HOGESCHOOL ANTWERPEN HOGER INSTITUUT VOOR VERTALERS EN TOLKEN

HOGESCHOOL ANTWERPEN HOGER INSTITUUT VOOR VERTALERS EN TOLKEN

An annotated Dutch translation of the Stay Human album lyrics by Michael Franti & Spearhead, with an introduction to American protest songs from the 1960s. Tine Jagers

Licenciaatsverhandeling ingediend ter verkrijging van de graad van LICENCIAAT VERTALER Promotor: Prof. Dr. A. Remael Academiejaar: 2004-2005

Acknowledgement First of all, I would like to thank Prof. Dr. Aline Remael for letting me choose the topic I really wanted to do. This was really important to me and stimulated me a lot in making this thesis. I also want to thank her for her advice on the introduction of my thesis and for finding an answer to all kinds of questions.

Secondly, I would like to thank Rik Seniow for helping me out with American slang words I could not easily find and for giving me some hints concerning rhythm and rhyme, Dustin Benner for explaining biblical references or typical American expressions, and my fellow students for helping me out whenever necessary.

I would like to send out special thanks to my family for supporting me at all times, for supporting me in the choices I make and for stimulating me to believe in my own creativity. I could not possibly thank them enough.

Last, but not least, I would like to thank Jelle Boets for supporting me throughout this last year and all the previous years of my study, for now and then taking me away from my school work and stuffy room with its ever humming computer, for strengthening my interest and passion for music even more and for realizing the recordings of the Dutch version of the Spearhead song Oh My God. In addition to this, I would like to thank the musicians that contributed to these recordings: Jelle Boets (recordings & guitar), Jeroen Van Esbroeck (recordings, synths & keys), Phillippo Fierens (lead vocal), Cathy Van Houcke (backing vocals), Marc Pesic (bass), Wim Vander Westen (drums) and Bruno Truyens (conga drums).

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Table of Contents I. INTRODUCTION ................................................................................................................... 7 1. What exactly does the term protest song mean? ............................................................. 8 1.1 Music genre ............................................................................................................... 8 1.2. Culture & time ......................................................................................................... 9 1.3. The topics of protest songs ...................................................................................... 9 2. Some famous Protest songs .......................................................................................... 11 2.1. 60s’ - Bob Dylan – Masters of War (1963) ........................................................... 11 2.2. 70s’ - Stevie Wonder – Living for the City (1973)................................................ 14 2.3. 80s’ – U2 – Sunday Bloody Sunday (1983) .......................................................... 16 2.4. 90s’ – Tracy Chapman – Fast Car (1988) .............................................................. 19 3. Protest songs today ....................................................................................................... 21 4. Do protest songs have any effect at all?........................................................................ 24 5. Michael Franti & Spearhead ......................................................................................... 26 5.1. Protest songs? ........................................................................................................ 26 5.2. About Michael Franti ............................................................................................. 26 6. Conclusion .................................................................................................................... 29 II. TRANSLATIONS................................................................................................................ 32 The album begins… ...................................................................................................... 32 Het album begint… ....................................................................................................... 34 Quotes ........................................................................................................................... 36 Citaten ........................................................................................................................... 39 Oh My God ................................................................................................................... 42 Oh God .......................................................................................................................... 44 Track 2 ...................................................................................................................... 46 Track 2 ...................................................................................................................... 47 Stay Human ................................................................................................................... 48 Blijf Menselijk .............................................................................................................. 50 Track 4 ...................................................................................................................... 52 Track 4 ...................................................................................................................... 53 Rock The Nation ........................................................................................................... 54

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Beweeg De Natie .......................................................................................................... 57 Sometimes ..................................................................................................................... 60 Heel Soms ..................................................................................................................... 62 Track 7 ...................................................................................................................... 64 Track 7 ...................................................................................................................... 65 Do Ya Love ................................................................................................................... 66 Of Je Lief Hebt ............................................................................................................. 68 Track 9 ...................................................................................................................... 70 Track 9 ...................................................................................................................... 71 Soulshine ....................................................................................................................... 72 Zieleschijn ..................................................................................................................... 73 Every Single Soul ......................................................................................................... 74 Ieder’ Andere Ziel ......................................................................................................... 76 Track 12 .................................................................................................................... 78 Track 12 .................................................................................................................... 79 Love ’ll Set Me Free ..................................................................................................... 80 Liefde Zal Me Bevrijden ............................................................................................... 81 Thank You .................................................................................................................... 82 Dank Je ......................................................................................................................... 83 Track 15 .................................................................................................................... 84 Track 15 .................................................................................................................... 85 We Don’t Mind ............................................................................................................. 86 ’t Maakt Ons Niet Uit ................................................................................................... 88 Track 17 .................................................................................................................... 90 Track 17 .................................................................................................................... 91 Speaking Of Tongues .................................................................................................... 92 Geen Gespleten Tongen ................................................................................................ 95 Track 19 .................................................................................................................... 98 Track 19 .................................................................................................................... 99 Listener Supported ...................................................................................................... 100 Gesteund Door Jullie .................................................................................................. 101

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Track 21 .................................................................................................................. 102 Track 21 .................................................................................................................. 103 Skin On The Drum ...................................................................................................... 104 Het Vel op de Drum .................................................................................................... 106 III. TRANSLATION COMMENTS ....................................................................................... 108 A. Song translation in general ............................................................................................. 108 1. Introduction ................................................................................................................. 108 2. The balance between content, rhythm & rhyme ......................................................... 110 2.1. Content ................................................................................................................. 110 2.2. Rhythm................................................................................................................. 110 2.3. Rhyme .................................................................................................................. 111 3. Culture bound concepts or terms ................................................................................ 111 4. Translation of popular songs in Belgium & the Netherlands ..................................... 112 4.1. Belgium ................................................................................................................ 112 4.2. The Netherlands ................................................................................................... 112 4.3. Comparison of Song translation .............................................................................. 113 4.3.1. Translation by a translator ........................................................................ 113 4.3.2. Translation by a musician ......................................................................... 114 4.3.3. Conclusion ................................................................................................ 115 4.3.4. Song lyrics ................................................................................................ 116 B. Translation Comments – Spearhead lyrics ..................................................................... 119 1. Radio Segments .......................................................................................................... 119 1.1. Problematic concepts or terms in the source text................................................. 119 1.2. The use of slang ................................................................................................... 120 2. Quotes ......................................................................................................................... 120 2.1 Problematic concepts or terms in the source text ................................................. 120 3. The lyrics .................................................................................................................... 122 3.1. Oh My God .......................................................................................................... 122 3.1.1

Problematic concepts or terms in the source text.................................... 122

3.1.2 Culture-bound concepts or terms ....................................................................... 123 3.2 Stay Human ........................................................................................................... 124

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3.2.1


3.2.2 Culture-bound concepts or terms ............................................................... 125 3.3. Rock the Nation ................................................................................................... 127 3.3.1


3.3.2 Culture-bound concepts or terms ............................................................... 128 3.4. Sometimes ............................................................................................................ 129 3.4.1


3.5. Do Ya Love .......................................................................................................... 130 3.5.1


3.6. Soulshine .............................................................................................................. 130 3.6.1


3.7. Every Single Soul ................................................................................................ 131 3.7.1


3.7.2 Culture-bound concepts or terms ............................................................... 131 3.8. Love‘ll Set Me Free ............................................................................................. 132 3.8.1


3.9. Thank You ........................................................................................................... 133 3.9.1


3.10. We Don’t Mind .................................................................................................. 133 3.10.1 Problematic concepts or terms in the source text..................................... 133 3.11. Speaking Of Tongues......................................................................................... 134 3.11.1 Problematic concepts or terms in the source text..................................... 134 3.11.2 Culture-bound concepts or terms ............................................................. 135 3.12. Listener Supported ............................................................................................. 136 3.12.1 Problematic concepts or terms in the source text..................................... 136 3.12.2 Culture-bound concepts or terms ............................................................. 137 3.13. Skin on the Drum ............................................................................................... 138 3.13.1 Problematic concepts or terms in the source text..................................... 138 Works Cited .................................................................................................................... 140 Articles and websites .............................................................................................. 140 Dictionaries and encyclopaedias ............................................................................. 147

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I. INTRODUCTION In this introduction I would like to provide the reader with a general overview of the phenomenon of Anglo-Saxon protest songs. First of all I will try to explain what exactly the term ‘protest song’ means, as it can cover a lot of different genres. I will say something about the musical genre these songs are bound to, investigate whether or not they are culture and time bound, and discuss some of the topics that they frequently explore. Secondly, I will briefly discuss some famous protest songs. For each decennium I chose one famous song, starting from the sixties. I have tried to choose four different types of artists, playing a different kind of music and singing about different topics. I deliberately opted for two white artists and two black ones, of which one is a woman, in order to give the reader a broader view on the variety there is in protest songs. Thirdly, I will look at the minimal popularity of protest songs today. How come we do not hear a lot of them? Are most artists afraid to make a stand? And do protest songs have any effect at all? These are all questions I will try to find an answer to in this chapter. To conclude, I will situate the lyrics I have translated for my thesis, i.e. the lyrics of the Stay Human album, released by the band Michael Franti & Spearhead. In this section I will explain why these songs can be considered as protest songs and then I give some background information about Michael Franti. The focus will be on his noble aim to reach as many people as possible with his critical view on the world and to make them aware.

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1. What exactly does the term protest song mean? It is difficult to define the concept of the protest song exhaustively. These songs are not bound to a certain genre of music, nor to a certain culture, time or topic. One view is that “Protest songs grow out of almost any controversial situation, and they can be found around the world”. Still, there must be more to them than that1.

1.1 Music genre People often tend to connect the term protest song with folk music or other more traditional music genres. In a way this makes sense, as famous protest singers like Joan Baez were part of the folk and country scene, at least in their early days. However, each music genre has its own protest songs. In pop music there is the socalled ‘Godfather’ of the protest song Bob Dylan, with famous protest songs as Blowin’ in the Wind (1962) and Masters of War (1963). In rock music there is Bruce Springsteen with Born in the USA (1984). In punk music there are the Sex Pistols with Anarchy in the UK (1977), in reggae there is Bob Marley with the famous Redemption Song (1980), in soul music there is Edwin Starr with war (1970), in funk music there is James Brown with Say it loud, I’m black and I’m proud (1969), in jazz there is Billy Holliday with Strange Fruit (1940), in hip hop there is Public Enemy with Fight the power (1990) and there are no doubt many other examples. Obviously, the protest song affects all music genres. However, it seems as though today rap and hip hop have some sort of monopoly on protest songs, as the only protest songs you might by any chance hear, come mainly from (black) rap artists, with a few exceptions in pop and rock music. The famous rapper Eminem is probably one of the most well-known examples nowadays. His lyrics protest against the war in Iraq, against racism and other social issues. Another famous example is the British Ms. Dynamite. She regularly performs on charity concerts highlighting for instance the problem of Aids2.

1 2

http://www.sbgmusic.com/html/teacher/reference/historical/freedom.html http://www.pienternet.be/archief/nieuwsbrief/december2003.html http://www.msdynamite.co.uk/

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1.2. Culture & time Protest songs are also a worldwide phenomenon. In each culture people use singing to express their feelings, which include happy feelings as well as feelings they have to suppress due to political and social circumstances. Therefore, in my opinion, protest songs should not consider to be culture-bound. Neither are they timebound. Although many people believe that protest songs came into existence in the sixties, they have been around for much longer. The freedom songs of African American slaves before the Civil war can be considered as protest songs and there are many other historical examples. All the sixties did was put the protest song in the footlights3. 1.3. The topics of protest songs Protest songs emanate from “controversial situations” in society. A lot of them are considered to be anti-war songs: against the two world wars, the Vietnam War, the Cold War, the Gulf War, etc. War is always waged at the cost of numerous innocent people and therefore always provokes protest. Political and social issues form another important topic. On http://www.fact-index.com/p/pr/protest_song.html, a website created by Wikipedia that provides a free online encyclopedia, one can find all kinds of songs dealing with these kinds of topics. Among them: protest songs concerning nuclear weapons, feminism, imperialism, materialism, poverty, racism, television, the war on drugs, the persecution of homosexuals, etc4.

As I see it, topics of protest songs are in a way culture-bound. People sing about matters that concern them, about the things that surround them. However, at the same time, most topics seem to be universal. The war in Iraq, for instance, provokes protest all over the world and musicians from everywhere find inspiration in the topic.

3 4

http://www.sbgmusic.com/html/teacher/reference/historical/freedom.html http://www.pienternet.be/archief/nieuwsbrief/december2003.html

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Clearly, the meaning of the term protest song is quite extended and covers a lot of different features. It is an age-old phenomenon and it will never cease to exist. I guess that where people live together there will always be conflict situations and because of this one could say that there will always be innumerable rewarding topics to sing about. The protest song is here to stay.

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2. Some famous Protest songs 2.1. 60s’ - Bob Dylan – Masters of War (1963)

Come you masters of war You that build all the guns You that build the death planes You that build the big bombs You that hide behind walls You that hide behind desks I just want you to know I can see through your masks

You've thrown the worst fear That can ever be hurled Fear to bring children Into the world For threatening my baby Unborn and unnamed You ain't worth the blood That runs in your veins

You that never done nothin' But build to destroy You play with my world Like it's your little toy You put a gun in my hand And you hide from my eyes And you turn and run farther When the fast bullets fly

How much do I know To talk out of turn You might say that I'm young You might say I'm unlearned But there's one thing I know Though I'm younger than you Even Jesus would never Forgive what you do

Like Judas of old You lie and deceive A world war can be won You want me to believe But I see through your eyes And I see through your brain Like I see through the water That runs down my drain

Let me ask you one question Is your money that good Will it buy you forgiveness Do you think that it could I think you will find When your death takes its toll All the money you made Will never buy back your soul

You fasten the triggers For the others to fire Then you set back and watch When the death count gets higher You hide in your mansion As young people's blood Flows out of their bodies And is buried in the mud

And I hope that you die And your death'll come soon I will follow your casket In the pale afternoon And I'll watch while you're lowered Down to your deathbed And I'll stand o'er your grave 'Til I'm sure that you're dead5

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http://bobdylan.com/songs/masters.html

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In 1963 young Bob Dylan released the album The Freewheelin’ Bob Dylan. It contained the songs Blowin’ in the Wind and Masters of War and contributed to Dylan’s worldwide success. He became the spearhead of the protest song and was linked to the 60s protest movements against war and for peace. His relationship with Joan Baez, the famous Mexican-Scottish protest singer who was a well-known member of these protest movements, only strengthened this link. However, Dylan himself was not all too keen on his reputation as folk-singer of the protest movement. He therefore released new work with fewer political statements and it turned out that not all fans were that satisfied with the change. The folk music of his early years changed as well and Dylan now became a pop icon. I assume that Dylan only wanted to make a statement with his first songs, wanted to give his opinion on the situation in the world back then. He never intended to become some sort of ‘protest guru’ and did not want to live up to this image people had created for him6. The song Masters of War was written in 1963. The lyrics protest against war in general and refer to the World wars in specific (A world war can be won you want me to believe). At the time the Vietnam War provoked a lot of protest and this was no doubt a source of inspiration for this song as well. Many American soldiers were sent out to Vietnam to fight against the “threatening” influences of communism and a great number of them never came back. All over the world protest movements were crying out for peace and were protesting heavily against the chemical warfare the Americans used in Vietnam and the degrading way prisoners were treated. After years of innumerable losses and bloodshed the war finally came to an end in 1973. Vietnam was a destroyed country and the Americans lost their war as well as thousands of soldiers7. The song protests mainly against politicians not hesitating to send thousands of people into war for their own benefit. The human cost of a war does not seem to matter to them, as long as they or their own families are not affected.

6 7

http://www.thebiographychannel.co.uk/new_site/biography.php?id=285&showgroup= Encarta Encyclopedie, Basiseditie, Winkler Prins.

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In my opinion this is still how war works. In the documentary Fahrenheit 9/11 (2004) director Michael Moore invites various politicians to send their own sons and daughters to Iraq.

Of the songs I discuss in this chapter only Bob Dylan’s has been translated into Dutch by a Flemish singer, Willem Vermandere, as “Oorlogsgeleerden” (1997). There is no translation of Stevie Wonder’s song and the other two songs have a literal translation on the Nedtlyrics.nl website. This site provides literal translations allowing fans to understand the songs, but they are not written to be sung. However, issues related to the translation of songs will be dealt with in greater detail in the comments on my own translation8.

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http://home.planet.nl/~elder180/strijdlied/oorlogsgeleerden.htm

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2.2. 70s’ - Stevie Wonder – Living for the City (1973) A boy is born in hard time Mississippi Surrounded by four walls that ain't so pretty His parents give him love and affection To keep him strong moving in the right direction Living just enough, just enough for the city...ee ha! His father works some days for fourteen hours And you can bet he barely makes a dollar His mother goes to scrub the floor for many And you'd best believe she hardly gets a penny Living just enough, just enough for the city...yeah His sister's black but she is sho 'nuff pretty Her skirt is short but Lord her legs are sturdy To walk to school she's got to get up early Her clothes are old but never are they dirty Living just enough, just enough for the city...um hum Her brother's smart he's got more sense than many His patience's long but soon he won't have any To find a job is like a haystack needle Cause where he lives they don't use colored people

Living just enough, just enough for the city... Living just enough... For the city...ooh, ooh [repeat several times] His hair is long, his feet are hard and gritty He spends his love walking the streets of New York City He's almost dead from breathing on air pollution He tried to vote but to him there's no solution Living just enough, just enough for the city...yeah, yeah, yeah! I hope you hear inside my voice of sorrow And that it motivates you to make a better tomorrow This place is cruel no where could be much colder If we don't change the world will soon be over Living just enough, just enough for the city!!!! La, la, la, la, la, la, Da Ba Da Da Da Da Da Da Da Da Da Da Da Da Da Ba Da Da Da Da Da Da Da [Repeat to end]9

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http://steviewonder.free.fr/html/frameset_songs. html

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Stevie Wonder started his career at a very young age. He was a child prodigy, who played the piano and the harmonica, scoring his first n°1 hit at the age of 12. In the seventies, as a young man, he became an icon in R&B and popular music, rivalled only by Marvin Gaye. He blended soul, funk, jazz, reggae, rock’n roll and African elements. It is often said that without Stevie Wonder there would have been no Michael Jackson and no Prince. Although the blind singer is known for his joyous positivism, he does not merely addresses romantic topics in his lyrics, but racial, social and spiritual issues as well. He received a lot of support from the black community during his career for bringing up the problem of racial inequalities10. The song Living for the City was written in 1973 and became a number one hit in the R&B charts. The lyrics protest against the social status of black people in America: most black people at the time were poor, lived in bad conditions (Surrounded by four walls that ain't so pretty), tried to keep their children on the right track, worked hard for little money (He barely makes a dollar, she hardly gets a penny) or were unemployed because of their colour (they don't use colored people). They had hardly any rights (He tried to vote but to him there's no solution) and lived in run-down neighbourhoods. All these issues are taken up by the song. In the concluding stanza Wonder wants to encourage people to take note of all these inequalities in society and to do something about them. When Wonder wrote the song Living for the city in 1973, Martin Luther King and many others had already tried to give the black community a voice. They had already tried to get rid of the segregation laws that divided black citizens from the ‘superior’ white ones. And although their actions opened up the way to equality for blacks and whites, the social conflict and inequality are still a reality today. One can only hope that a protest song such as Living for the City gives people hope and encourages them to continue the peaceful struggle11.

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http://www.tiscali.co.uk/music/biography/stevie_wonder_biography.html http://www.vh1.com/artists/az/wonder_stevie/bio.jhtml http://steviewonder.free.fr/

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2.3. 80s’ – U2 – Sunday Bloody Sunday (1983)

I can't believe the news today I can't close my eyes and make it go away. How long, how long must we sing this song? How long, how long? 'Cos tonight We can be as one, tonight.

How long, how long must we sing this song? How long, how long? 'Cos tonight We can be as one, tonight. Sunday, bloody Sunday. Sunday, bloody Sunday.

Broken bottles under children's feet Bodies strewn across the dead-end street. But I won't heed the battle call It puts my back up, puts my back up against the wall.

