Victor Jara (Written by Adrian Mitchell & Arlo Guthrie)

BBC News Report on Victor Jara

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This is not one of my own songs but one of the most powerful protest songs ever written and probably not as well

Adrian mitchell

known as it deserves. It began as a poem by one of the top British poets - Adrian Mitchell and Arlo Guthrie was inspired to set the poem to music to great effect in my opinion. I first heard the song ion a Live BBC Radio one concert by Peter Seeger who performed the song on Banjo. Later that month I heard it sung in a Coventry folk club and knew I had to learn it. On my move to study at Teesside Poly in 1980, the Chilean society had a stall in the Student's Union and I bought a book of Victor Jara's songs and in the back were the chords to this song. The version here was performed by myself on acoustic guitar and vocals and Steve Gillgallon on bass guitar in 

Victor Jara

1983. Strangly, shortly after recording this version on a double cassette player, I performed the song solo at a Middlebrough Folk club along with my own song Political Asylum (on this site - see index). It went down a storm - more so than I expected. Talking at the bar - I discovered that it was the 10th aniversary of  Victor Jara's death and the TV had shown a documentary of it the night before - being a poor student - I didn't have a TV then so didn't know about it. This strange synchronicity got me invited to perform the two songs at a special concert for Victor Jara in Middlesbrough with Teesside's folk family  - The Wilsons. The hall was packed. I performed it just on my own with a acoustic guitar but here's an electric version with Steve Gillgallon.

VICTOR JARA
words by Adrian Mitchell, music by Arlo Guthrie

Victor Jara a

Trev Teasdel

Victor Jara of Chile
Lived like a shooting star
He fought for the people of Chile
With his songs and his guitar
His hands were gentle, his hands were strong

Victor Jara was a peasant
He worked from a few years old
He sat upon his father's plow
And watched the earth unfold
His hands were gentle, his hands were strong

Now when the neighbors had a wedding
Or one of their children died
His mother sang all night for them
With Victor by her side
His hands were gentle, his hands were strong

Arlo Guthrie's Alice's Restaurant

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

He sang about the copper miners
And those who worked the land
He sang about the factory workers
And they knew he was their man
His hands were gentle, his hands were strong             Here's another version not buy me this time but Christy Moore

Christy Moore - Victor Jara

He campaigned for Allende
Working night and day
He sang "Take hold of your brothers hand
You know the future begins today"
His hands were gentle, his hands were strong

Then the generals seized Chile
They arrested Victor then
They caged him in a stadium
With five-thousand frightened men
His hands were gentle, his hands were strong

Te Recuerdo Amanda

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

They broke the bones in both his hands
They beat him on the head
They tore him with electric shocks
And then they shot him dead
His hands were gentle, his hands were strong

06 Víctor Jara - Luchín

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

Repeat first verse

Comments

[Ann]

Ruth's history teacher was a huge fan of Jara - really looked up to him.

[Bruce McGuire]

As an actor in 1981 I learned to play the guitar in order to play the role of a character possessed by the assasinated Victor Jara. "Dreams against the State" by the fine poet Deena Metzger. It was one of the great moments of my life as an actor since I had bought a vinyl LP in 1974 at a concert at Glide Church in San Francisco where Mimi Farina sang and Joan Jara narrated a film about her late husband. I only recently discovered this song by Mitchell and Guthrie. It's deeply moving.

[Trev Teasdel - Songwriter]

Yes Bruce - it does capture the emotion and the story well- Adrian Mitchell did a great job with the lyric. Sad that such things happen in the world but interesting to learn of your role and the play.