O, there’s grieving in the plum-grove
And there’s weeping in the weeds,
There is sorrow in the shanty
Where a broken body bleeds.
For there’s been another lynching
And another grain of sand
Swells the mountain of resentment
O, there’s anger in the land!
And a woman broods in silence
Close beside an open door
Flung across the flimsy door-step
Lies a corpse upon the floor!
You’ll not ask me why I’m silent;
Thus the woman spoke to me.
Her two eyes blazed hot with anger
And her throat throbbed agony.
Let the wind go crying yonder
In the tree-tops by the spring,
Let its voice be soft and feeling
Like it was a living thing.
Once my heart could cry in sorrow
Now it lies there in the floor
In the ashes by the hearth-stone
They can’t hurt it anymore!
Did you ever see a lynching,
Ever see a frenzied mob
Mill around a swaying body
When it’s done the hellish job?
O, there’s grieving in the plum-grove
And there’s sobbing in the sands,
There is sorrow in the shanties
And there’s anger in the land!
And there’s weeping in the weeds,
There is sorrow in the shanty
Where a broken body bleeds.
For there’s been another lynching
And another grain of sand
Swells the mountain of resentment
O, there’s anger in the land!
And a woman broods in silence
Close beside an open door
Flung across the flimsy door-step
Lies a corpse upon the floor!
You’ll not ask me why I’m silent;
Thus the woman spoke to me.
Her two eyes blazed hot with anger
And her throat throbbed agony.
Let the wind go crying yonder
In the tree-tops by the spring,
Let its voice be soft and feeling
Like it was a living thing.
Once my heart could cry in sorrow
Now it lies there in the floor
In the ashes by the hearth-stone
They can’t hurt it anymore!
Did you ever see a lynching,
Ever see a frenzied mob
Mill around a swaying body
When it’s done the hellish job?
O, there’s grieving in the plum-grove
And there’s sobbing in the sands,
There is sorrow in the shanties
And there’s anger in the land!
inviata da Bernart Bartleby - 24/12/2013 - 10:33
Lingua: Inglese
La versione di Peter, Paul & Mary dall’album “Late Again” del 1968.
THERE'S ANGER IN THE LAND
There's grievin' in the country
There's sorrow in the sand.
There's sobbin' in the shanty
And there's anger in the land.
A woman broods in silence
Close beside an open door;
Flung on her flimsy doorstep
Lies a corpse upon the floor.
"You'll not ask me why I'm silent"
The woman said to me;
Her two eyes blazed in anger
And her throat throbbed agony.
Once my heart could cry in sorrow
Now it lies there on the floor
In the ashes by the hearthstone;
They can't hurt it anymore.
Oh, let the wind go cryin' yonder
In the tree-tops by the spring
Let it's voice be soft and feelin'
Like it was a livin' thing.
There's grievin' in the country
There's sorrow in the sand.
There's sobbin' in the shanty
And there's anger in the land.
There's grievin' in the country
There's sorrow in the sand.
There's sobbin' in the shanty
And there's anger in the land.
A woman broods in silence
Close beside an open door;
Flung on her flimsy doorstep
Lies a corpse upon the floor.
"You'll not ask me why I'm silent"
The woman said to me;
Her two eyes blazed in anger
And her throat throbbed agony.
Once my heart could cry in sorrow
Now it lies there on the floor
In the ashes by the hearthstone;
They can't hurt it anymore.
Oh, let the wind go cryin' yonder
In the tree-tops by the spring
Let it's voice be soft and feelin'
Like it was a livin' thing.
There's grievin' in the country
There's sorrow in the sand.
There's sobbin' in the shanty
And there's anger in the land.
inviata da Bernart Bartleby - 24/12/2013 - 10:38
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Versi di Don West (1906-1992), poeta, sindacalista, educatore. agitatore radicale, attivista per i diritti civili.
Musica della figlia, Hedy West (1938-2005), apprezzata folksinger e songwriter.
Nell’estate del 1950 il bianco Don West diede un passaggio ad un nero sulla strada tra Chattahoochee ed Eufala, al confine tra gli stati di Georgia ed Alabama. L’autostoppista gli raccontò di come poco tempo prima il fratello fosse stato linciato: il corpo massacrato fu smembrato e lasciato davanti alla porta di casa della madre…
Su quel terribile racconto Don West scrisse questa poesia, originariamente pubblicata nella raccolta intitolata “The Road is Rocky” (1951) e più recentemente in “Don West. No Lonesome Road: Selected Prose and Poems, a cura di Jeff Biggers e George Brosi, 2004.
Messa in musica dalla figlia Hedy, “There’s Anger in the Land” fu ripresa in seguito anche da Peter, Paul & Mary, dalla stessa Hedy West e dall’afroamericana Dorris Henderson.