Wipe the tears from your eyes Wipe your tears away. I'll wipe your tears away. I'll wipe your tears away. I'll wipe your bloodshot eyes. Sunday, bloody Sunday. Sunday, bloody Sunday.

Sunday, Sunday, Sunday, Sunday, Oh, let's

And it's true we are immune When fact is fiction and TV reality. And today the millions cry We eat and drink while tomorrow they die.

bloody bloody bloody bloody go.

Sunday. Sunday. Sunday. Sunday.

And the battle's just begun There's many lost, but tell me who has won? The trenches dug within our hearts And mothers, children, brothers, sisters Torn apart.

The real battle just begun To claim the victory Jesus won On... Sunday, bloody Sunday Sunday, bloody Sunday12.

Sunday, bloody Sunday. Sunday, bloody Sunday.

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http://www.u2.com/music/lyrics.php?song=23&li st=s

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Although it is not an American band, U2 is probably one of the most famous rock bands of our times and therefore worth mentioning. The Irish band was founded in 1978 when all the members were still at high school. It is said that they were a band before they could actually play. In 1983 the band broke through with the album War. More albums followed and they worked themselves up to become one of the best-selling bands in the world. Furthermore, the band is known for their politically tinted lyrics. They write about what is going on in the world and more specifically about the Irish situation. They are Catholics themselves. The singer of the band, Bono, is known as a real advocate of freedom and peace. He has met most of the world’s political heavyweights and has tried to encourage many artists and activists to take a stand on all kinds of social and political issues. U2 has done a lot of charity concerts as well, e.g. Live Aid (1985) and the Conspiracy of Hope tour to support Amnesty International (1986). The band is aware of the political influence music can have on society and therefore want to make use of this influence13. Music can be more. Its possibilities are great. Music has changed me. It has the ability to change a generation. Look at what happened with Vietnam. Music changed a whole generation’s attitude towards war14. Bono – U2 The song Sunday Bloody Sunday was released in 1983. It refers to January 30 1972, also known as Bloody Sunday, when soldiers from the British Army opened fire on unarmed and peaceful demonstrators in the Bogside, Derry, Ireland. 13 People were killed and many others injured. The British authorities defended themselves by claiming the march was illegal and therefore the soldiers were found not guilty. The Irish were shocked. As we all know, the “Troubles”, as the conflict in Northern Ireland came to be known in Britain, did not end with Bloody Sunday. Many attacks followed and up to this very day people are getting killed because of the protestant–catholic conflict situation.

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http://www.sing365.com/music/lyric.nsf/U2-Biography/305B87FB8A2812FD482568960029CCED http://www.atu2.com/band/bono/ 14 http://www.u2.com/music/index.php?album_id=4&type=lp

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Only recently Robert McCartney, a catholic father of two children, was brutally murdered outside a bar by IRA terrorists. Around 70 people must have been in that bar at the time, but none of them wanted to come forward as a witness. His five sisters and his fiancée, known worldwide as the McCartney sisters by now, dared to speak up and insisted that those who knew anything more should come forward. They openly questioned the IRA and its intentions nowadays and were even invited by president Bush at the White House for St Patrick’s Day, instead of Gerry Adams, president of Sinn Fein (the political arm of the IRA). Many Irish now believe that the armed struggle for Irish unity by IRA members has been replaced by some criminal gangs murdering people, even their own people, in the name of the IRA. How long, how long must we sing this song? Bono asks himself in the song. Sadly enough, for the Irish it seems to be a song without an end15.

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http://larkspirit.com/bloodysunday/ http://www.u2.com/ http://www.timesonline.co.uk/article/0,,2-1527801,00.html http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2005/03/16/eveningnews/main681058.shtml

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2.4. 90s’ – Tracy Chapman – Fast Car (1988) You got a fast car I want a ticket to anywhere Maybe we make a deal Maybe together we can get somewhere Any place is better Starting from zero got nothing to lose Maybe we'll make something Me, myself, I got nothing to prove You got a fast car I got a plan to get us out of here Been working at the convenience store Managed to save just a little bit of money Won't have to drive too far Just 'cross the border and into the city You and I can both get jobs And finally see what it means to be living You see my old man's got a problem He live with the bottle, that's the way it is He says his body's too old for working His body's too young to look like his My mama went off and left him She wanted more from life than he could give I said "somebody's got to take care of him" So I quit school and that's what I did You got a fast car Is it fast enough so we can fly away? We gotta make a decision Leave tonight or live and die this way I remember we were driving, driving in your car Speed so fast I felt like I was drunk City lights lay out before us And your arm felt nice wrapped 'round my shoulder And I had a feeling that I belonged And I had a feeling I could be someone, be someone, be someone

And I work in a market as a checkout girl I know things will get better You'll find work and I'll get promoted We'll move out of the shelter Buy a bigger house and live in the suburbs 'Cause I remember we were driving, driving in your car Speed so fast I felt like I was drunk City lights lay out before us And your arm felt nice wrapped 'round my shoulder And I had a feeling that I belonged I had a feeling I could be someone, be someone, be someone You got a fast car And I got a job that pays all our bills You stay out drinking late at the bar See more of your friends than you do of your kids I'd always hoped for better Thought maybe together you and me would find it We got no plans and ain't going nowhere So take your fast car and keep on driving 'Cause I remember when we were driving, driving in your car Speed so fast I felt like I was drunk City lights lay out before us And your arm felt nice wrapped 'round my shoulder And I had a feeling that I belonged I had a feeling I could be someone, be someone, be someone You got a fast car Is it fast enough so you can fly away? You gotta make a decision Leave tonight or live and die this way16

You got a fast car We go cruising to entertain ourselves Still ain't got a job 16

http://www.about-tracychapman.net/debutalbum_lyrics.htm#fastcar

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With her multi-platinum debut album of 1988 Tracy Chapman

re-introduced

the

political singer-songwriter

genre of the 70s. The album contained Fast Car, the song that contributed to her fame. This first album was followed by many others, but they never surpassed her first success. Therefore many critics claim that Chapman has fallen into a cult status ever since. Her lyrics deal with social issues, such as poverty, racism or injustice, and they proved enormously influential on American college campuses in the late '80s. Although most of her songs treat the subject of social injustice Chapman describes herself as a hopeful cynic17, still believing in a better society. She participated, together with some other artists, in major live events like the Amnesty International’s Human Rights tour (1988) and the London’s Freedomfest honouring Nelson Mandela (1988). According to the music magazine Rolling Stone, she is “one of the most socially relevant songwriters of our time and has become one of our generation's most unique voices18” The song Fast Car was released in 1988. Initially, I wanted to choose one of Chapman’s 90s songs for discussion, but chose Fast Car instead because the song deals with poverty and the social problems of the so-called lower classes, which is a theme I have not yet dealt with.

Chapman sings about someone trying to escape her faith, trying to improve the life she is living, and more specifically her standard of living. The ‘drinking father’ in the song symbolizes the fact that many people try to escape from their lives by the use of alcohol. Another problem Chapman sings about here is young people leaving school, because their home situation in a way forces them to do so. Unemployment is a theme as well. The man in the song does not seem to find a job and starts drinking as well. The woman has to pay all the bills and look after the children.

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http://en.thinkexist.com/quotes/tracy_chapman/ http://tracychapman.by-dvb.com/biography.php http://www.mp3.com/tracy-chapman/artists/3273/biography.html http://www.about-tracy-chapman.net/biography.htm

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At some point in the song there is hope for a better life (“And I had a feeling that I belonged, and I had a feeling I could be someone”), but the female singer ends with the sentence “You gotta make a decision, Leave tonight or live and die this way”. In other words, the song appears to imply we do have a degree of choice: change the lives we lead or just accept them and die. The lyrics are very straight forward, not too complicated, but in my view, their strength resides in the fact that they are so true to life.

3. Protest songs today So what about protest songs nowadays? How come that only a handful of artists use their positions as public figures to make a stand, to give their opinion on what is going on in the world? After all, million of Americans have already marched the streets in protest against President Bush and the war in Iraq? And why do bands that do write on political and social issues usually belong to the alternative music scene? First of all, one must consider the metamorphosis of the music industry. Unlike in the 60s, music nowadays is almost exclusively the product of a capitalist society. Profit is its main motivation. An artist does not necessarily have to be talented anymore, what matters is that people buy the product. And it just happens to be so that most people like easy tunes, with simple lyrics they do not have to think about too much. This is exactly what contemporary pop culture is producing. Indeed, most popular songs now have a catchy melody and a few catchy lines, but no meaning at all. It seems as though people are not waiting for another protest song. Secondly, there is censorship. This is probably the most important reason why there are so few protest songs these days. A lot of artists are afraid their music will be banished from radio stations, which is important publicity for them. Especially smaller bands or artists who still have to work their way up to the top, cannot afford bad publicity or more limited radio time. The American band Dixie Chicks, for instance, dared to speak out against the war in Iraq and was banished from radio stations and even from entire radio networks. MTV even avoids broadcasting “any music videos depicting war, soldiers, war planes, bombs, missiles, riots and social unrest, executions and other obviously

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sensitive material”. When it comes to music, especially Clear Channel, owning 1,200 radio stations, contributes to the censorship of musicians speaking out against war and politics in general. The American Clear Channel not only has its influences in the United States but in Europe as well. Think of Belgium’s most popular rock concert Werchter, which is since a couple of years partially owned by Clear Channel. However, there are many alternative festivals as well that do make it possible for artists to express their opinion and bring protest songs to the public, but in America many of these festivals too are being dominated by censorship. At a recent concert of Ani Difranco, another politically conscience artist, Clear Channel told her that she was not aloud to give any political information and even threatened her to close down the concert when she would. Therefore only a few really famous artists like Bruce Springsteen or Bono from U2 dare to speak openly about the current situation in America19. However, let there be no mistake; there are many protest songs, only they are harder to find than the run-of-the-mill pop song, because of the censorship which pushes a lot of bands into the underground music scene. Especially in America there is strict control over which songs are aloud and which don't. A good example of such a band is Michael Franti & Spearhead. The band is confronted with censorship all the time because their music contains such an outspoken vision upon American society. That is one of the reasons why they are not too famous in America. The mother of one of the Spearhead members was even threatened by a couple of military officers claiming that her son had better moderate his statements on Bush’s policy. Such officers need to control every move the band makes, even when they only make a stand for human rights. Probably this is just mere intimidation, but it works; a lot of artists avoid speaking out on war or political issues. The idea of Freedom of Speech obviously is limited in various ways. Indeed, many protest songs might never be heard on radio stations, but there are many

19

http://www.artistsnetwork.org/artandpolitics/ap1.html Strauss, N. MTV is Wary on videos on War, New York Times, March 26, 2003. http://www.righteousbabe.com/ani/index.asp

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websites now, like for instance www.protest-records.com, where you can download free protest songs. This way the songs can be heard anyway20.

Censorship not only means people are being controlled all the time for what they say about political issues, it also implies that they get biased information through the media on the themes they might protest against. According to Tom Morello, guitarist of the band Rage Against the Machine, this no doubt has its influence on contemporary protest songs as well. One of the crucial differences between now and the late '60s and early '70s, when there was a lot of protest music reaching the top of the charts, is the access of the average American to information about what is really going on. In 1971, you were able to see firsthand TV news footage of little naked Vietnamese girls who had been burned by napalm paid for with U.S. tax dollars. You won't see the Afghanistan equivalent or the Iraq equivalent on TV today; instead, it's all this kind of sanitized, Orwellian talk of 'freedom' and 'hope' and 'desert flowers blooming21 (Tom Morello)

In America the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) is responsible for this kind of censorship. The organization decides on what people can see, read and hear on television, radio stations and in newspapers. The FCC determines what is important for the American public to know and even hides information whenever it might cause damage to the American dream, which means they hide certain negative information about America. Tom Morello’s example of national television never showing any images of the destruction, human and material, the American army caused in Afghanistan and now in Iraq, illustrates this perfectly well. Michael Franti too notices this difference and states in an interview with the collage foundation (an organization that wants to make young people aware) “During the Vietnam War, you saw pictures of kids screaming and homes being burned; we haven't seen an image of one body on TV. An Amnesty International report says there's between 7,000 and 9,000 civilians who've died in Iraq. We've had over 500 Americans and god knows how many Iraqi soldiers killed and we haven't seen one of

20

Van Dyck, P. Michael Franti. Focus Knack, 20 Aug. 2003. http://www.artistsnetwork.org/artandpolitics/ap1.html http://www.protest-records.com 21 http://www.geocities.com/morellofiend/ http://www.laweekly.com/ink/03/13/music-epstein.php

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them.” People do not seem to have such a clear idea about the real effects of the current war, whereas in the sixties they could not avoid the images and information the media provided. It seems as though they should not be allowed to think about what exactly is going on in the world. To sum up, political commitment among artists is not a phenomenon bound to the sixties at all. Artists nowadays just appear to be more restricted by control and censorship than in the sixties22.

4. Do protest songs have any effect at all? Apparently, they do. In times of war and misery, no matter in which country or continent one lives in, people always fall back on music. It gives them the strength to go on in spite of all trouble they have been through and have to go through still. In an article on protest songs in the magazine LA Weekly the importance of music is described as follows: “People turn to music for solace, for the strength to face down our demons and for proof that we’re not alone in the universe.” The description makes sense. In times of misery people indeed try to find companions in distress. Protest songs assure them that they are not alone, that many people feel the way they do, and in this they find solace23.

The political effect of a protest song on the other hand, is hard to prove. However, there are many examples of protest songs that did accelerate the process of political or social change. In the article “Songs about war: what are they good for”, published in the Sunday Herald they give two significant examples of such songs24:

The campaign to make Martin Luther King Jr’s birthday into a national holiday was going nowhere until Stevie Wonder wrote the song ‘Happy Birthday’ and included it on his 1980 album ‘Hotter than July’. In 1982 he addressed a crowd of 50,000 which had assembled to celebrate the birthday. Four years later it was a fact25.

22

http://www.fcc.gov/aboutus.html http://www.collagefoundation.org/people/people-mfranti.html 23 http://www.laweekly.com/ink/03/13/music-epstein.php 24 http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/2788263.stm http://www.sundayherald.com/45243, 04 April 2005 25

http://www.sundayherald.com/45243

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Special AKA’s 1984 hit ‘Nelson Mandela’ reminded the world that Mandela had been in a South African jail since 1962 and helped raise the profile of the international struggle against apartheid. Its chorus – “Free-eee Nelson Mandela!” – became the rallying cry of the anti-apartheid movement and on June 11, 1988, 72,000 people assembled at Wembley stadium for a 70th birthday concert that was televised in 63 countries across the globe. Two years later, Mandela was out and facing the world’s press at the gates of his former prison. There’s no doubt that music helped get him there26.

26

http://www.sundayherald.com/45243, 04 April 2005

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5. Michael Franti & Spearhead 5.1. Protest songs? For my thesis I translated the lyrics of the Michael Franti & Spearhead album Stay Human. The music genre is a mixture of reggae, rap, funk and soul. The album deals with the topic of the death penalty in the USA and the fact that innocent (black) people often become the victims of the judicial system. Michael Franti & Spearhead want to protest against this by giving the listener a critical view on how the system works. The album not only contains lyrics, but there is an introduction to the album as well and some quotes by various artists giving their opinion on the death penalty. Furthermore, there are some radio fragments in between the songs dealing with the fictitious case of Sister Fatima, an innocent black woman in death row. I translated the introduction, quotes and radio fragments as well. Clearly, the entire album can be considered as a statement against the death penalty system in America, against racism and against injustice in general. With his powerful and poetical lyrics Michael Franti tries to make the listeners aware and tries to warn them for the often biased and deceiving information that the media provide. He wants to make people think critically and act, rather than keep their voices down and to go with the flow. All the same, not all Franti’s songs deal with political topics. Michael Franti also sings about love, about the little but valuable things in life and about life in general. 5.2. About Michael Franti Michael Franti was born in Oakland, California to a single mother of Irish, German and French descent and an African-American and Seminole Indian father. He was given up for adoption at his birth, because his mother thought her family would never accept a black child. During his youth he felt like an outsider in his adoption family and that is where his political interests grew. “I’ve always grown up writing songs and connected politically with people seen as the outsiders,” is how Franti explains this27.

27

http://ukhh.com/features/interviews/michael_franti/index2.html http://www.collagefoundation.org/people/people-mfranti.html

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His career started in 1986 in San Francisco with the band Beatnigs, which already gave a voice to social criticism in its lyrics. Franti wanted to make a statement right from the start. His second project was called The Disposable Heroes of HipHoprisy, and in 1992 the album Hypocrisy is the Greatest Luxury was released, containing lyrics dealing with subjects as diverse as gay tolerance and government corruption. The album was a great success and gave Franti a worldwide audience of listeners and fellow artists. Bono from U2, for instance, was really impressed and asked the band to join U2 on the huge Zoo TV tour (1992) which led to Franti’s final breakthrough.

In 1993 the band split up. At this point Michael Franti decided to try a different approach. He still wanted to bring up social and political issues in his lyrics but wanted to make people enjoy the music so they could dance as well. Instead of just confronting people all the time with what was going wrong in society, he wanted to make them feel good, rather than leave them with a depressed feeling. The idea manifested itself in Franti’s new band Spearhead. Their first album Home (1994) was a success. It contained the hit singles Hole in the Bucket and Positive, the first record in the rap community dealing with the subject of HIV & Aids. They toured around the world for about two years. In 1996 they released their second album Chocolate Super Highway, to which our own Belgian Marie Daulne of Zap Mama contributed. With the album the band started another world tour. In 2001 they released Stay Human, of which I translated the lyrics, and finally in 2003 they released the album Everyone Deserves Music, which protests openly against the war in Iraq.

Like some other artists Michael Franti wants to use his position as an artist to do whatever he can. In June 2004 Franti lead a delegation of peace workers, artists and film makers to Iraq and Israel on a two week journey. They wanted to see the effects of the war first-hand and tried to meet as many Iraqi musicians and artists as possible, as well as students and other youth organizations. “Through learning more about the crisis from both sides I can better serve as a voice for change and

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peace to those who only hear about the region on the nightly news”, was one of Franti’s motivations. The artist has recently made a documentary about the trip called I know I’m not alone. The documentary gives a voice to the people living with the harsh conditions of war and occupation day after day. It also shows how Franti and the group of artists were welcomed by everyone, from proud Iraqi families and youngsters, to US Occupation Forces all wanting to share their stories, hear the music and just dance28.

28

http://www.spearheadvibrations.com/index.html. http://www.slamdance.com/2005/festival/film_detail.asp?film_id=608 http://www.iknowimnotalone.com/home.htm

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6. Conclusion Although many people claim that artists nowadays do not want to commit themselves politically anymore in the way they did in the sixties, the protest song still exists, if mostly on the alternative music scene. Indeed, music lovers who care to look will find that there are a lot of beautifully written songs out there, dealing with all kinds of social and political issue. The Spearhead lyrics, which convinced me to make this thesis, are but one example.

By translating them I wanted to contribute to the process of making people who do not understand English aware of what is going on in America. Obviously, most people know, or think they know, what is going on there because of all the information they get from television, radio and newspapers. But music and poetry give people a different perspective and stimulate them to think. In my opinion, protest songs are therefore anything but useless, even if they cannot change the world.

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II. TRANSLATIONS

The album begins… THE CASE OF SISTER FATIMA Every year hundreds of important events go under-reported, or get completely and intentionally ignored by the mainstream media. The case of Sister Fatima is one such case. The fact of the matter is that even within circles of the most aware social justice advocates and underground media journalists, Sister Fatima’s name is rarely uttered or discussed. I have not been able to pinpoint exactly why.

Over the past thirty years there have been a large number of high profile cases involving African American political prisoners in the United States, that while grossly unreported and biasly slandered still received at least a modicum of media attention. So why is it that the case of this one revolutionary woman has received no media attention? How is it that one Governor could almost single-handedly send to death row a sixty-one year old woman simply as means to get re-elected? And most shockingly, why is it that the general public has become so desensitised to capital punishment that only a handful of people have even bothered to make themselves aware of the case of Sister Fatima?

