"We turn away to face the cold, enduring chill, As the day begs the night for mercy love...."

2008 marks the 35th anniversary of the death of Victor Jara. They just re-opened his murder case and the courts appear to be willing to listen to new evidence.

I'm not sure when I first learned about Jara but his story stirs emotions in me I am unable to find words for. He was a popular folk singer who poltically supported Allende in Chile. After Pinochet took control in 1973 Jara was captured, his hands were injured (cut, crushed, broken, burned, even severed...the reports are not clear) and then he was forced to play his guitar by the military. He sang. He played with broken hands and sang to his captors. He sang his popular songs of freedom through his torture and was killed for it.

Bono wrote about Jara on a song called One Tree Hill....arguably my favorite song off of Joshua Tree. The song itself is dedicated to another man, Gregg Carroll, a close friend of the band, who was killed running an errand for Bono. Bono wrote the lyrics at at One Tree Hill in New Zealand where Carroll was later buried. I am often amazed at the source or meaning of the lyrics Bono writes and how they carry such emotion; love, loss, grief and the power of song.

Bono sings:

"And in the world a heart of darkness

A fire zone

Where poets speak their heart

Then bleed for it

Jara sang, his song a weapon

In the hands of love

You know his blood still cries

From the ground

It runs like a river runs to the sea

It runs like a river to the sea"

I understand why Bono was so moved by his story. I hope Jara's family finds justice.

"The cultural invasion is like a leafy tree which prevents us from seeing our own sun, sky and stars. Therefore in order to be able to see the sky above our heads, our task is to cut this tree off at the roots. US imperialism understands very well the magic of communication through music and persists in filling our young people with all sorts of commercial tripe.

With professional expertise they have taken certain measures: first, the commercialization of the so-called ‘protest music’; second, the creation of ‘idols’ of protest music who obey the same rules and suffer from the same constraints as the other idols of the consumer music industry – they last a little while and then disappear. Meanwhile they are useful in neutralizing the innate spirit of rebellion of young people. The term ‘protest song’ is no longer valid because it is ambiguous and has been misused. I prefer the term ‘revolutionary song’" ~Victor Jara

Song Du Jour: One Tree Hill by U2