Victor Jara

[Deniz Gezmis]

http://membres.lycos.fr/meretp/victor/victor.gif

http://www.msu.edu/~chapmanb/jara/evida.html

[andresG]

I really like his song "Poema 15," which is a Pablo Neruda poem from 20 poemas de amor y una cancion desesperada.


Me gustas cuando callas porque estás como ausente,

y me oyes desde lejos, y mi voz no te toca...

[peaccenicked]

I have posted this before. I cried when I first heard the words.

Victor Jara Of Chile
(Arlo Guthrie / A. Mitchell)

Victor Jara of Chile, he lived like a shooting star
He fought for the people of Chile with his songs and his guitar
And 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 plough and he watched the earth unfold
And his hands were gentle, his hands were strong

When the neighbours had a wedding or one of the children died
His mother sang all night for them with Victor by her side
And his hands were gentle, his hands were strong

He grew to be a fighter against the people's wrongs
He listened to their grief and joy and he turned them into songs
And his hands were gentle, his hands were strong

He sang about the copper miners and those who worked the land
He sang for the factory workers, they knew he was their man
And his hands were gentle, his hands were strong

He campaigned for Allende, working night and day
He sang, Take hold of your brother's hand, the future begins today
And his hands were gentle, his hands were strong

The bloody generals seized Chile, they arrested Victor then
They caged him in a stadium with five thousand frightened men
And his hands were gentle, his hands were strong

Victor stood in the stadium, his voice was brave and strong
He sang for his fellow prisoners until the guards cut short his song
And his hands were gentle, his hands were strong

They broke the bones in both his hands, they beat his lovely head
They tore him with electric shocks, after two long days of torture they shot him dead
And his hands were gentle, his hands were strong

Now the generals rule Chile, and the British have their thanks
For they rule with Hawker hunters, and they rule with Chieftain tanks
And his hands were gentle, his hands were strong

Repeat 1

As sung by Dick Gaughan

[Dr. Rosenpenis]

Beautiful
I really want to hear this man's music now, as well as the guy who wrote the song about him.

[dopediana]

my dad might have some victor jara lying around. i think victor exemplifies what humanism and courage is all about. i love hearing about when everyone was imprisoned and being tortured, victor was there with his guitar singing to them. that's just so beautiful and poetic in itself that i've got little tears in my eyes right now. another reason i strongly recommend the clash album "sandinista" because it has that song "washington bullets" where they do a recap of all northamerican atrocities in south america and they mention victor jara. that was probably the first time i heard of victor jara and i was thinking "who's that guy?" so i googled for him.