For those of you who do not know, Sister Fatima was accused and convicted of the 1991 slaying of prominent business couple James and Ellen Buchanan. There was very little physical evidence submitted in the trial, as their bodies have yet to be located and no murder weapon was found. The evidence used to condemn Sister Fatima was the testimony of “eyewitnesses” who claimed to have seen Sister Fatima having an argument with the Buchanan’s the week of the murder. According to witnesses the nature of the argument was over the lease agreement of the medical marijuana office Sister Fatima ran, which was housed in a building owned by the Buchanan’s.

At a later date, blood was found and an anonymous note was mailed to the police officials from someone claiming to have shot and buried the Buchanan’s.

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Many now believe Sister Fatima, who had been a police target since the late Sixties because of her outspoken views on racial equality, police violence, environmental issues, gay, lesbian, bisexual, transgender rights, and the compassionate use of medical marijuana, was framed as a means of silencing her.

Since the trial, all six of the “witnesses” have come forward and have completely recanted their testimonies, stating for the record that they had been coerced at the time of interrogation and had never seen Sister Fatima arguing with the Buchanan’s on any occasion.

In spite of the fact that Sister Fatima’s case was clearly an organized set-up, and there is now overwhelming evidence to clear her of all charges, neither the Governor’s offices nor the judicial system will allow her case to be retried. Rather they are intent on executing her as quickly as possible as a means of acquiring votes from a deceived and paranoid public.

An innocent woman, only few have heard of, awaits her death by lethal injection…why?

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Het album begint… DE ZAAK VAN ZUSTER FATIMA Elk jaar krijgen honderden belangrijke items te weinig aandacht of worden ze geheel en bewust genegeerd door de toonaangevende media. De zaak van Zuster Fatima is zulk een item. In feite wordt de naam Zuster Fatima zelden geuit of besproken; niet door mensen die sociale rechtvaardigheid hoog in het vaandel dragen en al evenmin door alternatieve journalisten. Ik ben er nog niet helemaal uit hoe dat precies komt.

De voorbije dertig jaar zijn er in de Verenigde Staten tal van belangrijke zaken geweest waarbij Afro-Amerikaanse politieke gevangenen betrokken waren. Deze kregen weliswaar beperkte media aandacht waarin laster welig tierde, maar de aandacht was er wel. Hoe komt het dan dat de zaak van deze revolutionaire vrouw totnogtoe geen media aandacht kreeg? Hoe komt het dat een Gouverneur bijna eigenhandig een eenenzestig jarige vrouw naar death row kan sturen simpelweg om herkozen te worden? En bovenal, hoe komt het dat de publieke opinie zo ongevoelig is geworden voor de doodstraf dat er slechts een handvol mensen zich de moeite getroost om zich te informeren over de zaak van Zuster Fatima?

Voor zij die het niet weten; Zuster Fatima werd beschuldigd van en veroordeeld voor de moord op het bekende zakenkoppel James en Ellen Buchanan in 1991. Er zijn maar weinig materiële bewijzen voorgelegd in het proces, aangezien noch de lichamen noch het moordwapen gevonden werden. De bewijzen die leidden tot de veroordeling van Zuster Fatima waren getuigenissen van “ooggetuigen” die beweerden gezien te hebben dat Zuster Fatima verwikkeld was in een conflict met de Buchanans een week voor de moord. Volgens getuigen had de kern van het conflict te maken met de huurovereenkomst van het bureau voor medische marihuana dat Zuster Fatima runde in een gebouw dat de eigendom was van de Buchanans.

Wat later werd er bloed gevonden en kreeg de politie een anoniem bericht van iemand die beweerde de Buchanans te hebben neergeschoten en begraven.

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Velen geloven nu dat Zuster Fatima, die al sinds eind jaren zestig een politiedoelwit was omwille van haar openhartige visies op rassengelijkheid, politiegeweld, milieukwesties, rechten voor homo’s, lesbiennes, biseksuelen en transseksuelen en het gebruik van medische marihuana om pijn te verlichten, in een valstrik gelokt werd om haar het zwijgen op te leggen.

Sinds het proces hebben alle zes de “getuigen” zich aangemeld en hun getuigenissen volledig ingetrokken. Ze verklaarden officieel dat ze onder druk gezet waren tijdens het verhoor en dat ze nooit een conflict tussen Zuster Fatima en de Buchanans gezien hadden.

Ondanks het feit dat Zuster Fatima’s zaak duidelijk een georganiseerde valstrik was en dat er nu verpletterend bewijsmateriaal is dat het mogelijk maakt haar vrij te spreken van alle beschuldigingen, laten noch de administratie van de Gouverneur, noch het juridisch systeem toe dat de zaak heropend wordt. Integendeel, ze willen haar liefst zo snel mogelijk executeren als een middel om meer stemmen te krijgen van een misleid en paranoïde publiek.

Een onschuldige vrouw, over wie slechts enkelen iets weten, wacht op haar dood door dodelijke injectie … waarom?

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Quotes “Solomon’s law of an eye for an eye blurs our vision of greatness. Is that how justice got blind? ” KRIST NOVOSELIC – Nirvana

“With the passage of time, the number of executions has increased exponentially in the U.S.A, from one in 1977, to 74 in 1997, to 610 in 1999.”

“I’ve been against the death penalty since I was a very small child, for one simple reason. What if they’ve got the wrong person? And what if it happens to be me?” JELLO BIAFRA

“It doesn’t matter what you think of the death penalty in the abstract; in the real world, race and class determines who lives and dies in death penalty cases. So until racism and economic inequalities are gotten rid of in America, they should get rid of the racist death penalty, which targets minorities and the poor.” TOM MORELLO – Rage Against the Machine

“The death penalty sucks. It’s absolutely barbaric. It’s wrong, period. It’s proven not to deter murder, it’s racially and socio-economically biased, and it’s cruel.” AMY RAY – Indigo Girls

“One in 27 people executed are later found to be innocent -- at least two a year. There is no evidence that it is an effective deterrent. And it is twice as expensive to administer the death penalty as it is to offer life without parole.” KENNETH COLE – activist & designer

“I really hope that the USA will soon ban the death penalty so that they can be an example for the rest of the world and so that they will be leaders not just in economy and in democracy but also in respect of the human life and in the quality of the human life.” LORENZO JOVANOTTI – Italian Hip Hop artist

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“Questions about capital punishment often tend to revolve around tangential issues – whether, for example, death should be painful or not. So that now, death by lethal injection is represented as the best, least painful, and thus most humane death. This doesn’t confront the real issue, which is whether there is something profoundly wrong with giving the state the right to kill. No method of state death can eradicate the fact that capital punishment is racist and class-biased.” ANGELA DAVIS – prison industrial complex activist

« In order to stop murderers from murdering, you must execute the mentality that causes murderers to murder. Down with this rotten-assed system. The death penalty is dead wrong.” PAM AFRICA - Move

“Over sixty nine people have been released from death row since 1972 as a result of being wrongly convicted…”

“…that is more than one wrongly convicted person for every hundred people on death row”

“What is the death penalty? It’s a lot of things. It’s when we turn the justice system into a criminal. It’s becoming a monster. It’s not right; it’s not smart.” BONO – U2

“The average murder rate per 100,000 population in 1997 among death penalty states was 6.6; the average murder rate among non-death penalty states was only 3.5”

“In 1995, prison building expenditures jumped by $926 million while university construction dropped by $954 million.”

“What justifies anybody taking another’s life today? What you have is a whole system of people thinking they have the upper hand on death and nobody really does.” CHUCK D - Public Enemy

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“The death penalty is at the core of what it means to be human. To be alive, to be dead. To give life or to end it. The truth is always there when we need it. MICHAEL FRANTI

“Although the story of Sister Fatima is fictitious, it is based on the horrific reality of our time. Stay Human, MICHAEL FRANTI.”

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Citaten “De wet van Salomo die zegt:oog om oog, vertroebelt onze visie op grootsheid. Is dat waarom rechtvaardigheid blind werd? ” KRIST NOVOSELIC – Nirvana

“Met het verstrijken van de jaren, steeg het aantal executies in de V.S. exponentieel, van 1 in 1977, tot 74 in 1997, tot 610 in 1999.”

“Al sinds ik heel klein was, ben ik tegen de doodstraf om een eenvoudige reden. Wat als ze de verkeerde persoon hebben? En wat als ik het toevallig ben?” JELLO BIAFRA

“Wat je van de doodstraf vindt in theorie heeft geen belang; in de echte wereld bepalen ras en klasse wie in leven blijft en wie sterft in strafrechtszaken. Met andere woorden, zolang racisme en economische ongelijkheid niet afgeschaft zijn in Amerika, moet men die racistische doodstraf afschaffen, die minderheden en de armen treft.”TOM MORELLO – Rage Against the Machine

“ De doodstraf is klote. Ze is gewoonweg barbaars. De doodstraf is fout, punt. Het is bewezen dat ze moordenaars niet afschrikt, het is een raciale en socio-economisch bevooroordeelde straf en ze is wreed.” AMY RAY – Indigo Girls

“1 op de 27 geëxecuteerden blijkt later onschuldig te zijn -- minstens twee per jaar. Niets bewijst dat het een effectief afschrikmiddel is en het is tweemaal duurder om een doodstraf uit te voeren dan een levenslange celstraf.” KENNETH COLE – activist & ontwerper

“Ik hoop echt dat de VSA snel de doodstraf afschaffen zodat ze een voorbeeld kunnen stellen voor de rest van de wereld en ze niet alleen leiders blijken te zijn op het vlak van economie en democratie, maar ook op het vlak van respect voor het menselijke leven en de kwaliteit ervan.” LORENZO JOVANOTTI – Italiaanse Hip Hop artiest

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«Discussies over de doodstraf gaan vaak over bijkomstigheden – bijvoorbeeld over of de dood pijnlijk moet zijn of niet. Daarom wordt een dodelijke injectie nu voorgesteld als de minst pijnlijke en dus meest menselijke dood. Maar zo vermijd je waar het echt om gaat, namelijk of er niet iets essentieel verkeerd is als je de staat het recht geeft om te doden. Geen enkele vorm van officiële doding kan tenietdoen dat de doodstraf bepaalde rassen en klassen harder treft.” ANGELA DAVIS – activiste tegen de gevangenisindustrie

«Om ervoor te zorgen dat moordenaars stoppen met moorden, moet je de mentaliteit executeren die moordenaars doet moorden. Wég met dit klotesysteem. De doodstraf is doodzonde.” PAM AFRICA - Move

“Sinds 1972 zijn ongeveer negenenzestig mensen vrijgelaten uit death row omdat men ze ten onrechte veroordeeld had…”

“…dat betekent dat er voor elke honderd mensen die in death row zitten telkens een iemand ten onrechte veroordeeld werd”

“Wat is de doodstraf? Het is een boel dingen. Het is het gerechtssysteem in een crimineel veranderen. Het is een monster worden. Het is niet juist en niet erg slim.” BONO – U2

“Het gemiddelde moordcijfer per bevolking van 100.000 bedroeg in 1997 in de staten waar de doodstraf wordt toegepast 6,6 en in de staten waar ze niet wordt toegepast 3,5”

“In 1995 werden de uitgaven voor de bouw van gevangenissen verhoogd met $926 miljoen terwijl die voor de universiteiten daalden met $954 miljoen.”

“Wanneer is het gerechtvaardigd dat iemand een ander het leven ontneemt? Er is een heel systeem van mensen die denken dat ze kunnen beslissen over leven en dood en dat kan niemand.” CHUCK D – Public Enemy

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“De doodstraf ligt dicht bij de kern van wat het betekent mens te zijn. Leven, sterven. Leven geven of het beëindigen. De waarheid is er altijd wanneer we haar nodig hebben.” MICHAEL FRANTI

“Ook al is het verhaal van Zuster Fatima fictief, het is wel gebaseerd op de afschuwelijke realiteit van deze tijd. Blijf menselijk, MICHAEL FRANTI.”

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Oh My God (chorus) Oh-my, oh-my God! Out here mama they got us livin’ suicide Singin’ oh-my, oh-my God! Out here mama they got us livin’ genocide

Slam bam I come unseen but like gasoline you can tell I’m in the tank like money in the bank I smell appealing, but I’m toxic, can send ya reeling without an inklin’, keep ya thinkin’ ‘cause you gave cash to the feds, left your school district for dead fucked you up in the head, but still they sayin’ nothin’s wrong sellin’ firewater but outlawing the bong still believin’ the system is workin’ while half of my people are still outa workin’ anonymous notes left in the pockets and coats of judges and juries from ‘Frisco to Jersey threats and protests politicians mob debts trumped up charges and phony arrests stage a lethal injection, the night before the election ‘cause he got donations from the prison guard’s union (chorus)

Listen in to my stethoscope on a rope internal lullabies, human cries thumps and silence, the language of violence algorithmic, cataclysmic, seismic, biorhythmic you can make a life longer, but you can’t save it you can make a clone and then you try to enslave it? stealin’ DNA samples from the unborn and then you comin’ after us ‘cause we sampled a James Brown horn? scientists who’s God is progress

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a four-headed sheep is their latest project the CIA runnin’ like that Jones from Indiana but they still won’t talk about that (Jim) Jones (People’s Temple mass suicide) in Guyana this ain’t no cartoon no one slips on bananas do you really think that that car killed Diana hell I shot Ronald Reagan, I shot JFK I slept with Marilyn (Monroe) she sung me happy birthday Singin’ (chorus)

Well politicians got lipstick on the collar the whole media started to holler but I don’t give a fuck who they screwin’ in private I wanna know who they screwin’ in public robbin’, cheatin’, stealin’, white collar criminal McDonald eatin’, you deserve a beatin’ send you home a weepin’, with a fat bill for your Caribbean weekend for just about anything they can bust us false advertising sayin’ “halls of justice” You tellin’ the youth don’t be so violent then you drop bombs on every single continent mandatory minimum sentencin’ ‘cause he got caught with a pocket fulla medecine do that again another ten up in the pen I feel so mad I wanna bomb an institution Singin’ (chorus)

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Oh God (refrein) O God, Oh mijn God Hier leven is als zelfmoord, mama Zing ik: oh God, mijn God Hier leven is als genocide, mama

Slam Bam ik kom ongezien maar zoals benzine zit ik duidelijk in de tank net als geld op de bank ik ruik goed, maar ben zo giftig dat het duizelen doet zonder ’t te weten, bepalen ze je denken want je gaf geld aan de flikken, liet het onderwijs stikken ze maakten je gek, en nog zeggen ze dat alles in orde is vuurwater verkopen, maar verbod op cannabis geloven dat het systeem effect heeft als de helft van mijn volk nog steeds zonder werk leeft geheime briefjes in zakken en jassen van rechters en jury’s van ‘Frisco tot Jersey dreigen, protest, maffiapolitici valse beschuldigingen en schijnarrestaties plan een dodelijk’ injectie, de avond voor de electie want hij kreeg donaties van de cipiervakbond (refrein)

Luister door mijn stethoscoop, naar ‘t verloop van innerlijke liedjes, menselijke wanhoop lawaai en stiltes, de taal van het geweld algoritmisch, cataclismisch, seismisch, bioritmisch je kan een leven rekken, maar het niet redden je kan een kloon maken en die dan proberen onderwerpen? jullie stelen DNA van de ongeborenen en dan ons vervolgen voor het samplen van een James Brown hoorn?

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wetenschappers wiens God vooruitgang heet een vierkoppig schaap is hun nieuwste project de CIA rennend als die Jones van Indiana maar nog steeds geen woord over die (Jim) Jones (massale zelfmoord van Tempel sekte) in Guyana dit is geen cartoon niemand glijdt uit over bananen het was echt niet die auto die de dood bracht aan Diana. Ik schoot op Ronald Reagan, ik doodde JFK ik sliep met Marilyn (Monroe), ze zong mij happy birthday Zing ik (refrein)

Wel, politiekers, hebben lippenstift op hun kragen de hele media begon hen te belagen maar ik geef er geen zak om wie ze privé verleiden ik wil weten wie ze in’t openbaar misleiden roven, bedriegen, stelen witte boordencrimineel McDonald eten, ze verdienen slaag ik stuur ze naar huis, huilend, ‘n faktuur op de maag voor hun weekend Caraïben voor bijna alles kunnen ze ons arresteren “gerechtshof” is een valse mededeling jullie vragen de jeugd niet met geweld te reageren maar dan ga je zelf continenten bombarderen verplichte minimumstraf want hij werd opgepakt met een zak vol medicatie doe dat nog eens, weer tien jaar de cel in ik ben zo kwaad, ik bombardeer nog ‘n ministerie Zing ik (refrein)

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Track 2

° All right. Welcome back, you are listenin' to Stay Human Radio. - What the others won’t say and what the others won’t play, you know what I’m sayin'. ° We’ll play it - We’re dedicated to free speech here and you know we’re entirely volunteer staffed and funded ° That’s right, lots of volunteer help from the community, help sponsor this radio station - That’s right, that means: yours truly Brother Soulshine and… ° The Nubian Poetess - We ain’t gettin' nothin' for doin' this radio show ° And we’re actually the only one of our kind since KBLV shut down recently - We were the last federally non-funded station to lose their license. So, we’re gonna keep you posted on what’s happenin' with the Governor’s race comin' up while we gonna get in to some more music right here, so check it out.

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Track 2 ° Ok. Hallo iedereen, je luistert nog steeds naar Radio Blijf Menselijk - Wat de anderen niet zeggen en zeker niet zullen spelen, je snapt wel wat ik bedoel, ° dat spelen wij - We zijn hier trouw aan vrije meningsuiting, bestaan uit een volledig vrijwillig team en zijn gesponsord door vrijwilligers ° Inderdaad, veel vrijwilligers uit de buurt helpen ons, sponsoren dit radiostation. - Inderdaad, dat betekent: hoogachtend Brother Soulshine en… ° De Nubian Poetess - We verdienen geen cent aan deze radioshow ° En we zijn eigenlijk de enige in onze soort sinds KBLV onlangs ophield - We waren het laatste federale niet-gefinancierde station dat haar vergunning kon kwijtspelen. Dus we houden je op de hoogte van de race voor het Gouverneursschap die momenteel plaatsvindt terwijl we hier naar wat muziek luisteren, dus check het uit.

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Stay Human (all the freaky people)

Starvation is a creation of the devil a rebel I’m bringin’ food to the people like a widow bringin’ flowers to a grave in the middle of the city isolation is a riddle to be surrounded by a million other people but feel alone like a tree in the desert dried up like the skin of a lizard but full of color like the spots of a leopard drum and bass pull me in like a shepherd scratch my itch like a needle on a record full of life like a man gone to Mecca sky high like an eagle up soaring I speak low but I’m like a lion roaring baritone like a Robeson recordin’ I’m givin’ thanks for bein’ human every morning…

(chorus) Because the streets are alive with the sound of Boom Bap Can I hear it once again! Boom Bap tell your neighbor tell a friend every box gotta right to be boomin’ because the streets are alive with the sound of Boom Bap can I hear it once again! Boom Bap tell your neighbor tell a friend Every flower gotta right to be bloomin’! Stay Human!

