A song was pointedly written years before the US officially joined the list of torturing nations under the Bush II administration with Cheney and other fascists advocating waterboarding, electroshock, sensory deprivation and disappearances into CIA run black sites. I was looking at El Salvador, at Chile, and specifically, at the killing of Stephen Biko, the Malcolm X of South Africa. A spectacularly talented writer and speaker, Biko was murdered by the police hit squads, whose confession before the truth commission only included that they were present when he 'hit his head' during an interrogation. Their confession was not accepted. And we do not accept it now.
lyrics
Confession (Scott Ainslie)
We picked you up at your house.
Bound your wrists, taped your mouth.
Used our hands and our clubs.
You weren’t human to us.
We drove home and kissed our wives;
Sang our children lullabies
Joked with our parents on the phone.
When we went to our cars, we went alone.
CHORUS:
Once learned, never forgotten.
Once injured, ever scarred.
Some people will change like the moon;
Some are like stars.
We threw you back in the van.
Combed our hair; washed our hands.
We locked you inside;
Took you out for a ride.
It started to rain.
Your breathing was strange.
For five hundred miles.
Not going to trial.
Once learned, never forgotten.
Once injured, ever scarred.
Some people will change like the moon;
Some are like stars.
And is it night or is it day?
Did you see them take me away?
We have eaten our fill;
First light brings a chill.
Nothing left to defend;
The long night comes to an end.
We are the makers of lies;
Fathers our children idolize.
As patriots: we were the best!
Now, we come forward and confess.
CHORUS
credits
from The Feral Crow,
track released September 22, 2004
Scott Ainslie: Acoustic Guitar, Vocals
Scott Petito: Bass
Jerry Marotta: Drums, Percussion
Marc Shulman: Electric Guitars
Leslie Ritter: Harmony Vocals
A long history with older black blues and gospel players in the mid-South marks Ainslie's work deeply. He transcribed all of
Robert Johnson's recorded songs for "Robert Johnson/At The Crossroads" (Hal Leonard, 1992) and has a teaching DVD on Johnson's music. A fine songwriter with a social conscience and a belief in the power of music to move and inspire, Ainslie's voice is a great force for good!...more
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