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What's Goin' on Down There

Malvina Reynolds
Language: English


Malvina Reynolds

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[1964]
Parole e musica di Malvina Reynolds
Nel disco “Malvina Reynolds Sings the Truth” del 1967

Sings the Truth

Il 1964 è l’anno in cui il “Mississippi (was) Burning”, prendendo a prestito il titolo del bel film di Alan Parker del 1988, con Gene Hackman e Willem Dafoe.
Il 21 giugno del 1964 nella contea di Neshoba, Mississippi, sparirono nel nulla tre giovani attivisti per i diritti civili, due bianchi e un nero… I loro corpi furono ritrovati un mese e mezzo più tardi: erano stati sequestrati, linciati e frettolosamente sepolti. Si chiamavano James Chaney, Andrew Goodman e Michael Schwerner.
Responsabili dell’efferato crimine i componenti di una “mob” formata da poliziotti, membri del KKK e bianchi razzisti, in testa a tutti lo sceriffo della contea Lawrence Rainey e il referente locale del Klan Samuel Bowers.

Si vedano anche, per esempio, Goodman and Schwerner and Chaney, In the Mississippi River, Those Three Are On My Mind e He Was My Brother.
Nobody knows about,
Nobody knows about,
What's goin' on down there,
Who's gonna tell about,
Who's gonna tell about,
What's goin' on down there.

They dragged the Mississippi for the three lost men,
They came up with other guys, eight, nine, ten,
And threw them back again, Oh,

Nobody knows about,
Nobody knows about,
What's goin' on down there,
Who's gonna tell about,
Who's gonna tell about,
What's goin' on down there.

You try to register like the constitution said,
They take away your job and they take away your bread;
You might as well be dead, Oh,

Nobody knows about,
Nobody knows about,
What's goin' on down there,
Who's gonna tell about,
Who's gonna tell about,
What's goin' on down there.

They throw you into jail all covered with blood,
F.B.I. man won't do you any good;
He also wears the hood, Oh,

Nobody knows about,
Nobody knows about,
What's goin' on down there,
Who's gonna tell about,
Who's gonna tell about,
What's goin' on down there.

You stand up like a man and they cut you in two,
The killer goes to trial, but what good does it do?
He's on the jury, too, Oh,

Nobody knows about,
Nobody knows about,
What's goin' on down there,
Who's gonna tell about,
Who's gonna tell about,
What's goin' on down there.

The newspaper pages have nothing to say,
They either tell lies or they hide it all away,
Day after day after day, Oh,

Nobody knows about,
Nobody knows about,
What's goin' on down there,
Who's gonna tell about,
Who's gonna tell about,
What's goin' on down there.

We sing you this song so you know what's true,
And you've got to take the story everywhere you go,
Because it's up to you, Oh,

Nobody knows about,
Nobody knows about,
What's goin' on down there,
Who's gonna tell about,
Who's gonna tell about,
What's goin' on down there.

Contributed by Bernart Bartleby - 2015/8/19 - 16:33




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