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Be resistant the negativity we keep it at a distance call for backup and I’ll give you some assistance like a lifesaver deep in the ocean stay afloat here upon the funky motion rock and roll upon the waves of the season hold your breath and you underwater breathin’ to be rhymin’ without a real reason is to claim but not to practice a religion if television is the drug of the nation satellite is immaculate reception beaming in they can look and they can listen so you see don’t believe in the system to legalize you or give you your freedom you want rights ask ’em they’ll read ’em but every flower gotta right to be bloomin’… stay human… (chorus)

All the freaky people make the beauty of the world

You see Y2K ya know is a moment in time we find that we can open up a heart that’s locked or been broken by the pain of words not spoken or shot by guns a still smokin’ Cartwrights out on the ponderosa or drive by bang in Testarossa we need to heed the words of Dalai Lama or at least the words of yo mama take a mental trip to the Bahama’s steam your body in a stereo sauna, sauna, comma… (chorus)

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Blijf Menselijk (alle maffe mensen)

Hongerdood is een creatie van de duivel een rebel Ik breng voedsel naar de mensen als een weduwe bloemen brengt naar een graf in het midden van de stad is isolatie een raadsel door een miljoen andere mensen omringd zijn maar eenzaam zijn als een boom in de woestijn uitgedroogd als de huid van een hagedis maar kleurig als de vlekken van een luipaard drum en bas leiden me als een herder krabben me als een naald op een plaat vol leven als een man net terug van Mekka hoge toppen scheren als ‘n zwevende adelaar ik spreek zacht, maar ben als een brullende leeuw een bariton op een Robeson opname elke morgen weer, dankbaar om menselijk te zijn

(refrein) Want de straten leven met het geluid van de boom-bap laat het me nog eens horen! boom-bap vertel’ t je buur of een vriend elke box heeft het recht om te loeien Want de straten leven met het geluid van de Boom-bap laat het me nog eens horen! boom-Bap vertel ’t je buur of een vriend elke bloem heeft het recht om te bloeien Blijf menselijk

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Bied weerstand de negativiteit houden w’ op een afstand vraag ondersteuning en dan help ik je een hand als een reddingsvest diep in de oceaan blijven drijven op de funky beweging rock ’n roll op de golven van het seizoen hou je adem in boven en onder water want rijmen zonder enige notie is als ‘t verkondigen zonder beoefenen van religie als televisie de drug is van de natie dan is satelliet de zuivere ontvangenis waardoor ze kunnen kijken en luisteren zo zie je maar, vertrouw niet op het systeem voor legalisatie of om je je vrijheid te geven wil je rechten, vraag ze, ze kennen hen maar elke bloem heeft het recht te bloeien blijf menselijk (refrein)

Alle maffe mensen maken de schoonheid van de wereld

Want Y2K, weet je, is een tijdsmoment Waarop w’ ontdekken dat we ’n hart kunnen openen een hart gesloten of gebroken door de pijn van ongesproken woorden of neergeschoten door geweren die nog roken de Cartwrights in de ponderosa of schietend vanuit een Testarossa schenk aandacht aan ‘t woord van de Dalai Lama of ten minste aan de woorden van je mama maak een mentale trip naar de Bahamas neem een stoombad in een stereo sauna, sauna, komma (refrein)

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Track 4 - Yes, yes, all the freaky people do make the beauty of the world ° And we’re freaky and beautiful here at Stay Human Radio - That’s right. Keepin’ the freak goin' on ° That’s right, what the others won’t play and what they definitely won’t say - That’s right. Anyway, just to keep you informed on what’s happenin' out there. Governor Franklin Shane, the current Governor in this election has been really trailing in the polls ° Now you know he’s been tryin' to use the pending execution of Sister Fatima as some sort of political tool. You remember she was convicted of the 1991 slaying of that business couple… eh…what was it…James and Ellen Buchanan? - That’s right. Anyway her execution is set for the night before the election, imagine that. ° Oh, how ironic, isn’t that convenient - Anyway, the phone lines are open at 415 641 12 55 ° Call us up, tell us what you think - That’s right. Send in your request, shout out whatever you got. Stay human. ° Keep listenin’ - Rocking the nation.

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Track 4 - Ja, ja, alle maffe mensen maken echt wel de schoonheid in de wereld. ° En we zijn maffe schoonheden hier bij Radio Blijf Menselijk. - Inderdaad. We houden het maffe in beweging ° Inderdaad, wat de andere niet spelen en wat ze zeker niet zullen zeggen - Zo is dat. Maar goed, om jullie even op de hoogte te houden van de verkiezingen; de huidige Gouverneur Franklin Shane ligt sterk achterop, zo blijkt uit de opiniepeilingen. ° Zoals je weet misbruikt hij daarom de aanstaande executie van Zuster Fatima als een soort van politiek instrument. Jullie weten dat ze veroordeeld was voor de moord op dat zakenkoppel…euh…wat was het ook alweer…James en Ellen Buchanan? - Inderdaad. In elk geval, haar executie is gepland op de nacht voor de verkiezingen, stel je voor. ° Hoe ironisch, als dat niet goed uitkomt - Hoe dan ook, je kan ons bereiken op het nummer 415 641 12 55 ° Bel ons op, zeg ons wat je ervan denkt. - Zo is dat. Stuur ons je verzoekje, roep er maar uit wat je kwijt wil. Blijf Menselijk ° Blijf luisteren. - Beweeg de natie.

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Rock The Nation We livin’ in a mean time and an aggressive time a painful time, a time where cynicism rots the vine in a time where violence blocks the summer shine lifetimes go by in a flash in a search for love, in a search for cash everybody wanna be some fat tycoon everybody wanna be on a tropic honeymoon nobody wanna sing a little bit out of tune or be the backbone of a rebel platoon it’s too soon to step out of line you might get laughed at you might get fined but do you feel me when I say I feel pain everyday when I see the way my friends gotta slave and never get ahead of bills they gotta pay no way no way! some make a living doing killing Colombian penicillin some are willing to play the villain they just chillin’ to pass the time, pass the information or pass the wine, pass the buck or pass the baton but you can’t pass the police or the pentagon the I.R.S or the upper echelon I think it’s time to make a move on the contradiction

(chorus) Bom-Bom, rock the nation take over television and radio station Bom-Bom, the truth shall come give the corporation some complication!

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This is the dawning of our time I say it one more time to emphasize the meaning of my rhyme to rise above all the dirt and grime add the right spice at the right time fuck the constitution are we part of the solution or are we part of the pollution sittin’ by and wonderin’ why things ain’t the way we like to find them to be, to be for you and for me the people over there and the ones in between check our habitation are we a peace lovin’ nation peace lovin’ nation I have a reasonable doubt I think I’ll just spell it out there’s no need to scream or to shout the N.R.A just bought a man’s soul then he jumps up and shouts gun control the government says that killin’ s a sin unless you kill a murderer with a lethal syringe so I ask again “are we peace lover’s then” some of them slang guns when they six years old some of them end up in some six foot hole this whole damn place seems to lost control so I raise my voice before I lose my soul (chorus)

This is the way I’ll express my feelings vibe revealed and revolved spinnin on a record y’all try to confiscate take what I communicate with it’s ancient gift of the lip steady creating activating passin’ vocal vibrations to the blind plus the seeing human doesn’t mean just being Becoming don’t believe it just belife it Belongings or beloved rehearse it or recite it while shining drop your guns and move your tongues battle motivation in no time lyrics come sometimes fun other run their mouth or away my minds co beaming like an early sunray

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One day we’ll get the picture and all combine less the talking bout mines is mine and becoming one mind every piece of the puzzle has its place to build the piece of the puzzle called the human race

Taking it long enough we crush the formal journalistic dyslexic critters talk backwards to rap words I’m sure raising my hands with questions and demands statements and a plan with a map of the land (chorus)

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Beweeg De Natie We leven in een slechte tijd, ‘n agressieve tijd ‘n pijnlijke tijd, een tijd waar cynisme de wijngaard verrot een tijd waar geweld zonneschijn afblokt levens gaan voorbij in een flash op zoek naar liefde op zoek naar cash zo’n vette magnaat wil iedereen wel zijn op ‘n tropische huwelijksreis wil iedereen zijn niemand wil ook maar een beetje uit de toon vallen of de ruggengraat zijn voor ’n rebels peloton ’t is té vroeg om uit de rij te stappen ze kunnen met je lachen of j’ erbij lappen maar begrijp je me als ik zeg de pijn is amper te verdoven als ik zie hoe mijn vrienden zich uitsloven en nooit al hun rekeningen kunnen betalen vergeet het!! sommigen doen in dodelijke Colombiaanse penicilline sommigen spelen graag de verrader, dat is relax de tijd doorbrengen, info doorspelen of de wijn doorgeven, de verantwoordelijkheid of de stok doorgeven maar je kan niet boven politie noch het Pentagon de fiscus of het hoogste echelon het is tijd, denk ik, voor ‘n reactie op deze contradictie

(refrein) Bom-Bom Beweeg de natie start ’n televisie -en radiorevolutie Bom-Bom de waarheid komt bezorg de corporatie wat complicatie

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Dit is ‘t begin van onze tijd, ik zeg het nog een keer waarbij ’k de zin van mijn gerijm accentueer boven alle vuil en viezigheid uit op ’t juiste moment, juist gekruid fuck de constitutie vormen we een uitweg of vormen we de pollutie toekijken en je afvragen waarom de dingen niet zijn zoals we zouden willen dat ze zijn, zijn voor jou, en voor mij of de mensen daar en diegenen daartussen check waar we wonen, zijn we een vredige natie, vredige natie ik heb een sterk vermoeden, ik leg het je uit ‘t heeft geen zin dat je roept of tiert de NRA kocht eerst een mans ziel dan springt die op en roept wapenbezit de regering zegt: doden is ’n zonde, ronduit tenzij je ‘n moordenaar doodt met een dodelijke spuit, dus ik vraag het nog eens “zijn we vredelievend dan?” zesjarigen zwaaien met geweren anderen eindigen in ‘n hol van twee op twee dit hele oord lijkt wel op hol te slaan dus verhef ik mijn stem voor ik m’n ziel afsta (refrein)

Dit is hoe ik mijn gevoelens eruit laat de vibe onthuld, gedraaid en tollend op een plaat ze proberen me af te nemen hoe ik communiceer via de oeroude gave van de lip die rustig creëert vluchtige vocale vibraties activeert voor de blinden en zij die zien mens zijn betekent niet gewoon zijn, worden, geloof het niet beleef het bezittingen en dierbaren herhaal’ t of declameer ‘t schitter en beweeg je tong, leg je wapens neer strijdmotivatie in geen tijd pen ik teksten neer soms grappig, soms onzinnig of soms vluchtig mijn gedachten schijnen als een vroege zonnestraal

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Op een dag snappen we ‘t wel, dan komt alles samen minder praten over jezelf, meer één mening vormen elk stukje van de puzzel heeft zijn plaats in de puzzel genoemd het menselijk ras

Als we ‘t lang genoeg rekken gaat journalistiek verloren dyslectische mensen rappen achterstevoren ik steek zeker mijn hand op, stel vragen en eisen een verklaring en ‘n plan met een kaart van het land (refrein)

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Sometimes (chorus) Sometimes, I feel like I can do anything and sometimes, I’m so alive sometimes, I feel like I can zoom cross the sky and, sometimes, I wanna cry

Most people try to aim to please but a lot of them are kinda weak in the knees learnin’ late about the birds and the bees fallin’ in love and wanna be set free playin’ ball at the age of thirteen everybody’s growin’ up with a dream I never noticed what could happen to me time flies when you ’re walkin’ the streets one minute gotcha holdin’ an ace the next minute gotcha fall on yer face a mean city is a nasty place only a rat can win a rat race! peace to the people who be fallin’ away to make it home today and peace to the people who be tryin’ to find some kinda life (chorus)

Sound body and sound of mind sound of the rhythm and sound of the rhyme somebody marchin’ all out of time biggest mistakes are the humanest kind judge not, lest you be judged the court room or the billy club blood bubblin’ thicker than mud the heartbeat rub-a-dub-dub show love and love who you know family wherever you go

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Tokyo to Acapulco bravissimo, magnifico peace to the people who be losing their head peace to the people who be needin’ a bed love to the people who be feelin’ alone spreadin’ love upon the microphone hope to the people who be feelin’ down smile to the people who be wearin’ a frown faith to the people who be seekin’ the truth y’all all of the time, and I say (chorus)

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Heel Soms (refrein) Heel soms, lijkt het alsof ik alles aankan heel soms, bruis ik van ‘t leven heel soms, lijkt het alsof ik door de lucht kan zweven heel soms, wil ik huilen

De meeste mensen willen behagen maar velen lijken eerder verward te zijn ze leren laat over de bloem en de bij worden verliefd en willen vrij zijn een balletje werpen op je dertien jaar als je opgroeit jaag je je dromen na ‘k wist nooit wat er van mij worden zou tijd vliegt wanneer je rondhangt op straat ‘t ene moment kan je alles aan terwijl je meteen erna op je gezicht kan gaan ‘n gemene stad is een smerige plaats enkel een rat wint de rat race vrede aan de mensen die ’t noorden kwijt waren zodat ze snel weer thuis geraken en vrede aan de mensen die zich proberen te vinden in een soort van leven (refrein) Een gezond lichaam een gezonde geest gezond van ritme en gezond van rijm iemand die uit de maat marcheert de grootste fouten zijn die die menselijk zijn Hij zonder zonde werpe d’ eerste steen ‘t rechtssysteem of de gummistok bloed borrelend, modderdik de hartslag klop-klop-klop toon liefde, heb lief wie je kent familie overal waar je ook bent

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Tokio tot Acapulco bravissimo, magnifico vrede aan de mensen die hun hoofd verliezen vrede aan de mensen zonder plaats om te wonen liefde aan de mensen die eenzaam zitten kniezen liefde verspreiden door de microfoon hoop aan de mensen met ‘n down gevoel lach naar de mensen met ‘n frons op hun smoel vertrouwen aan de mensen op zoek naar waarheid de hele tijd, en ik zeg (chorus)

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Track 7 - Yes, yes, we’re back here on Stay Human Radio. We have a very special guest with us today. Franklin Shane, the current Governor. Mr. Shane can you here me there? * Yeah. I hear you, thank you. - We would just like to hear what your comments are on the current case of sister Fatima? * Well, it’s a pretty open and shut case, really. Sister Fatima was convicted by a jury of her peers. She killed James and Ellen Buchanan, two fine, upstandin' citizens of this state and she’s going to get the maximum. - The maximum being… * What she deserves, which is the death penalty. - There’s been a lot of new evidence out there surfacing which shows that Sister Fatima is possibly innocent * I didn’t become Governor of this great state to let women like Sister Fatima run around, dealin’ narcotics, pretendin' to be healers and killing people ° What about your constituents, governor, that don’t back you on this. What about your constituents that believe her innocent? * Well, I can’t just cow down to every person who calls themselves my constituent. I have to do what’s right and this is right in this case. ° Are you sayin', Governor, then, that there is no chance of a pardon in this case * There’s no chance of a pardon, no.

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Track 7 - Ok, goed, we zijn er weer hier op Radio Blijf Menselijk. We hebben een zeer bijzondere gast bij ons vandaag. Franklin Shane, de huidige Gouverneur. M. Shane kan u me goed horen ginder? * Ja. Ik hoor je goed. Dank je - We zouden graag even uw mening willen horen over de zaak van Zuster Fatima? * Wel, het is eigenlijk een heel eenvoudige zaak. Zuster Fatima werd veroordeeld door de volksjury. Ze doodde James en Ellen Buchanan, twee goede, gerespecteerde burgers van deze staat, en ze krijgt daarvoor het maximum - Het maximum zijnde… * Wat ze verdient, en dat is de doodstraf - Er is nu een hele hoop nieuwe informatie die aan het licht zou brengen dat Zuster Fatima mogelijk onschuldig is. * Ik werd geen Gouverneur van deze machtige staat om vrouwen als Zuster Fatima vrijuit te laten gaan, verdovende middelen te laten dealen, en te doen alsof ze genezers zijn, terwijl ze mensen vermoorden. ° En wat met uw kiezers, Gouverneur, die u hierin niet steunen. Hoe moet het met de kiezers die geloven dat ze onschuldig is? * Wel, ik kan onmogelijk buigen voor elke persoon die zich mijn kiezer noemt. Ik moet datgene doen wat juist is en dit is juist in deze zaak. ° Wil u daarmee dan zeggen, Gouverneur, dat er geen kans is op gratie in deze zaak? * Er is geen kans op gratie, nee.

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Do Ya Love So many times, people turn their backs to you ‘cause they don’t wanna see, what’s inside of you ‘cause lookin’ inside of you they might realize there’s something inside of them they might not wanna find

But it ain’t about who you love, (who ya love) See it’s all about do you love (do ya love)

(chorus) Well well well well sunshine, and loveliness ain’t nobody feeling no ugliness tonight ain’t it fine like sippin’ sweet Georgie wine see I’m just chillin’ with some friends of mine

I ain’t tryin’ a bother you so why ya gotta bother me what goes on in your bedroom, ain’t no mess to me you say your God don’t like my God ‘cause you don’t like my friends but your friends tryin’ to kill a man and I don’t understand

But it ain’t about who ya love (who ya love) see it’s all about do ya love (do ya love)

Ooh one two three say yeah say yeah feels so good to me Ooh! And ya one two three, say yeah, say yeah feels so good!!!!

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I say do it at home or on the street with a drag queen don’t matter to me it ain’t about sex or having degrees your pedigree don’t matter to me about who ya love, (who ya love) see it’s all about do ya love, (do ya love) (chorus)

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Of Je Lief Hebt Oh zo vaak, keren mensen je de rug toe ze willen niet zien wat er in je zit want als ze dat zouden doen ontdekken ze misschien, dat er in hen iets zit dat ze liever niet willen zien

Maar het gaat niet om wie je lief hebt (wie je lief hebt) het gaat erom of je lief hebt (heb je lief?)

(refrein) Wel wel wel wel zonneschijn en heerlijkheid en niemand die zich hier slecht voelt vanavond zo zalig als nippen aan zoete Georgia wijn gewoon relax bij wat vrienden zijn

‘k wil geen last voor je zijn dus waarom ben j’ er een voor mij wat jij doet in jouw slaapkamer, bespaar het mij je zegt dat jou God niet van mijn God houdt want je vindt m’n vrienden maar niets maar de jouwe trachten ’n man te doden en dat begrijp ik niet

Maar het gaat niet om wie je lief hebt (wie je lief hebt) het gaat erom of je lief hebt (heb je lief?)

Ooh een twee drie zeg ja zeg ja ’t voelt zo goed Ooh! En van je een twee drie, zeg ja, zeg ja ‘t voelt zo goed!!!!

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Ik zeg doe het thuis of op ’t straat met een drag queen, maakt mij niet uit ’t is niet om seks of diploma’s dat ’t gaat je afkomst, maakt mij niet uit om wie je lief hebt (wie je lief hebt) het gaat erom of je lief hebt (heb je lief?) (refrein)

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Track 9 - You’re a Christian man, and what do you think about the Bible which says ‘thou shalt not kill’? * Well, that’s a good question. I think…I think that at the time that the Bible was written people could not necessarily consider the world we’d be living in now. It’s a desperate time and it calls for desperate measures and if you ‘d think about it too, there ‘s an overpopulation situation in the world and we 're gonna eliminate the people who do not function within the society and we ‘re gonna encourage those who do. - How are you going to eliminate them? * Well, there’s various means; there’s electrically, there's cyanide gas, there are a lot of different options for these people. It’s relatively painless, it’s not cruel and it makes more room in our prison systems today and frankly they’re overcrowded so it’s an actually much more humane thing to do for the rest of the prison population. ° If you’re accusing Sister Fatima of a crime such as murder, aren’t you therefore committing the same crime by killing her? * That’s a left-wing thinko philosophy, if I ever heard it.

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Track 9 - U bent een christelijk man, wat vindt u dan van de bijbel die zegt ‘gij zult niet doden’? * Wel, dat is een goeie vraag. Ik denk…Ik denk dat toen de bijbel geschreven werd, mensen niet meteen een idee hadden over de wereld waarin we nu leven. Dit is een harde tijd en dat vraagt om harde maatregelen en zeg nu zelf, er heerst een situatie van overbevolking in de wereld en dus moeten we zij die niet functioneren binnen de maatschappij elimineren en zij die dat wel doen stimuleren. - Hoe zou u hen dan precies elimineren? * Wel, er zijn verschillende middelen; er is de elektrische stoel, er is cyanide, er zijn verschillende mogelijkheden voor zulke mensen. Het is redelijk pijnloos, het is niet wreed en het maakt meer ruimte vrij in ons gevangenissysteem van vandaag want eerlijk gezegd, het zit overvol. Het is dus in feite ook een veel menselijkere oplossing voor de rest van de gevangenispopulatie. ° Wanneer u Zuster Fatima beschuldigt van een misdaad als moord, begaat u dan nu niet dezelfde misdaad door haar te executeren? * Dat is wel een erg linkse manier van denken.

