor Spry
And a life was his to hold
On the last appeal fell a governor's tear
May the lord have mercy on your soul, Joe Hill
Now President Wilson held up the day
But even he would fail
For nobody heard the soul-searching words
Of the man in the Salt Lake City jail
Now for 36 years he lived out his days
And he more than played his part
For his songs that he made, he was carefully paid
By a rifle bullet buried in his heart
Yes, they lined Joe Hill up against the wall
A blindfold o’er his eyes
It's the life of a rebel that I chose to live
It's the death life of a rebel that I died
In his time in the cell he wrote to his friends
And his wishes they were plain
My body can't be found on this Utah ground
So they laid him on a fast departing train
And the rebel rode to Chicago town,
There were thirty thousand people to mourn
And just about the time that Joe lay dying
A legend was just a-being born
(Now some say Joe was guilty as charged,
Some say he wasn't even there
And I guess nobody will ever know
Cause the court records all have disappeared)
Now, wherever you go in this fair land
In every Union hall
In the dusty dark these words are marked
In between all the cracks upon the wall
It's the very last lines that Joe Hill wrote
When he knew his days were through
Boys, this is my last and final wish
Good luck to all of you, good luck to all of you.
Στο βίντεο βλέπουμε χαραγμένη σε τοίχο μια στροφή από το τραγούδι που έγραψε ο Τζο Χιλ στη φυλακή:
Workers of the world, awaken!
Rise in all your splendid might;
Take the wealth that you are making,
It belongs to you by right.
Στο τέλος, διαβάζουμε τις πληροφορίες: After the funeral, Joe’s body was cremated. His ashes were sent to IWW activists across the country. His ashes were scattered in every state of the Union, except for Utah.
Ο Τζο Χιλ είχε γράψει σ’ έναν φίλο του από τη φυλακή:
Goodbye, Bill: I die like a true rebel. Don't waste any time mourning—organize! It is a hundred miles from here to Wyoming. Could you arrange to have my body hauled to the state line to be buried? I don't want to be found dead in Utah.
Είμαι βέβαιος ότι θα έρθει ο κολλητός μου να προσθέσει την Μπαλάντα του Τζο Χιλ από την Μπαέζ. Οπότε ας έρθω στον ιδιωματισμό. Πολλά από τα εργατικά τραγούδια εκείνης της εποχής ήταν παρωδίες θρησκευτικών ύμνων, από εκείνους που τραγουδούσαν τα μέλη του Στρατού της Σωτηρίας. Έτσι και το τραγούδι The Preacher and the Slave που έγραψε ο Τζο Χιλ βασίστηκε στον χριστιανικό ύμνο In the Sweet By and By. Στο ρεφρέν των στίχων του Χιλ διαβάζουμε τη φράση «You'll get pie in the sky when you die».
Long-haired preachers come out every night,
Try to tell you what's wrong and what's right;
But when asked about something to eat
They will answer in voices so sweet
You will eat, bye and bye,
In that glorious land above the sky;
Work and pray, live on hay,
You'll get pie in the sky when you die
And the Starvation Army they play,
And they sing and they clap and they pray,
Till they get all your coins on the drum,
Then they tell you when you're on the bum
Holy Rollers and Jumpers come out
And they’ll holler, they’ll jump and they’ll shout
Give your money to Jesus, they say,
He will cure all diseases today
If you fight hard for children and wife
Try to get something good from this life
You're a sinner and bad man, they tell,
When you die you will sure go to hell.
Working men of all countries, unite
Side by side we for freedom will fight
When the world and its wealth we have gained
To the grafters we'll sing this refrain
You will eat, bye and bye,
When you've learned how to cook and how to fry;
Chop some wood, 'twill do you good
Then you'll eat in the sweet bye and bye.
Try to tell you what's wrong and what's right;
But when asked about something to eat
They will answer in voices so sweet
You will eat, bye and bye,
In that glorious land above the sky;
Work and pray, live on hay,
You'll get pie in the sky when you die
And the Starvation Army they play,
And they sing and they clap and they pray,
Till they get all your coins on the drum,
Then they tell you when you're on the bum
Holy Rollers and Jumpers come out
And they’ll holler, they’ll jump and they’ll shout
Give your money to Jesus, they say,
He will cure all diseases today
If you fight hard for children and wife
Try to get something good from this life
You're a sinner and bad man, they tell,
When you die you will sure go to hell.
Working men of all countries, unite
Side by side we for freedom will fight
When the world and its wealth we have gained
To the grafters we'll sing this refrain
You will eat, bye and bye,
When you've learned how to cook and how to fry;
Chop some wood, 'twill do you good
Then you'll eat in the sweet bye and bye.
Διαδικτυογραφία
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Joe_Hill
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/IWW
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Preacher_and_the_Slave
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/In_the_Sweet_By_and_By
http://www.poprocknews.gr/3,86,0,0.aspx
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Little_Red_Songbook