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Soulshine The world around gotcha down you got high blood pressure people pushin’ you around and some wanna tell you how you should behave cut your hair the right way, tell you what to say, hang out with the right folks, become a fashion slave

But do you wanna feel free but do you wanna feel freaky and free but do you wanna feel free do you wanna feel free, free, free, freaky and free

(chorus) Take ya time unwind ya mind we all need a little soulshine take ya time unwind ya mind we could use a little soulshine

9 to 5, people tryin’ a stay alive hard livin’ in the city find a diamond in the sewer but the gas bills rise but I got to say to them what’s it all mean ya got to take a loan to pay the bill on the phone educated, graduated but you can’t get a job

But do you wanna feel free but do you wanna feel freaky and free but do you wanna feel free do you wanna feel free, free, free, freaky and free (chorus)

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Zieleschijn De wereld rond jou maakte je down je hebt ’n hoge bloeddruk, mensen commanderen jou en sommigen zeggen hoe jij je moet gedragen knip je haar zoals ’t moet, ze zeggen wat je zeggen moet zorg dat je juiste mensen kent volg elke modetrend

Maar wil je ’n vrij gevoel maar wil je ‘n freaky en vrij gevoel maar wil je ’n vrij gevoel maar wil je ’n vrij, vrij, vrij en freaky gevoel

(refrein) Neem je tijd ontspannen zijn we hebben allemaal nood aan zieleschijn neem je tijd ontspannen zijn we hebben ‘t nodig, wat zieleschijn

Van 9 tot 5 blijft een mens overeind ’t is hard leven in de stad lichten fonkelen als diamanten, maar de gasrekening stijgt maar ik moet aan hen uitleggen waar ’t voor staat als je ’n lening aangaat de telefoonrekening betaalt gestudeerd, gediplomeerd, maar je staat op straat

Maar wil je ’n vrij gevoel maar wil je ‘n freaky en vrij gevoel maar wil je ’n vrij gevoel maar wil je ’n vrij, vrij, vrij en freaky gevoel (refrein)

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Every Single Soul (chorus) No matter where I roam whoa-oh I know every single soul is a poem written on the back of God’s hand

Ya see Moms and Pops be copulatin’ plantin’ seeds and pickin’ weeds for another season another reason for livin’, another reason for givin’ another reason for lovin’ and tryin’ a stay out of prison ‘cause everything in life can’t be nice and everything you want can’t be got but the lessons on being patient be causing the pressure to rise and make some people suicidal Oh no! another soul, has lost control we pull him back into the fold he got strung out on the material all the superficial initials upon his clothes they make me wanna go Sprewell every time I see my family locked in jail uh-huh, the economic can be demonical oh! keep love in your soul (chorus)

Ya see people are so beautiful in love that’s why I’m reminded of life’s precious moments every time I see lovers walkin’ by in the park close my eyes and I stop reminisce to see a little baby suckin’ on his mama’s milk-ey silky smoothness of a lovin’ caress holdin’ baby to breast and blessin’ the world with another to test, test, test

Oh-yes, oh-yes Bom-bom!

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I’d like to sing a little song dedicated to the people who would like to sing along ‘cause every little song has little beats and notes like every little lake has little trees and boats all people deserve a safe and warm home ’cause every single soul is a poem (chorus)

Right from the start in a world torn apart a baby’s love leaves finger prints upon the heart So many think it, but never say it “why bring a child to this planet full of hatred?” they might not make it like the youngest departed or worst of all they might become a part of it involved in it, perpetuating violence, violence and growin’ up in silence… seein’ things they don’t know how to deal with and learnin’ ways, to try to cope with it, cope with it, cope with it…and not lose hope. (chorus)

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Ieder’ Andere Ziel (refrein) ‘t maakt niet uit waar ík beland whoa-oh voor mij is ieder’ andere ziel poëzie geschreven op de rug van Gods hand

Want weet je, mama’s en papa’s copuleren planten zaad en wieden onkruid voor ’n ander seizoen ’n andere reden om te leven of om te geven ’n andere reden voor liefde, ’n leven uit de cel proberen want niet alles in ’t leven kan leuk zijn niet alles wat je wil, dat krijg je maar door lessen over geduldig zijn, is de druk gestegen en gaan mensen zelfmoord overwegen Oh! Nee, weer een ziel verliest controle we doen hem stoppen met ronddolen hij raakte verslaafd aan het materiële al de oppervlakkige initialen op z’n kleren ik raak buiten mijn zinnen elke keer er familie in de cel zit Uh-huh de economie is vaak demonisch bewaar liefde in je ziel (refrein)

Want weet je, mensen zijn zo mooi als ze verliefd zijn en daarom word ik herinnerd aan wat waardevol is in’t leven als ik verliefden zie passeren in het park sluit ‘k m’n ogen en stop en denk terug aan een kleine baby sabbelend aan zijn mama’s melk – en zijdeachtige zachtheid van het teder gebaar van ‘n baby aan haar borst en ze zegent de wereld met iemand nieuw die haar test, test, test

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Oh-ja, oh-ja Bom bom! graag zing ik ‘n korte song opgedragen aan al wie graag mee zong want elke korte song heeft zijn beats en noten net als elk klein meertje bomen en boten een veilig warm huis, is wat ieder verdient want ieder’ andere ziel is poëzie. (refrein)

Vanaf ’t begin in een verscheurde omgeving laat een baby’s liefde ’n afdruk na op het hart velen denken‘t, maar zeggen ’t niet “waarom een kind zetten op ’n wereld vol haat?” ze zouden het misschien niet aankunnen of erger nog, misschien worden z’ er een deel van, raken ze betrokken, blijven ze geweld bedrijven en groeien z’ op in stilzwijgen… dingen zien die ze niet verstaan en leren hoe er best mee om te gaan, om te gaan, om te gaan…de hoop niet verliezen (refrein)

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Track 12 - We have a caller on there, caller go ahead + Brother Soulshine, I love your show - Thank you so much + Thanks for keepin' the peace! I wanna talk tonight about Sister Fatima. I just think that it’s an awful shame the way the Governor wants to turn this into a political circus and use this for his own benefit. I feel that Sister 's been a real rock solid root in the community and relieved a lot of suffering. She made a lot of people’s lives better, she’s been working with the medical marijuana and disabled people and she's being made into some kind of devil by people who themselves are just looking out to keep their jobs and, you know, she's just lookin' to keep her life and there’s been a lot of new evidence and I just want that to be heard. - Sounds like you’ve had some experiences with her in the community. Now, just judging on her character from what you know, do you think there is any possibility that she could have killed these two people? + It would be like looking at your own grandmother and asking that question.

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Track 12 - We hebben een luisteraar aan de lijn. Ja, zeg het maar. + Brother Soulshine, ik vind de show fantastisch. - Dank u, Dank u. + Bedankt om de vrede te bewaren! Ik wil het vanavond hebben over Zuster Fatima. Ik vind de manier waarop de Gouverneur de zaak wil veranderen in een politiek circus en haar wil gebruiken voor zijn eigen voordeel een vreselijke schande. Zuster Fatima was een echte rots in de samenleving en ze verlichtte heel wat leed. Ze maakte het leven van velen beter, ze werkte met medische marihuana en invaliden en ze wordt nu afgeschilderd als een soort van duivel door mensen die er zelf enkel maar op uit zijn om hun job te behouden, weet je, zij wil gewoon haar leven behouden en er zijn nu veel nieuwe bewijzen en ik wil dat deze gehoord worden. - Dat klinkt alsof je haar echt aan het werk hebt gezien in de gemeenschap. Als je haar nu moest beoordelen louter op haar karakter, voor zover je haar kent, denk je dan dat er een kans is dat ze deze twee mensen heeft vermoord? + Dat zou zijn alsof je naar je eigen grootmoeder keek en dezelfde vraag stelde.

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Love ’ll Set Me Free Seems like every day gets a little bit longer seems like yesterday I was a little bit stronger but there ain’t nothin’ nothin’ I can do but to hold my ground try not to come unwound don’t wanna be let down but it ain’t easy, no! it ain’t easy doin’ hard time for somebody else’s crime

(chorus) Hate is what got me here but I know that love sweet love is gonna set me free all the hatred in the world is what got me here today but I know that love is gonna set me free

Man I’ve been away for so long now I ain’t seen no daylight for God knows how long now

I come out fightin’ when I hear that bell ring I always hear my name but I’d love to feel the rain come down one mo time wash away my pain love like a hurricane (chorus)

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Liefde Zal Me Bevrijden ’t Lijkt of elke dag wordt een beetje langer en was ‘k gisteren nu niet wat sterker? maar er is niets niets dat ik kan doen behalve verder gaan geen ontspannen bestaan ‘k kan geen teleurstelling aan maar ’t is niet simpel, nee! Niet simpel je tijd uit doen onschuldig boete doen

(chorus) Haat is wat me hier bracht maar ik weet dat liefde zoete liefde me zal bevrijden alle haat in de wereld is wat me hier bracht maar ik weet dat liefde me bevrijden zal

Man, ‘k ben al zolang, lang weg nu ik zag al geen daglicht meer sinds God weet hoe lang nu ik zit vol strijdlust wanneer ‘k de bel hoor gaan dan hoor ik steeds m’ n naam en ‘k zou graag nog eens weten hoe regen voelt die m’ n pijn wegspoelt vrijen als een orkaan (chorus)

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Thank You When I was a younger man people say don’t dream too tall ‘cause if you live your life that way you set yourself up for big falls I stay up late in my room at night play my heroes on the turntable opened me to pure phat groove help my soul break down them walls

(chorus) I thank you I thank you for all the music that you’ve shown to me I thank you ‘cause you set me free free to simply just be me

You don’t know all the influence the subtle positives that you had on me came about like a renaissance like a little happy dance got into my feet but in your time the roads you chose led you to your hard luck blues I always feared what it was like to live inside your big old shoes (chorus)

Do ya love music? “I do!!!” do ya love music? “I do!!!”

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Dank Je Toen ik nog veel jonger was zeiden mensen me zie het niet te groots want als je zo je leven leidt loop je wel eens tegen de muur ‘k bleef ’s avonds laat op in m’n kamer speelde m’n helden op de draaitafel z’ onthulden mij pure, vette grooves hielpen mijn ziel die muren te doorbreken

(refrein) Ik dank je ik dank je voor alle muziek die je toonde aan mij ik dank je want je maakte me vrij vrij om gewoon mezelf te zijn

J’ hebt geen idee van de invloed en ’t subtiel optimisme dat je op me had ‘t kwam tot stand als ‘n renaissance als een vrolijk dansje dat me dansen doet maar in jouw tijd leidden de wegen die je koos je naar je melancholische blues ‘k was altijd bang voor hoe ‘t zou zijn om in jouw grote, oude schoenen te staan (refrein)

Hou je van muziek? Ik wel hou je van muziek? Ik wel

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Track 15 - You’re listenin' to Stay Human Radio and we are very, very blessed this afternoon to be joined by a very special caller on a very sorrowful day. We have on the line with us Sister Fatima callin' us live from death row. How are you feelin' today Sister § Well, I can ‘t say I’m feeling really good, because I'm facing immanent death… however my spirit is strong. I know the love of my people is with me and I know that my spirit will be free in any case. - What do you have to say to people on this last evening? § I have to say, and make it very clear, that I’m innocent. I did not do this crime, I’m not a murderer and I think that people know that I’m not a murderer, because I've been a healer, I’ve been working in the community for decades. I’ve been serving the people, body and soul, I’ve been trying to spread love, not hate. Politicians want to kill me, but they will never kill my spirit and they will never kill the spirit of our people and our willingness to die for freedom. - What do you think is the main reason that they’ve selected you as the scapegoat in this? § They wanna put a stop to my advocacy. They know that I advocate revolution. They know that I want to unite people, whereas they want to keep people divided. They’re afraid of our unity because we are the overwhelming majority. They’re a tiny minority now and they know that. - Well Sister, we thank you for calling in and we 'll continue to keep you in our thoughts and prayers and we still have faith that they will not execute you tonight. And we thank you and pray for you. § Thank you very much for your concern and for your love and long live the spirits of Malcolm and Martin, George and Jonathan. “La lucha continua, venceremos!” - Peace.

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Track 15 - Je luistert naar Radio Blijf Menselijk en we zijn heel erg vereerd deze namiddag met het gezelschap van een erg bijzondere beller op een erg treurige dag. We hebben nu Zuster Fatima aan de lijn, rechtstreeks vanuit death row. Zuster, hoe voel je je vandaag? § Wel, ik kan niet zeggen dat ik me echt goed voel, met de dood voor ogen…maar mijn geest houdt zich sterk. Ik voel de liefde van mijn volk om me heen en ik weet dat mijn geest sowieso vrij zal zijn. - Wat wil je nog zeggen aan de mensen op deze laatste avond? § Ik wil nog zeggen, en laat dat duidelijk zijn, dat ik onschuldig ben. Ik heb dit niet gedaan, ik ben geen moordenaar en ik denk dat de mensen dat weten, want ik ben een genezer en heb decennia lang in de samenleving gewerkt. Ik heb mensen gediend, lichaam en ziel, ik heb geprobeerd liefde te verspreiden, geen haat. Politici willen me vermoorden, maar ze zullen nooit mijn geest doden, noch de geest van ons volk of onze wil om te sterven voor vrijheid. - Wat is de voornaamste reden dat ze u als zwart schaap hebben uitverkoren, denkt u? § Ze willen beletten dat ik mensen beïnvloed. Ze weten dat ik pleit voor revolutie. Ze weten dat ik mensen wil verenigen waar zij mensen verdeeld willen houden. Ze zijn bang voor onze eenheid omdat we een grote meerderheid vormen. Zij zijn slechts een kleine minderheid nu, en dat weten ze ook. - Wel, Zuster, we danken u om ons te bellen en we houden u in onze gedachten en gebeden en we geloven nog steeds dat men u niet zal executeren vanavond. We danken u en bidden voor u. § Heel erg bedankt voor jullie bezorgdheid en liefde en lang leve de ziel van Malcolm en Martin, George en Jonathan. “La lucha continua, venceremos!” (de strijd gaat verder, we zullen winnen!) - Peace.

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We Don’t Mind (chorus) We don’t mind see we been doin’ it all the time but if you want us to sacrifice you will not get it without a price we don’t mind see we been doin’ it all the time but if you want us to sacrifice you gotta give something back to life

you think I’m vulnerable to your pressure tactics because I shed a tear, ‘cause I shed a tear you think I’m vulnerable to your violence just ‘cause I’m sittin’ here but my babies came into this world without a single fear, say they had no fear ‘cause the seven generations before me they all fought to get us here (chorus)

You can’t just come in here like that no more and snatch up our childhood you can’t just walk on up and replace it yo, with you Hollywood but I see now how all of the words I say you’ll take and misconstrue and I’m prepared now to suffer the penalties for speakin’ the truth and I speak the truth when I say (chorus)

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People if you here me now I wanchta to say Naa, na-naa, na-naa, naah People if you hear me now I wantcha to say Naa, na-naa, na-naa, naah

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’t Maakt Ons Niet Uit (refrein) ’t Maakt ons niet uit want we deden het al altijd maar als je offers van ons vereist dan betaal je daarvoor de prijs ’t maakt ons niet uit want we deden het al altijd maar als je offers van ons vereist geef dan ons leven’ n duw vooruit

Je denkt dat ik kwetsbaar ben voor je verdrukking omdat ik een traan laat, een traan laat je denkt dat ik kwetsbaar ben voor je geweld gewoon omdat ik hier sta maar mijn baby’s kwamen in deze wereld zonder de minste angst, niet één angst want de zeven generaties voor mij vochten voor onze plaats hier (refrein)

Je kan hier niet zomaar binnenlopen en ons onze jeugd afnemen je kan niet zomaar aankloppen als j’ alles vervangen moet, door je Hollywood maar nu weet ik dat je alles wat ik je zei, helemaal verkeerd begreep en ‘k ben bereid nu om de gevolgen te dragen als ik de waarheid spreek en dat doe ik ook wanneer ik zeg (refrein)

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Iedereen die me horen kan, zeg Naa, na-naa, na-naa, naah Iedereen die me horen kan Naa, na-naa, na-naa, naah

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Track 17 ° You’re still listenin' to Stay Human Radio where we’re waiting word right now from Sunny Hill Women’s correctional facility on the status of the scheduled execution of Sister Fatima. I think I hear Brother Soulshine coming down the hall perhaps he has news of what happened, Brother? - Eh, yes Sister, we just received word that at 12.37 a.m. Sister Fatima was injected with a lethal dose of chemicals and at 12.45 she was pronounced dead. So, we' re gonna keep on with the music here, but…eh…wanna encourage everybody just to hold the vibes out there. Peace.

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Track 17 ° Je luistert nog steeds naar Radio Blijf Menselijk waar we wachten op nieuws vanuit de Sunny Hill vrouwengevangenis over hoe het zit met de geplande executie van Zuster Fatima. Ik denk dat ik Brother Soulshine in de hal hoor, misschien dat hij nieuws heeft over wat er gebeurd is, Brother? - Euh, ja zuster, we kregen net te horen dat Zuster Fatima om 00.37u. werd geïnjecteerd met een dodelijke dosis chemische stoffen en dat ze om 00.45u. dood verklaard werd. Dus, we gaan verder met de muziek hier, maar…euh…ik wil iedereen aanmoedigen om de goeie vibes niet los te laten. Peace.

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Speaking Of Tongues You don’t have to be so scared to share what’s inside ‘cause you’re Daddy’s little superstar, and your mama’s little butterfly Fly high…

A strange strange litany of verses and reverses ad-libs and rehearses clouds burst and words cursed an argument breaks out it’s one we’ve all heard before, it’s boring had us all snoring from the first line one after another chimed in perfect time tired rehashes of petty cashes and mismatches you shoulda coulda’s and “why didn’tcha dida’s” crippling snippets aimed at the heart to inflame and impart blame framed like Mumia verbal diarrhea spasms creating chasms between the souls of two or two billion nations torn apart, station to station damnation, with much deliberation and very little consideration to the return on the damage from the altercation, collateral condemnation then denyin’ like colorization of an old black and white create a revision of the recent last night the fight that started with two words “I’m right”

(chorus) You don’t have to be so scared to share what’s inside ‘cause your Daddy’s little superstar, and your mama’s little butterfly Fly high…

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But of course the fight ends with no resolution merely a vow for retribution, substitution, execution, electrocution ruthless, toothless, and truthless mumbling through page after page of excuses abuses of the gift of gab Gabriel the trumpeter bestowed upon us a voice with a choice and a tongue kept moist by years of salivating for oysters…pearls and aphrodisiacs locked in an ugly shell always too chewy and gooey so they get swallowed whole, but a tongue is so much more than a vehicle for greed or the decipherer of feed, a tongue is for washing fur or for licking wounds or for welcoming newcomers into a room or cleansing those fresh from the womb without a tongue there’s be no croons, swoons, Junes under the moon, no bees pollinating no flowers to bloom, no recitation of words at the foot of a tomb or wills read allowed of the family heirlooms you probably couldn’t even blow up a balloon, and that would be a shame, because to exhale’s the name of the game exhale from the heart, not from the lungs speak from the heart, not from the tongue (chorus) Listening is understanding and finding compassion, love is the action of soul satisfaction a tongue can make wishes and also fine kisses taste a sweet cake and also cast disses but nothing compares to the voice from within, without it we might just be mannequins, up to no darn good shenanigans

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learn to be skillful movers of the stones that block the heart and turn humans to clones learn to forgive, set free the bones, touch with your flesh, take off the rubber gloves love like your life depends on it because it does!!!!!! (chorus)

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Geen Gespleten Tongen Je moet niet zo bang zijn om te tonen wie je bent want je bent papa’s kleine superster, en mama’s kleine vlindertje Vlieg hoog…

Een zeer vreemde litanie van strofen en refreinen improvisaties en herhalingen wolken breken, woorden vloeken een conflict ontstaat het is ons niet onbekend, hoe vervelend meteen bij de eerste zin overviel ons allen moeheid ’t een woord na ‘t andere weerklinkt perfect op tijd afgezaagde ruzies over geld en relaties je zou moeten, zou kunnen en “waarom deed je ’t niet” verlammende woordjes doelend op het hart kritiek ontsteken en mededelen vals beschuldigd zoals Mumia krampen van al dat gezever een kloof creëren tussen de zielen van twee of van twee miljard verscheurde naties, van station naar station verdoemenis met veel opzet en weinig begrip als antwoord op de schade veroorzaakt door twist toevallige veroordeling en ‘t dan ontkennen zoals de inkleuring van een oude zwart-wit film alles herzien van de voorbije nacht ’t conflict dat begon met 3 woorden “ik heb gelijk”

(refrein) Je moet niet zo bang zijn om te tonen wie je bent want je bent papa’s kleine superster, en mama’s kleine vlindertje Vlieg hoog…

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En natuurlijk eindigt ‘t conflict zonder ‘n oplossing enkel een belofte van vergelding, vervanging, executie, elektrocutie meedogenloos, krachteloos en onoprecht pagina na pagina excuses prevelen misbruik maken van ‘n gladde tong Gabriël de trompetspeler schonk ons een stem met een keuze en een tong die nat bleef door jaren snakken naar oesters…parels en afrodisiaca opgesloten in een lelijke schelp, altijd te taai en slijmerig daarom worden ze in hun geheel doorgeslikt maar een tong is zoveel meer dan een drager van gulzigheid of de ontcijferaar van eten een tong dient om pels te wassen of om wonden schoon te likken of om nieuwkomers welkom te heten of om hen vers van de baarmoeder te reinigen zonder de tong kan je niet neuriën geen flauwtes, geen juni onder de maan geen bijen die bestuiven, geen bloemen die bloeien geen declamatie van woorden aan de voet van een graf of testamenten voorgelezen die erfstukken toekennen je zou niet eens een ballon kunnen opblazen en dat zou zonde zijn want uitademen is waar het om gaat uitademen vanuit het hart, niet van de longen spreek vanuit het hart, niet vanaf de tong (refrein) Luisteren is begrijpen en medeleven vinden, liefde is de actie van zielsatisfactie een tong kan wensen en ook zoet kussen een lekkere cake proeven en door beledigingen iemand raken maar niets is te vergelijken met de innerlijke stem zonder haar zouden we gewoon etalagepoppen zijn die enkel op stomme rotstreken uit zijn

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leer om vaardig de stenen te verwijderen die het hart blokkeren en mensen veranderen in klonen leer te vergeven, bevrijd de beenderen raak dingen aan met je vlees, weg met rubberen handschoenen heb lief alsof je leven er vanaf hangt want dat is ook zo !!!! (refrein)

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Track 19 - We have a special report from Brother Jilaal who is outside the Governor’s house. Brother Jilaal how are you doing out there? # Actually, I'm not doin' too good, Brother Soulshine, as you 've heard it’s official the Governor has won by a landslide. - I’ve just been handed a piece of paper, let’s see what it’s gonna have. Oh my god, it says here that the real killer of James and Ellen Buchanan came forward. # Wait a minute, Brother Soulshine, I’m getting on my radio as well. Yeah, this is breaking news, they say they have found, as a matter of fact he has come forward saying that he’s the actual killer of the couple that allegedly Sister Fatima murdered. Eh, wait a minute. - Oh my god, so Sister Fatima was innocent? They killed an innocent woman? # Wait a minute, he’s actually providing the authorities with the weapon that he supposedly used to kill the couple and he’s actually showing where the bodies were buried…this is unbelievable - This is incredible, I can’t believe this! Has Governor Shane commented at all? # Wait a minute, they’re going crazy, man. It’s a mass hysteria around here. Obviously, the word has gotten out to the public and these people are going stark raving mad around here! - I can’t believe it, I can’t believe it… # Hold on one second, Brother Soulshine. Unbelievable, man! - What happened? # Someone said they heard gunshots from the Governor’s mansion - What? # Hold on a second. Hold on. Obviously something is really goin' on inside the Governor's mansion. They say they 've heard gunshots from the Governor’s mansion. - Oh my god, this is crazy! I can’t believe it! # This is insane, I have no idea of what’s going on. Brother, as soon as I find out something, I will get back to you - All right.

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Track 19 - Nu volgt een speciaal verslag van Brother Jilaal die voor het huis van de Gouverneur staat. Brother Jilaal, alles ok ginder? # Ik voel me niet al te best, Brother Soulshine. Zoals je hoorde is het officieel dat de Gouverneur een verpletterende overwinning behaalde. - Ze geven me hier net een papiertje, even kijken wat erop staat. Mijn God, er staat hier dat de echte moordenaar van James en Ellen Buchanan zich bekend heeft gemaakt. # Wacht even, Brother Soulshine, ik hoor ook wat op mijn radio. Ja, dit is een primeur. Ze zeggen dat ze de echte moordenaar hebben gevonden van het koppel dat Zuster Fatima zou hebben vermoord, of beter gezegd hij heeft zich zelf aangegeven. Wacht even. - Oh nee, dus Zuster Fatima was onschuldig? Ze hebben een onschuldige vrouw omgebracht? # Wacht even, hij heeft zowaar het wapen bij de politie ingeleverd waarmee hij waarschijnlijk het koppel vermoord heeft en hij toont zelfs waar de lichamen begraven zijn…dit is niet te geloven - Dit is ongelofelijk, ik kan het niet geloven! Heeft Gouverneur Shane al commentaar gegeven? # Wacht even, ze worden hier gek, man. Het is hier een massahysterie. Het nieuws heeft duidelijk het grote publiek bereikt en ze worden hier stapelgek! - Het is niet te geloven, ik geloof het niet… # Blijf even aan de lijn, Brother Soulshine. Ongelofelijk, man! - Wat is er gebeurd? # Iemand beweerde geweerschoten te horen in het Gouverneurshuis - Wat? # Wacht even. Wacht. Er is blijkbaar echt iets gaande binnenin het huis. Ze zeggen dat er geweerschoten klonken vanuit het Gouverneurshuis. - Oh God, dit is waanzinnig! Niet te geloven! # Dit is krankzinnig, ik heb geen idee van wat er aan de hand is. Brother, zodra ik meer weet, kom ik bij jullie terug. - In orde.

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Listener Supported Six foot six above sea level I grab the mic because I like to take you to anotha mental level low power frequency radio modulation the big sound from underground anotha pirate station we bring the truth to places truth is never heard before we bring the sound communication of our tribal war dark vision fly by helicopters in the night attempt triangulation of our station in the fight straight from the bass the deep down low precision high crime treason we broadcastin’ sedission like the wall street mornin’ afternoon edition commandeering airwaves from unknown positions

(chorus) Live and direct we comin’ never pre-recorded with information that will never be reported disregard the mainstream media distorted whoop! whoop! we comin’ listener supported

Don’t take no prisoners if you can’t afford to feed none don’t start no fights if you cannot predict the outcome don’t make donations where you cannot get your dough back fuck the apathetic bullshittas send ’em all your prozac I will not climb into your telephone tree and “hell no you can’t put me on hold!!!” it’s the same recorded message you been singin’ all along keep handin’ us the bible while you walkin’ off with all the gold the bureaucratic office sends you merry-go-rounding while the KKK police the streets by blood hounding interest on the credit card just keeps on compounding but the FCC can neva shut this pirate sound down (chorus)

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Gesteund Door Jullie Een meter vijfennegentig boven de zeespiegel neem ik de micro om je te vervoeren naar ‘n andere mentale level de radio afstemmen op een lagere frequentie ’t alternatieve geluid, nog ’n clandestiene zender we brengen de waarheid naar onwetende locaties we staan voor het geluid van onze tribale strijd de sombere gedaantes van helikopters in de nacht lokaliseren onze zender in gevecht recht vanuit de bas de laagste, innerlijke precisie misdadig hoogverraad, we zenden oproer uit net als de wall street ochtend -en namiddageditie luchtgolven opeisen vanuit ongekende posities

(refrein) We gaan live en direct, nooit vooraf opgenomen geven informatie die men nooit publiek zal tonen negeren de mainstream media die alles vervormen whoop! whoop! worden gesteund door ons publiek

Neem geen gevangenen als je hen geen eten kan geven begin geen gevecht als je ’t resultaat niet op voorhand kan weten maak geen schenkingen als je niets terug krijgt van je poen fuck de apathische zeikerds, stuur hen al je prozac toe ik wil geen deel uitmaken van je telefoonketting en geen sprake van dat je mij aan ’t lijntje houdt met dezelfde opgenomen boodschap van altijd ons de bijbel blijven aanreiken terwijl j’ er vandoor gaat met het goud de bureaucratie stuurt je van ‘t kastje naar de muur terwijl de KKK de straten controleert elk uur de interest op de credit cards blijft maar stijgen maar de censuur zal dit rebels geluid nooit doen zwijgen (refrein)

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Track 21 ° We have more breaking news. We have recently confirmed the report that at 2.35 this afternoon Governor Franklin Shane died from a gunshot wound to the head. The wound was apparently self-inflicted. In the aftermath of this, reports have surfaced all over the internet about the truth to this whole story that the mainstream media has refused to report. - That’s right. You know I really feel that it’s time, personally, that we start to take the media into our own hands and become the media ourselves. We need to start opening our own stations. In fact I've heard there are a lot of stations opening… < Freeze, it’s the FBI, down…get out!!! ° The FBI is busting in the door! < Shut that thing of!! < Get your ass down on the ground!!! ° STAY HUMAN! < This is no bull_____________________

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Track 21 ° We hebben nog een primeur. Het bericht dat Gouverneur Franklin Shane om 14.35u deze namiddag stierf aan een schotwond aan het hoofd, is net bevestigd. Blijkbaar heeft hij het zelf gedaan. In de nasleep hiervan, verschijnen overal verslagen op het internet over de waarheid achter dit hele verhaal dat de toonaangevende media weigerden te rapporteren - Inderdaad. Weet je, ik heb persoonlijk echt het gevoel dat het tijd is dat we de media in eigen handen nemen en zelf de media worden. We moeten onze eigen radiostations weer opstarten. Ik hoorde dat er weer veel stations opengaan… < Blijven staan, FBI, liggen…naar buiten!! ° De FBI is binnengevallen! < Sluit dat ding af! < Ga liggen, verdomme!!! ° BLIJF MENSELIJK < Dit is geen______________

Featuring: ° * + § # <

= Brother Soulshine = The Nubian Poetess = Governor Franklin Shane = Caller = Sister Fatima = Brother Jilaal = FBI

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Skin On The Drum * I’m a little under the weather today too much pepper spray can make a brother congested, ya know what I’m sayin’ But the harder they hit us, the louder we become kinda like the skin on the drum *

I was born botanical the soul of an animal deep beneath the layers, I sink my roots, no need for mechanical I come strictly organical when I need to feast, I look to the East that’s why I’m never scared of the beast even though they try to prey upon me I’m protected by the one always greater than me so now I reveal to thee because you wanna see the contour of my mystery the strength of my arches the color of my conscience and the way that I process my diction some fact some fiction some mystery and some future fantasy I’m the trunk that holds the branches the leaves who do the dances my flowers romantic my love gigantic from Africa, transplanted transatlantic in the heat of the sun I bring shade for everyone like the beat on the one I’m the skin on the drum

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(chorus) I keep on living with the fullness of the one like the heat of the sun or the skin on the drum

I’m fully marinated and now I’m ready for the fire so you can fire one!!! fire one!!! fire two…!!!

See I been fully marinated and now I’m ready for the fire see I’m beginning to perspire from deep within to the skin yo, the feminine and the masculine the pieces of the puzzle see me reflections in the puddle after the storm the purple of the sky brings to mind another time when we resided below the water line life was fine there human, divine but in the years following evil men came, swallowing everything in sight some learned to run, some stayed to fight I kneeled at the tomb of the soldier said I would love to behold her the magic in store there she touched me on the shoulder she said, “in time all is revealed, Box of light be unsealed… …now listen to me son, be like the skin on the drum.” (chorus)

And as all the pepper gas clears and police and protesters go home just as the morning dew, are teardrops of the night, my emotions are always therefore you and will never leave you dry…Bless…

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Het Vel op de Drum * Ik voel me nogal slecht vandaag van te veel pepper spray kan je nu eenmaal moeilijk ademen, weet je Maar hoe harder ze ons raken, hoe luider we worden ’n beetje zoals het vel op de drum *

Ik ben als een plant met de ziel van een dier diep onder de lagen, duw ik mijn wortels geen nood aan het mechanische ik doe ’t uitsluitend organisch wanneer ik wil genieten, kijk ik naar het Oosten en ik ben nooit bang voor het beest ook al proberen ze te jagen op mij toch ben ik beschermd door hij die groter is dan ik dus onthul ik je nu omdat je wil zien de omtrek van mijn mysterie de sterkte van mijn bogen de kleur van mijn geweten en wat ik doe met woorden soms feiten, soms fictie, soms mysterie en soms ook toekomstfantasie ik ben de stam die de takken vasthoudt de dansende bladeren mijn romantische bloemen mijn gigantische liefde die vanuit Afrika verplant is, transatlantisch in de hitte van de zon breng ik schaduw alom zoals de slag op d’ eerste tel ben ik voor de drum het drumvel

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(refrein) Ik blijf leven door ’t volle van d’ eerste tel zoals de hitte van de zon of het drumvel

‘k ben compleet gemarineerd en dus voor ’t vuur gereed dus vuur maar af!!! vuur een keer!!! vuur twee keer!!!

‘k Ben compleet gemarineerd en dus voor ’t vuur gereed en nu begint het gezweet van binnenuit naar de huid het vrouwelijke en het mannelijke de stukjes van de puzzel in de plas zie ik mijn reflecties in de hemel na de storm ’n purperen projectie die me doet denken aan ’n andere tijd toen we woonden onder de waterlijn ’t leven was daar fijn, menselijk, goddelijk maar in de jaren die volgden kwamen slechte mensen, en die verzwolgen alles in zicht sommige leerden vluchten, anderen bleven vechten ik knielde bij het graf van de soldaat zei dat ik haar graag aanschouwen had de magie die erin opgeborgen is ze raakte mijn schouder aan ze zei: “de tijd zal alles uitwijzen, de Doos zal open gaan …luister naar me zoon, wees als het vel op de drum (refrein) En wanneer alle pepper spray wegtrekt en politie en protesteerders naar huis gaan, zijn de tranen, net als de ochtenddouw, van de nacht mijn gevoelens zijn er altijd voor jou en zullen je nooit doen uitdrogen…Wees gezegend

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III. TRANSLATION COMMENTS A. Song translation in general 1. Introduction In his article The Plurisemiotics of Pop Song Translation, Dr. Klaus Kaindl, Professor at the University of Vienna, defines the importance of popular songs as follows: “Popular music is part of our daily lives, both in its aural dimension, e.g. in underground stations, shops, and restaurants, and in its visualized form, i.e. in TV and in concerts. It is a cross-cultural phenomenon, and as such it is a segment of high-volume translation. Popular songs are important mass media products through which cultures are articulated and hence communicated to people of different linguistic, historical and cultural backgrounds. Notwithstanding their presence, popular songs have largely been neglected in translation studies” (2004: 1). The latter indeed is quite remarkable. One would think that the translation of popular songs would attract more attention in translation studies, considering they are such a wide-spread phenomenon. However, there is hardly any literature on the topic. This was confirmed by Dr. Kaindl in an e-mail addressed to me: the articles to which he refers in his own publication are the only ones. These are mostly in German and focus on German Schlager music. There are practically no works on pop song translation in English or other languages. Apparently the translation of pop songs is, like so many other translations, culture bound. Countries that in general tend to translate a lot (e.g. dubbing on television rather than keeping the original language with subtitles), like for instance Germany, also seem to be more familiar with the translation of songs. Anglo-Saxon countries on the contrary do not translate lyrics. Obviously that is because of the monopoly of the English language in contemporary pop music. Many songwriters write in English, even when they are no native speakers. Some possible explanations for this might first of all be the great success of English rock ’n roll/pop/rock music in the past and secondly the fact that English is musically a very interesting language.

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Compared to Dutch or French speakers, the English always need fewer words to express themselves. This results in shorter sentences, which just happens to be more useful for song lyrics. In his article Kaindl tries to assess whether there are different translation methods for popular songs. He cites Haupt who makes a distinction between two types of song translations:

“[…]those which completely change the original text, and others which try to reproduce the source text and only make minimal changes necessitated by musical constraints.” (1957:3)

In the first type of translation the translator seems to rewrite the song lyrics more than trying to look for an equivalent translation. But why would one change the original text? According to Worbs (1963) these changes do make sense. First of all, the content and style of the translated song have to correspond with the image of the singer and with the rest of his repertoire. Secondly, a song has to correspond with the specific mentality of a nation. Not all subjects are allowed in all countries. There are still many taboos, which vary from country to country. The second type of translation is the category in which I would like to situate my own Dutch translation of the Spearhead lyrics. I have tried to reproduce the source text and made only minimal changes whenever necessary. The changes I made were always well-considered because I tried to take into account the three main pillars of each song; content, rhythm and rhyme.

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2. The balance between content, rhythm & rhyme As I already mentioned content, rhythm and rhyme were the three main pillars I had to deal with when translating the songs. It was not always possible to find suitable solutions in my Dutch translation. Sometimes I had to choose between rhythm or rhyme, depending on what was most important in a particular song, or verse. Consequently, each song presented new choices. Below I go into each of the three pillars, in order of importance.

2.1. Content There is no doubt that the content is the most important pillar – that is, in the type of songs I translated. In my opinion the translator would be deceiving the reader/listener if (s)he changes the content of a song, unless the whole song is changed. A translator of popular songs should not create the impression to give a translation of the song when its meaning has been partially changed. That is why to me the content was always more important than the rhythm and rhyme.

True enough, in some modern pop music the content of the song does not matter at all. What matters is whether the lyrics sound catchy, so people can sing along easily. However, this is not the case with the Spearhead lyrics.

2.2. Rhythm When translating a song, it is really important to keep in mind that the translation too has to be “singable”. One has to be aware of the number of syllables in each line, and one has to know where the accents are in the original song. After all song lyrics are like poetry; when the rhythm is lost, they lose some of their impact. In my translation I tried to keep the same rhythmical structure wherever possible, as long as I could preserve the same content as well.

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2.3. Rhyme Rhyme seems to be of minor importance but is nevertheless essential in the genre of the songs I translated. It really contributes to the flow of the song. Therefore I tried to preserve the rhyme whenever I could, e.g. by changing structures or the word order of certain verses. When it was not possible to rhyme in the same places as in the original version I tried to compensate this by rhyming on other places. The translation comments will show that I have tried to rhyme whenever there was a slight possibility to do so. Notice that the rhyming in this type of songs is quite irregular. Michael Franti rhymes wherever he can, without following a certain rhyming pattern, which happens in poetry too. This creates a certain freedom in the translation as it allows the translator to compensate lost rhymes whenever possible.

3. Culture bound concepts or terms According to Kaindl it is important with the translation of popular songs to adapt the translation to the culture of the target language. This may be right in certain cases, as discussed in chapter one. However, I did this only partially with my translations. In my opinion it is important to preserve the American context in the translation of the Spearhead songs so as to preserve the political references. The translation has to give the listener an idea about the situation in America concerning the death penalty, so there is no point in adapting the translation to our Dutch culture. Still, the translation of culture-bound concepts or terms is often problematic. Sometimes there is just no equivalent for them in the target language. I have tried to translate most occurrences, and left the original terms in only when I could not find any equivalent. It seemed a better solution to me than replacing them by concepts in the target language that deviate too much. Some listeners will therefore not understand everything right away, but the preservation of the American context is important as well.

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4. Translation of popular songs in Belgium & the Netherlands Since I was translating into Dutch I tried to find out whether or not there is a market for the translation of popular songs in Dutch speaking areas. Another thing I wondered about was, who translates pop songs? Is this done by translators or mostly by musicians? 4.1. Belgium In Belgium there is not much of a market in song translation, perhaps because we are just a small country, familiar with the English language. And when occasionally a song is translated, this is usually done by the author himself, if possible, or musicians and singer songwriters. A good example of this might be the new album of the Flemish singer Yasmine, which is an album full of translations of Leonard Cohen songs. All the songs have been translated by musicians. Not one of them by a translator. In a way this makes sense; the translation of popular songs requires some musical knowledge, next to some essential language knowledge. 4.2. The Netherlands In the Netherlands song translation appears to be more current than in Belgium. Perhaps there is a bigger market. There is even a Dutch website full of translated song lyrics, www.nedtlyrics.nl. Readers can send in requests and have any song translated for them. All translations are made by translators, not musicians, and this is noticeable. I checked the translation of some songs I knew and found out that the translation given was in most cases quite literal. Rhythm and rhyme seemed not to be considered and even the content was not always clear. When I read the translation it did not feel like a song at all. Literal translations make pop songs lose their poetic touch. But of course this was just one website and its purpose is only to make the listeners understand the meaning of the songs. Keeping that in mind the translation of the content is indeed more important than maintaining rhyme and rhythm in.

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In the Netherlands too, most song translation appears to be done by musicians or translators who know music. There are some very famous translations of Herman Van Veen, one of the Netherlands’ most famous artists and the translations of Rick De Leeuw are as well quite known. On the album covers you will mostly find that the artist himself or some other musicians translated the song, not a translator.

4.3. Comparison of Song translation To conclude with I would like to make a comparison between two different translations of one and the same song. One of the translations was done by a translator, working for the website nedtlyrics.nl, in order to make the content of the song clear to the listener, the other by a musician, in order to sing it in Dutch. The song I chose is one by Leonard Cohen, called Famous Blue Raincoat. First of all I will discuss the translation done by translators. Secondly I will discuss the translation done by musicians for the new album of Yasmine, which I mentioned before. The songs on the album are translated by musicians from Belgium & the Netherlands. The lyrics can be found below. 4.3.1. Translation by a translator First of all the title of the song Famous Blue Raincoat has not been translated. This is probably because this is not too important for the target group, in this case any Dutch speaker who would like to understand the content of a certain song and is likely to know it by its English title anyway. In general, this is a very literal translation. The textual structure is the same and the word order is more or less similar as well. The translator does not take into account either rhythm or rhyme. This at times results in strange sentences, like for instance Een andere dunne zigeunerdief as a translation for one more thin gipsy thief. Such literal translations hardly make any sense in Dutch.

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Then there are a few minor differences between the original version and the translated one in some places. The last time we saw you…becomes de laatste keer dat ik je zag and Your enemy is sleeping and his woman is free becomes Je vijand slaapt, en deze vrouw is vrij. Finally, I detected one typing error: broor instead of broer. Surely this is no more than a small mistake, but it nevertheless shows some carelessness probably due to the fact that the translator was under time pressure.

All the differences I have just discussed, are marked in the translated lyrics below.

4.3.2. Translation by a musician The translation done by a musician is completely different. Obviously this translator does take the musicality of the lyrics into account. He keeps the rhyme in and when reading the lyrics aloud you can hear clearly that the translator has followed a certain rhythmical pattern. He does not translate literally, but really plays with the words. In fact, he has almost created new lyrics. This trend is even noticeable in the title of the song. Famous Blue Raincoat becomes Je eeuwige regenjas. This seems different at first, but actually means exactly the same. When someone s’ raincoat is called ‘famous’ it means that this person always wears this same raincoat. It is something typical of that person. This idea is made perfectly clear in Dutch by the word eeuwige. Furthermore, the translator adapts the song to the Dutch listener/ reader. He replaces New York, for instance, by de stad, and There’s music on clinton street all through the evening becomes Het café op de hoek is precies wat ik zoek. This means he puts the song in another context, adapted to the target culture. Well I see you there with the rose in your teeth. One more thin gypsy thief. Whereas in the first version this part of the lyrics is quite literal, the musician has changed these two sentences completely. The translation he gives is Ik zie jou, je glimlacht de wereld lacht mee. Weer zo’n plat vrijheidscliché. There are more examples of differences between the original lyrics and the translated lyrics but I decided not to discuss all of them, as most changes are quite obvious. However, I have marked them in the translated lyrics below.

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Although the musician changes a lot in his translation, the content of the song remains more or less the same. The words he changes do not change the meaning, or only in as far as the song will have to function in a different context. In spite of all those changes the translation therefore remains quite loyal to the original version. 4.3.3. Conclusion One can clearly see the difference between the translation of a translator and that of a musician, but the motivation behind this difference really is the different purpose of the translations. The first one is more literal and only the content seems to be important, not rhythm and rhyme. The second translation does try to combine content, rhythm and rhyme. If a translation is meant to be sung, this requires linguistic knowledge, but also some knowledge of rhythmical structures, like in poetry and music. The second translator therefore constantly has to make choices between rhythm and rhyme and has to play with words so as to get them all into the right order, while respecting the meaning of the source text – if he wants to produce a similar kind of song that does not have the ‘feel’ of a translation.

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4.3.4. Song lyrics Famous Blue Raincoat It’s four in the morning, the end of December I’m writing you now just to see if you’re better New York is cold, but I like where I’m living There’s music on clinton street all through the evening. I hear that you’re building your little house deep in the desert You’re living for nothing now, I hope you’re keeping some kind of record. Yes, and jane came by with a lock of your hair She said that you gave it to her That night that you planned to go clear Did you ever go clear? Ah, the last time we saw you, you looked so much older Your famous blue raincoat was torn at the shoulder You’d been to the station to meet every train And you came home without lili marlene And you treated my woman to a flake of your life And when she came back she was nobody’s wife. Well I see you there with the rose in your teeth One more thin gypsy thief Well I see janes awake -She sends her regards. And what can I tell you my brother, my killer What can I possibly say? I guess that I miss you, I guess I forgive you I’m glad you stood in my way. If you ever come by here, for Jane or for me Your enemy is sleeping, and his woman is free. Yes, and thanks, for the trouble you took from her eyes I thought it was there for good so I never tried. And Jane came by with a lock of your hair She said that you gave it to her That night that you planned to go clear57 -- Sincerely, l. Cohen

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http://leonard-cohen-lyrics.wonderlyrics.com/Famous-Blue-Raincoat.html

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(No title) Het is vier uur 's ochtends, eind december Ik schrijf je nu om te zien of je beter bent Het is koud in New York, maar ik houd van mijn woonplaats Er is muziek op Clinton Street die de hele avond duurt Ik hoorde dat je een huisje aan het bouwen bent diep in de woestijn Je leeft nu nergens voor, ik hoop dat je een soort verslag bijhoudt Ja, en Jane kwam langs met een lok van je haar Ze zei dat je het aan haar gegeven had Die nacht dat je besloot om schoon te worden Ben je ooit schoon geweest? Ah, de laatste keer dat ik je zag zag je er zo veel ouder uit Je bekende blauwe regenjas was gescheurd op de schouder Je was op het station geweest om elke trein te begroeten En je kwam zonder Lili Marlene thuis En je behandelde mijn vrouw als een schilfer van je leven En toen ze terugkwam was ze niemands vrouw meer Nou, ik zie je daar met de roos tussen je tanden Een andere dunne zigeuner dief Nou, ik merk dat Jane wakker is Ze stuurt je haar groeten En wat kan ik je vertellen, mijn broor, mijn moordenaar Wat kan ik misschien zeggen? Ik denk dat ik je mis, ik denk dat ik je vergeef Ik ben blij dat je in de weg stond Als je hier ooit langskomt, voor Jane of voor mij Je vijand slaapt, en deze vrouw is vrij Ja, en dank je, voor de problemen die je voor haar ogen wegnam Ik dacht dat het daar voor altijd was, dus heb ik het nooit geprobeerd En Jane kwam langs met een lok van je haar Ze zei dat je het aan haar had gegeven De nacht dat je besloten had om schoon te worden58

58

http://www.nedtlyrics.nl/leonardcohen/famousblueraincoat.html

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Je eeuwige regenjas Het is vier uur ‘s nachts, en einde december Ik schrijf je, wil weten, gaat het nu beter Het is koud in de stad maar de buurt hier is goed Het café op de hoek is precies wat ik zoek Ik hoor dat het huis dat je bouwt op het strand bijna klaar is Even geen leven nu, ik hoop niet dat het echt waar is Ja, en Jane kwam langs met een lok van je haar Ze zei dat jij ‘t haar gegeven had toen je schoon schip wilde maken Hoe schoner is schoon Die laatste avond, je leek zoveel ouder Je eeuwige regenjas, gescheurd aan je schouder Je was naar het station geweest, daar ging je graag heen Maar je kwam terug zonder Lili Marlene En wat je deed met mijn vrouw, heeft me toen erg verbaasd Want toen ze terugkwam, was ze haar eigen baas Ik zie jou, je glimlacht de wereld lacht mee Weer zo’n plat vrijheidscliché Maar ik zie hoe Jane ontwaakt En ze vraagt hoe het gaat Wat kan ik zeggen, m’n broeder, m’n vijand Woorden schieten tekort Ik kan me vergissen, maar ik mis je waarschijnlijk Ik ben blij ik jou tegenkwam En als je ooit langskomt, voor Jane of voor mij Jouw vijand slaapt nu, en haar vrouw is nu vrij En de waas die een eeuwigheid hing voor haar ogen is vervlogen als mist in de middag door jou En Jane kwam langs met een lok van je haar ze zei dat jij ‘t haar gegeven had Toen je schoon schip wilde maken Met liefde, je vriend59.

59

http://www.yasmine.be/index03.htm

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B. Translation Comments – Spearhead lyrics 1. Radio Segments In between each song or every other song there is a fictional piece of radio. These intermezzos on the DVD create the illusion that the listener is actually tuned into a real radio station dealing with current, newsworthy topics. Even phone calls of socalled listeners are included. The radio show in question discusses the topic of the death penalty, of course. It focuses on the case of someone called Sister Fatima, an innocent woman on death row, and tries to prove her innocence to the listener. Although the case of Sister Fatima is fictitious, it suggests a real case. The DVD wants to make the listener aware of this. The excerpts form the framework of the album and each song fits into the radio programme in it its own different way.

1.1. Problematic concepts or terms in the source text The Nubian Poetess, Brother Soulshine, & Brother Jilaal. I left the names of these characters in English: I could not find any good equivalents and I thought maybe a literal translation of their names would be strange in Dutch. As the story is about America, I considered it to be the best solution to maintain their names in English

- Malcolm and Martin, George and Jonathan: In this case too, the names remain in my translation, even though I am not altogether sure who they refer to and therefore expect that they may not be clear to a Flemish audience. However, there seems to be no alternative since Franti’s American background is so outspoken. The first two names probably refer to Malcolm X and Martin Luther King, but what about the other two? Is “George” George Washington Carver? And who is “Jonathan”? It is a question I put to Michael Franti, but unfortunately I never received a reply.

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1.2. The use of slang The radio segments, and the song lyrics as well, are in spoken language, somewhere near slang language. Examples of this are for instance the abbreviation of verbs or contraction of words:

- Verbs/words are cut off: e.g. doin’, singin’, goin’, listenin’, nothin’, etc. - Contractions: e.g. ain’t it, instead of isn’t it; gonna, instead of going to; fulla, instead of full of, etc. These are typical examples of informal language. It is impossible to translate these constructions, as we do not use them in Dutch. However, I did translate single slang words that occurred in the lyrics, as is it is possible to find equivalents for them in Dutch.

2. Quotes Some of the quotes on the DVD cover are the words of a number of famous people giving their opinions on the death penalty, the theme of the album. Other quotes provide some additional facts about the topic. The purpose of the quotes is no doubt to reinforce the point the songs make. 2.1 Problematic concepts or terms in the source text Solomon’s law of an eye for an eye blurs our vision of greatness: This refers to King Solomon, the biblical figure. However, what is not so obvious is whether “an eye for an eye” is really his law. Most works of reference merely point out that “The Bible says…an eye for an eye…” One view states that “an eye for an eye” comes from King Hamurabi’s code of Law. He supposedly is the actual “inventor” of the law, not Solomon60.

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http://www.tips4me.com/tips/gk/preview_main.asp?tip=ancientcivilisations_ac1

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By contrast, the most common reference to “Solomon’s law” is related to a situation which calls for a difficult decision. The expression then refers to one of Solomon’s famous wise acts. The story goes that two mothers were once claiming a child was theirs. To find out who the real mother was, Solomon announced that he wanted to cut the child in pieces so they could both have one. He then observed how the two women reacted and the real mother came forward, saying she would give up the child61. In brief, the reference to King Solomon in the source text is probably not correct. However, I did not feel I could correct the quote, moreover, the choice of what to replace the reference by would be a tricky one. I therefore chose to translate "Solomon’s law" literally as “de wet van Salomo". Why Salomo and not Solomon? In Dutch we speak of “Koning Salomo” to refer to the same person.

Prison Industrial complex activist: Angela Davis is known for her radical black activism. She defended the rights of black people not without risk to herself. At present, she is a member of the Advisory Board of the Prison Activist Resource centre. She now focuses on racism within the US prison system, which she calls the “punishment industry62”. In other words, Angela Davis is an activist who campaigns against prison as an industrial institution, based on a racist system. The ‘industrial’ in the quote refers to what she calls the punishment industry. There is no such thing as an equivalent in Dutch in this case, therefore I opted for an explanatory translation, i.e. “activiste tegen de gevangenisindustrie”.

61

http://www.museumca.org/goldrush/ar06.html

62

http://www.disinfo.com/archive/pages/dossier/id91/pg1/

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3. The lyrics 3.1. Oh My God 3.1.1 Problematic concepts or terms in the source text

Sellin’ fire water but outlawing the bong: This sentence is situated in the first paragraph. The word bong could not be found in a standard dictionary. Therefore I looked it up in a slang dictionary on the Internet where one of the options was: legal Marijuana. I translated bong by cannabis, because then I could rhyme with the Dutch word ‘is’63.

Slam Bam, I come unseen: This is an onomatopoeia. It was not easy to find an equivalent without sounding “childish” in this context. One could probably translate the word by boem patat or knets boenk or something of the same genre, but in my opinion this really sounds ridiculous in Dutch. Considering the Anglo-Saxon song genre, I therefore decided to maintain slam bam.

Stage a lethal injection the night before the election: The word election has been translated as electie. A more current word for this in Dutch is actually verkiezingen but then the rhyme with maffiapolitici and schijnarrestaties would be lost, and the rhyme is important for the flow of the song. Therefore I chose Electie, which is after all a recognized word in Dutch.

Listen in to my stethoscope on a rope: In the Dutch version on a rope has been left out (luister door mijn stethoscoop) It is hardly possible to find a short equivalent and I did not leave out any important information by making this decision. However, to maintain the rhyme in Dutch I used naar ‘t verloop instead. This does not add information, as it sort of repeats what you do with a stethoscope, but it is handy to rhyme.

63

http://www.slanguage.com/

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Internal lullabies, human cries: The translation for human cries is menselijke wanhoop. This is not exactly the same, but as human cries are usually quite desperate, I thought wanhoop would cover the same content. Why did I not translate this literally? Because I want to take each opportunity to rhyme, in this case wanhoop with verloop, as long as it does not affect the message.

I feel so mad I wanna bomb an institution This is the last sentence of the song. I translated institution by ministerie because institutie in Dutch can mean many things and "institution" appears to refer to some official body: the government is, after all, responsible for the death penalty. 3.1.2 Culture-bound concepts or terms ‘Cause you gave cash to the Feds This sentence is situated in the first paragraph. Fed is informal English for a police officer or other representative of the central government, e.g. someone of the FBI. I translated this by flikken in Dutch, an informal word for police officer. By doing this I reduce the meaning of Fed, but use a well-known colloquial term that fits the context well.

Left your school district for dead: This is problematic because in Belgium we do not have such thing as a “school district”. I translated the term as het onderwijs, which has a more general meaning than ‘school district’ but it more or less gives an idea of what this line is about: to leave your school district behind, to stop giving fees to support that same school district.

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3.2 Stay Human 3.2.1 Problematic concepts or terms in the source text Because the streets are alive with the sound of Boom Bap: The Boom Bap refers to rap or hip-hop music. The Internet has a lot of sites titled Boombap full of information about this kind of music. I could have translated the term into rap or hip hop music but I thought it would be better to maintain the Boombap here for two reasons: a) It contains both terms, hip hop and rap, as they do not exactly mean the same b) the word boombap is a very rhythmical word. Notice as well that the sentence refers ironically to the commercial blockbuster musical the Sound of Music; the hills are alive with the sound of music64.

Drive by bang in Testarossa: This is a slang expression and it means driving in your car, in this case a Ferrari Testarossa, and shooting around. I translated it as schietend vanuit een Testarossa.

I’m bringin’ food to the people like a widow - bringin’ flowers to a grave in the middle - of the city isolation is a riddle Franti often makes a new sentence out of every new line. However, in the first paragraph of this song he does not. These three lines actually blend into each other. At first they seem to be separated from each other, but actually they all go together. When one reads the lyrics for a second time it becomes clear that the word widow goes together with bringin’ flowers to a grave in the middle. At this point the reader/listener assumes that Franti is talking about a grave in the middle of a cemetery, but when one reads on to the third line it appears that in the middle is referring to in the middle of the city. 64

http://www.boombap.co.za/about.php http://www.theboombap.nl/ http://www.thaformula.com/

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In my Dutch translation I maintained this kind of structure, which is called enjambment (when in poetry two or more lines flow into each other without any punctuation marks). I preferred to translate the enjambment above the rhyme, as it seemed the best solution considering the rhythmic structure of the passage.

You want rights, ask’ em they’ll read them: This sentence is situated at the end of the second paragraph. It cannot be translated literally into Dutch, as the word play would be lost or the meaning of the passage might be changed. E.g. a translation like Wil je rechten, vraag ze, ze lezen ze, does not mean anything in Dutch. Wil je rechten, vraag ze, ze geven hen would imply that you are actually getting the rights you are asking for, which is obviously not the case here. So, I finally opted for Wil je rechten, vraag ze, ze kennen ze. This more or less gives the same information as the English version.

In time we find that we can open up a heart that’s locked or been broken by: This sentence is situated in the last paragraph. The Dutch version is Waarop w’ ontdekken dat we ’n hart kunnen openen, een hart gesloten of gebroken. As you can see I use the word hart twice in Dutch, which is different from the English version. If I left out hart in the first sentence this would result in an awkward sentence in Dutch: waarop w’ ontdekken dat we kunnen openen, een hart gesloten of gebroken. Moreover, the repetition adds to the rhythm of the text. 3.2.2 Culture-bound concepts or terms I left Robeson, Y2K, Cartwrights and Ponderosa unchanged in my translation. I felt there were no good translations for any of the references, nor good equivalents. I did not want to lose the American context either, by supplying Dutch equivalents. In any case, The Cartwrights and Ponderosa should be understandable; Bonanza was famous in Europe as well at one time and Y2K is computer language, which is jargon and therefore international.

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Robeson Recording: This refers to Paul Robeson, a black baritone singer, especially known from the song Ol’ Man River from the film Showboat. Robeson was not only a singer but caused a lot of commotion when he openly declared not to understand why black people, discriminated in the US, had to fight against the Russians in the Cold War for the sake of the US. He was therefore called a communist. He was a very intelligent man, went to university (which was extremely rare in those days), knew how to speak Russian and defended the status of black people in society65.

Y2K: Y2K stands for the year 2000 in computer language. It had everything to do with the coming of the new millennium, when scientists thought computers all over the world would crash66.

Cartwrights in the Ponderosa:

Refers to the American serial Bonanza, which was very popular in the sixties. The main family in the serial were the Cartwrights and they lived in the Ponderosa Ranch. It was a western with a lot of fighting and shooting, which is why it is mentioned in the lyrics67.

65

www.scc.rutgers.edu/njh/Paulrobeson/ www.y2ktimebomb.com 67 http://members.tripod.com/bonanza_2/bonanza.html 66

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3.3. Rock the Nation 3.3.1 Problematic concepts or terms in the source text

You might get laughed at you might get fined: This sentence is situated in the first paragraph. I translated this by ze kunnen met je lachen of j’ erbij lappen. This “erbij lappen” is dialect and is used in all kinds of contexts. Usually it means ‘to trick someone’ which might be considered as not quite the same as fined here, but Van Dale gives also the following explanation for iemand erbij lappen: iemand bekeuren. Therefore it can be used in this context.

This is the way I’ll express my feelings […] until […] every piece in the puzzle called the human race: The last part of the song is quite difficult. First of all, there is very little time to put all the words in the song, as they are rapped. This means I had to limit myself even more in my Dutch translation in order to get everything in. Secondly, the meaning of this last part is not entirely clear, e.g. what does Franti mean by less the talking about mines is mine and becoming one mind? I asked the singer in an e-mail, but as I never received any reply, I had to think of possible translations myself. One possible solution is: e.g. minder praten over jezelf, meer één mening vormen. Another problematic line is: sometimes fun, others run their mouth or away. This is a wordplay, a contraction of the expressions “to run your mouth” and “to run away”. I could not possibly maintain this wordplay, but had to find another solution. I finally translated the line as soms grappig, soms onzinnig of soms vluchtig, which more or less covers the English meaning.

Colombian Penicillin: This refers to drugs, mainly cocaine. ‘Colombian’ has become sort of a synonym for drugs, due to drugs smuggling and other kinds of problems in Colombia. Therefore I translated it literally as Colombiaanse penicilline68. 68

http://www.domsmith.co.uk/resources/3/colombia.pdf

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3.3.2 Culture-bound concepts or terms

The I.R.S: This abbreviation stands for Internal Revenue Service. I did not maintain I.R.S because fiscus is a good Dutch equivalent.

The N.R.A: This abbreviation stands for National Rifle Association. I did not translate this, as there is no equivalent in Dutch. We do not have such associations69.

69

http://www.nra.org/

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3.4. Sometimes 3.4.1 Problematic concepts or terms in the source text

Sometimes: The problem with this word is that it has two syllables whereas the Dutch equivalent soms has only one. For that reason I translated it into heel soms, in order to maintain the two syllables, which are really necessary for the rhythm of the song. I know that heel makes the word soms more specific, more like an exception, but I gave priority to the rhythm of the lyrics.

Sound body and sound of mind, sound of the rhythm and sound of the rhyme: This is a word play in English. Sound means ‘healthy’ but can also refer to ‘a sound you can hear’. In Dutch we do not have a word that can mean both. I chose to translate sound in the sense of healthy, gezond in Dutch. This might sound strange, in connection with rhythm and rhyme, but it is perfectly understandable.

Judge not, lest you be judged: This is a biblical reference. Therefore it must be translated by the Dutch biblical equivalent which is hij die zonder zonde is werpe de eerste steen.

The heartbeat rub-a-dub-dub: This is an onomatopoeia for the sound of a heart beat. I changed this into klop-klop-klop, which is the equivalent onomatopoeia in Dutch. Because of this change klop-klop-klop rhymes with de gummistok two lines before.

Bravissimo & magnifico: These are two Italian words. They are perfectly understandable in English and in Dutch. Therefore I did not translate them.

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3.5. Do Ya Love 3.5.1 Problematic concepts or terms in the source text

There were not too many translation problems in this song. Perhaps the only problem I had was how to translate the say yeah, which Franti repeats several times. I translated it by zeg ja, as I thought he means “say yeah to the feeling to love, as it feels so good”.

3.6. Soulshine 3.6.1 Problematic concepts or terms in the source text Hang out with the right folks, become a fashion slave: This is situated in the first paragraph. I translated it into zorg dat je juiste mensen kent, volg elke modetrend. The translation seems to be different from the original but both texts mean exactly the same. I chose to use this translation because it is better for the rhythm of the lyrics in Dutch and because kent and modetrend rhyme. Find a diamond in the sewer but the gas bills rise: This is situated in the second stanza. The Dutch translation for this is lichten fonkelen als diamanten, maar de gasrekening stijgt. This is not entirely the same, but it represents more or less the same image as in the English version, namely that you can find something precious in the city, but that it will always cost you money.

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3.7. Every Single Soul 3.7.1 Problematic concepts or terms in the source text

That’s why I’m reminded of life’s precious moments every time I see lovers walkin’ by in the park: This sentence occurs in the second paragraph. I translated it as en daarom word ik herinnerd aan wat waardevol is in’t leven als ik verliefden zie passeren in het park. Passeren is a dialect word in Dutch but one of its meanings is voorbijgaan, according to Van Dale. By using passeren I can maintain the rhyme in Dutch with leven.

They might not make it like the youngest departed: This line occurs in the last stanza. It is not possible to translate it literally because that would render the line incomprehensible or too long. I therefore only translated the first part of the sentence ze zouden het misschien niet aankunnen, which means more or less the same as the English version. The youngest departed refers to previous generations and how they made their way in life. 3.7.2 Culture-bound concepts or terms

They make me wanna go Sprewell: This expression comes from the first paragraph. It refers to Latrell Sprewell, a famous NBA player. He was once convicted for choking his coach after a conflict. I assume that to go Sprewell in this regard means to lose control, to freak out, to become outrageous for some reason. Therefore I decided to leave out the “Sprewell”, as nobody would ever understand the link in Dutch, and to translate its meaning rather than its cultural reference. The Dutch translation is dan raak ik buiten mijn zinnen70.

70

http://slam.canoe.ca/BasketballSprewell/moreheadlines.html http://slam.canoe.ca/BasketballSprewell/spr_dec1_spre.html

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3.8. Love‘ll Set Me Free 3.8.1 Problematic concepts or terms in the source text Seems like every day gets a little bit longer, seems like yesterday I was a little bit stronger: These are the first two sentences of the first paragraph. Franti begins the sentence two times with seems like. I did not keep this repetition in Dutch and even changed the second sentence into a question. By doing this, the words langer and sterker rhyme more or less in Dutch. In other words, I gave up the repetition in the beginning in order to keep the rhyming ending. Also interesting is that both words in Dutch have two syllables, which is of course rhythmically important

Man I’ve been away for so long now: This is the first sentence of the last paragraph. In my translation this becomes Man, ‘k ben al zolang, lang weg nu. I repeat the word long in Dutch. Without this repetition the Dutch sentence would be too short to fill up the time Franti uses for singing that same sentence in English. It is therefore a better rhythmical solution; because of the repetition in Dutch I can maintain the same number of syllables as in the English version. Another thing is that by using the repetition in Dutch the stress falls in the right place when singing these words: the singer thereby expresses that he really feels he has been away for a very long time now.

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3.9. Thank You 3.9.1 Problematic concepts or terms in the source text Opened me to pure phat grooves: This sentence comes from the first paragraph. Phat is a slang word. A slang dictionary on the Internet said that phat is more or less a synonym for cool. I translated it into vette grooves, which is slang language in Dutch, especially used in the context of music to express that a certain groove sounds great71.

3.10. We Don’t Mind 3.10.1 Problematic concepts or terms in the source text You will not get it without a price - you gotta give something back to life: These are two verses from the chorus. I translated them as dan betaal je daarvoor de prijs, geef dan ons leven ’n duw vooruit. Clearly this is not a literal translation, but it made it possible to rhyme more or less in Dutch (see rest of the chorus). The two Dutch verses also have a rhythmical structure that is similar to the English one; they have more or less the same number of syllables, which helps the flow of the song.

Just ‘cause I’m sittin’ here: In the first stanza I made another small adjustment. Instead of Just ‘cause I’m sittin’ here I translated this by gewoon omdat ik hier sta. This is a small difference. The purpose of the change is to have the same vowel as in the word laat (omdat ik een traan laat, two lines before). It does not produce a pure rhyme but because laat en sta end with more or less the same vowel the effect is almost the same.

71

http://www.ocf.berkeley.edu/~wrader/slang/

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3.11. Speaking Of Tongues 3.11.1 Problematic concepts or terms in the source text Speaking Of Tongues: The title Speaking of Tongues is a biblical reference. It refers to when God gave the apostles the gift to be understandable for each person in the world, whatever language he speaks, in order to spread God’s word. On the site mentioned below, the biblical meaning of Speaking of/in tongues is explained, as is the connotation that the expression has today. Speaking of Tongues nowadays supposedly means, talking nonsense and gibberish. It means people mislead other people by using words/languages. However, this title remains difficult to translate. First of all the word tongue has a double meaning in English: it can be a part of the body or it can be another word for language. This double meaning for the word tongue is something we do not have in Dutch. The Dutch equivalent tong refers only to the body part. I eventually decided to translate the expression as geen gespleten tongen because this also conveys the idea of speaking in many tongues and of tricking people, though with a slight shift in meaning72.

Gabriel the trumpeter: This reference occurs in the second stanza. It is again a biblical reference. This time Franti refers to the archangel Gabriel. He is the one who announced to Mary that she would give birth to God’s son Jesus. In the bible Gabriel actually represents God’s words, and is therefore one of the most important archangels. However I do not understand what Franti means by Gabriel the trumpeter bestowed upon us a voice with a choice. Perhaps it could mean he gave us freedom of speech or the freedom to make out own decisions73.

72

http://members.tripod.com/~robertwells/tongues.html

73

http://mb-soft.com/believe/txn/gabriel.htm http://www.veg-immanuel-breda.nl/index.php?item=bijbelstudie38

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Speak from the heart, not from the tongue: This is situated in the second stanza, last verse. I assume tongue again has a double meaning here (in fact it has in the entire song); you speak with your tongue (body part), and people speak a tongue (language). I think in both cases Franti means “don’t just say something, speak from the heart, about what’s really on your mind”. Therefore I translated this as spreek vanuit het hart, niet vanaf de tong.

Love is the action of soul satisfaction: This sentence comes from the last paragraph. I translated the word soul satisfaction literally as zielsatisfactie. I know we usually use words such as voldoening, genoegen, bevrediging as a translation for the English word satisfaction, but in this case I chose for zielsatisfactie because then I could keep in the rhyme with actie. The word satisfactie is mentioned in Van Dale, Handwoordenboek Hedendaags Nederlands. 3.11.2 Culture-bound concepts or terms Framed like Mumia: This occurs in the first stanza. Franti refers to the black journalist Mumia Abu-Jamal who has been in death row since 1981 for the murder of a police officer. There is a lot of evidence that proves Mumia’s innocence, but for some reason this is not enough to get him out of prison. Today he still awaits his death by lethal injection, even when so many people are convinced that he is innocent. His story is actually also that of Sister Fatima in the album. Only Mumia’s story is, like that of so many others, no fiction. I kept Mumia’s name in, because it cannot possibly be replaced by another name. Michael Franti also refers to Mumia as a real example of the fictitious case of Sister Fatima, so therefore I think it is important to keep his name in the Dutch version as well. Information about the case can be found on the website below74.

74

http://www.mumia.org/freedom.now/

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3.12. Listener Supported 3.12.1 Problematic concepts or terms in the source text Attempt triangulation of our station in the fight: On the website below, the process of triangulation is explained. It is described as “a process by which the location of a radio transmitter can be determined by measuring either the radial distance, or the direction, of the received signal from two or three different points.”In Dutch we use triangulatie to refer to this process. However, I translated it into lokaliseren. This way I lose the reference to the process of triangulation but I do not change the meaning. Lokaliseren means more or less the same (to trace something) and makes the line more accessible in Dutch75.

I will not climb into your telephone tree: A telephone tree is a system through which people can easily contact each other. A member of a telephone tree, usually has a list with the phone numbers of the other members in a fixed order. So when something happens, a member just calls the next person on the list, and so on. The system is often used in schools, to deal with an emergency or by the police or vigilante patrols. Telephone trees are also used by companies and other institutions. Anyone who phones them, first gets the secretary, who puts the caller through to other people they might want to speak to. In the case of police telephone

trees, the system is no doubt

all about control in the

neighbourhood, which might include encouragement to betray your own neighbours. This is what I take the reference in the song to refer to. We do not have such an official telephone tree system in Belgium; I therefore translated it as telefoonketting76.

75 76

http://searchnetworking.techtarget.com/sDefinition/0,,sid7_gci753924,00.html http://www.state.nj.us/military/familysupport/family_readiness/telephone_tree.html http://www.ci.rochester.mn.us/police/watch.htm

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The bureaucratic office sends you merry-go-rounding: This comes from the last paragraph. I did not find an exact translation for “merry-go-rounding”. I assume Franti means that bureaucracy does not really help you, but merely plays a game with you by sending you from one person to another. I have translated the expression accordingly in Dutch as: van het kastje naar de muur sturen.

While the KKK police the streets by blood hounding: This sentence is situated in the last paragraph as well. I left out the blood hounding as in Dutch there was too little time to sing the whole line. Instead I focused in my translation on the fact that the KKK control the streets; terwijl de KKK de straten controleert elk uur. I added elk uur to rhyme with muur, on the previous line. I do not think I left out essential information out by doing this, I do realize “blood hounding” probably refers to the use of dogs, hounds, normally used to chase game, and also to chase human beings. 3.12.2 Culture-bound concepts or terms The KKK: KKK stands for the Ku Klux Klan, a racist white movement that used to agitate against and even murder black people. It has been banned but remains operational in the USA. The KKK want to purify American society and in order to do so they organise informal police forces, especially in the South, to “protect” white citizens from black people. It is actually sort of a terrorist organization that will take any opportunity to exterminate the black, inferior race. I left KKK in my Dutch translation because the organisation is famous all over the world77.

77

http://www.kkk.com/

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The FCC: This abbreviation stands for Federal Communications Commission. This is the commission that censors everything that is shown on American television or radio stations. There is a lot of protest against this commission, as this censorship is said to withhold information from the public. The website stop FFC, below, gives more details. Initially I wanted to keep FCC in the Dutch translation, in order to maintain the American context, but I then decided to translate the abbreviation as censuur, because that would make more sense to the Dutch reader78.

3.13. Skin on the Drum 3.13.1 Problematic concepts or terms in the source text

This song has very poetic lyrics. Franti constantly uses metaphors and that sometimes makes it difficult to understand exactly what he means. I have always tried to look for equivalents but in some cases that proved to be impossible: I was born botanical: This is the first verse of the song. Franti in this song is comparing himself with a tree, in a symbolical way, but I cannot seem to find the ideal translation. I finally opted for Ik ben plantaardig geboren. This sounds very strange, but the English is also unusual. The fullness of the one: When Franti sings about the fullness of the one he may be referring to God as the one, or to the fullness of music, because the one in music is very important as well, especially in funk music. The one is the first count in time and is usually accentuated. It is like the leading count in music. This was one of my questions for Michael Franti, but as mentioned before I never received any reply.

78

http://www.fcc.gov/ http://www.stopfcc.com/

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Box of Light be unsealed: This can be found in the last stanza. I assume Franti refers to Pandora’s Box, which still contains ‘hope’. I wonder if this too is not a biblical translation, but my knowledge of the bible is limited, as is that of everyone else I consulted.

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Artist Network. “Hip Hop artist Michael Franti on surveillance and censorship”. 13 April, 2005. http://www.artistsnetwork.org/artandpolitics/ap1.html

Artist Network. “Springsteen on Dixie Chicks”. 13 April, 2005. http://www.artistsnetwork.org/artandpolitics/ap1.html

Blagg, C. “Protest song is back - with a vengeance”. 18 April, 2005. http://csmonitor.com/2004/0604/p11s01-almp.html

Bob Dylan website. 28 March, 2005. http://www.bobdylan.com/index.html

Burns, A. “Angela Davis”. 23 Feb, 2005. http://www.disinfo.com/archive/pages/dossier/id91/pg1/

Byrne, K. “Biography: Bono”. 03 April, 2005. http://www.atu2.com/band/bono/

Canavan, C. “Rage against the system”. 18 April, 2005. http://www.sundayindependent.co.za/index.php?fSectionId=1097&fArticleId=2443 950

CBS News. “Irish Sisters face down the IRA”. 14 April, 2005. http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2005/03/16/eveningnews/main681058.shtml

Chapman, T. “Fast Car”. 03 April, 2005. http://www.about-tracychapman.net/debutalbum_lyrics.htm#fastcar

Charles, R. “Greatest Eighties Protest songs”. 28 March, 2005. http://www.inthe80s.com/protest.shtml

Collage Foundation Inc. “Power to the Peaceful”. 05 April, 2005. http://www.collagefoundation.org/people/people-mfranti.html

Didcock, B. “Songs about war: what are they good for?” 13 April, 2005. http://www.sundayherald.com/45243

Duffy, Jonathan. “Where have all the protest songs gone”. 03 April, 2005. http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/2788263.stm

Dylan, B. “Masters of War”, 28 March, 2005. http://bobdylan.com/songs/masters.html

Epstein, Dan. “Sing now or forever hold your peace”. 13 April, 2005. http://www.laweekly.com/ink/03/13/music-epstein.php

Federal Communications Commission website. http://www.fcc.gov/aboutus.html

Goldhamer, D. “Paul Robeson”. 23 Feb, 2005. www.scc.rutgers.edu/njh/Paulrobeson/

Grammu. “I know I’m not alone”. 05 April, 2005. http://www.iknowimnotalone.com/

ICFFMAJ. “Mumia Abu Jamal’s freedom journal”. 23 Feb, 2005. http://www.mumia.org/freedom.now/

Immanuël. “Bijbelstudie 38”. 23 Feb, 2005. http://www.veg-immanuel-breda.nl/index.php?item=bijbelstudie38

Kaindl, K. “The Plurisemiotics of Pop Song Translation” (Forthcoming: copy courtesy of the author, University of Vienna). Kenna, K. “Americans pay price for speaking out”. 13 April, 2005. http://why-war.com/news/2003/08/09/american.html

KKK website. http://www.kkk.com/. 23 Feb, 2005.

Larkspirit. “Remembering Bloody Sunday”. 03 April, 2005. http://larkspirit.com/bloodysunday/ Low, P. “Translating poetic songs” in Target, International journal of translation studies, 15:1, 2003, 91 - 110.

McHone, M. “Impassive Resistance: Protest Songs for today”. 18 April, 2005. http://www.wsws.org/articles/2003/apr2003/musi-a23_prn.shtml

Michael Franti & Spearhead website. 18 April, 2005. http://www.spearheadvibrations.com/index.html

Moore, T. “Support Subversion”. 13 April, 2005. www.protest-records.com

Mp3.com. “The Specials”. 05 April, 2005. http://www.mp3.com/the-specials/artists/4730/biography.html

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Ms. Dynamite website. http://www.msdynamite.co.uk/

National Guard. “Explanation of the telephone tree”. 23 Feb, 2005. http://www.state.nj.us/military/familysupport/family_readiness/telephone_tree.ht ml

Nedtlyrics.nl. “Leonard Cohen – Famous Blue Raincoat”. 12 March, 2005.http://www.nedtlyrics.nl/leonardcohen/famousblueraincoat.html Nedtlyrics.nl website. 13 March, 2005. http://www.nedtlyrics.nl/ Pearson Education, Inc. “Freedom and Protest Songs of the United States”. 03 April, 2005. http://www.sbgmusic.com/html/teacher/reference/historical/freedom.html

Pienternet. “Protestsongs”. 13 April, 2005. http://www.pienternet.be/archief/nieuwsbrief/december2003.html

Rader, W. “The online Slang Dictionary”. 23 Feb, 2005. http://www.ocf.berkeley.edu/~wrader/slang/

Renkema, J. e.a. “Spellingswijzer Onze Taal”, 2001, Uitgeverij L.J. Veen, Amsterdam/Antwerpen.

Rochester Police Department. “Neighbourhood watch”. 23 Feb, 2005. http://www.ci.rochester.mn.us/police/watch.htm

Rolling Stone Magazine. “Tracy Chapman Biography”. 03 April, 2005. http://tracychapman.by-dvb.com/biography.php

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O Oh hM My yG Go od d

M Miic ch ha ae ell F Fr ra an nt tii & &S Sp pe ea ar rh he ea ad d

English Version by: Michael Franti & Spearhead

Dutch Version by: Phillippo Fierens (lead vocal) Cathy Van Houcke & Tine Jagers (backing vocals) Jelle Boets (recordings & guitar) Jeroen van Esbroeck (recordings, synths & keys) Marc Pesic (bass) Wim Vander Westen (drums) Bruno Truyens (conga drums)

HOGESCHOOL ANTWERPEN HOGER INSTITUUT VOOR VERTALERS EN TOLKEN

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