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geovikiAs I mentioned in my author notes, ATBT had three influences from other sources: a Grimm fairy tale, a Brazilian song, and an African song. I wanted to talk a bit about the third.
I've been listening to a lot of world music recently and came across a fascinating South African musician, Johnny Clegg. During the height of violence and oppression in S.A. over apartheid, Clegg, who is white, left home at the age of 16 to live with black musicians. He was arrested more than once for the simple crime of being in a black neighborhood. His first band, Juluku, had both black and white members, and their concerts were often closed down for that. You can read more about him and his career here
Clegg wrote a song about a young man who betrays his best friend after being captured by Nazis in Warsaw. It's a true story; neither man survives in his song. It captured my imagination, and I toyed with how to adapt it for my fic. I settled on Dean and Seamus as the two young men, and that's how Dean became a prominent character in ATBT.
Once you read the lyrics, you'll recognize the scene immediately.
Warsaw 1943 (I Never Betrayed The Revolution)
Amambuka, amambuka azothengisa izwe lakithi, izwe lakithi
(The betrayers, the betrayers will sell our land, our land)
He was taken in the night
They came without any warning
No time to hide or fight
They came like bees aswarming
The questions start to fly
Will he break or will he defy?
Can he withstand the worst that is to come?
A child in a man's clothing
Resisting the fascist' ploy
The underground puts iron in the heart of any boy
Swimming in a sea of pain, he knows this is the end
He hears himself whisper the name of his best friend
Chorus:
I never betrayed you, and I never betrayed the revolution
I just didn't want to die alone, I needed you to see me home
And if I could save you, and if I could find a solution
I would die a thousand times, to get you out of here
Sharing the same cold cell
Betrayer and betrayed
An island with two frightened castaways
Not a word is spoken,
How can he explain?
Through swollen eyes they watch the dawn's first rays
It's all over now
They stand backs to the wall
Waiting for the fascist's sword to fall
In the desperation of a young life about to end
He turns before the bullet
And forgives a friend
I've been listening to a lot of world music recently and came across a fascinating South African musician, Johnny Clegg. During the height of violence and oppression in S.A. over apartheid, Clegg, who is white, left home at the age of 16 to live with black musicians. He was arrested more than once for the simple crime of being in a black neighborhood. His first band, Juluku, had both black and white members, and their concerts were often closed down for that. You can read more about him and his career here
Clegg wrote a song about a young man who betrays his best friend after being captured by Nazis in Warsaw. It's a true story; neither man survives in his song. It captured my imagination, and I toyed with how to adapt it for my fic. I settled on Dean and Seamus as the two young men, and that's how Dean became a prominent character in ATBT.
Once you read the lyrics, you'll recognize the scene immediately.
Warsaw 1943 (I Never Betrayed The Revolution)
Amambuka, amambuka azothengisa izwe lakithi, izwe lakithi
(The betrayers, the betrayers will sell our land, our land)
He was taken in the night
They came without any warning
No time to hide or fight
They came like bees aswarming
The questions start to fly
Will he break or will he defy?
Can he withstand the worst that is to come?
A child in a man's clothing
Resisting the fascist' ploy
The underground puts iron in the heart of any boy
Swimming in a sea of pain, he knows this is the end
He hears himself whisper the name of his best friend
Chorus:
I never betrayed you, and I never betrayed the revolution
I just didn't want to die alone, I needed you to see me home
And if I could save you, and if I could find a solution
I would die a thousand times, to get you out of here
Sharing the same cold cell
Betrayer and betrayed
An island with two frightened castaways
Not a word is spoken,
How can he explain?
Through swollen eyes they watch the dawn's first rays
It's all over now
They stand backs to the wall
Waiting for the fascist's sword to fall
In the desperation of a young life about to end
He turns before the bullet
And forgives a friend
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Date: 2004-05-30 10:08 am (UTC)e.a.
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Date: 2004-05-30 10:37 pm (UTC)Another HP fan with South African roots is
The neat thing about that song, with its sad story line, is that it's actually done in an upbeat tempo. He does that with other songs. But this song is special to me, especially now. Oh, hell, does that mean I've written a songfic? Yikes!
You rock my sox
Date: 2004-05-30 08:48 pm (UTC)I'm glad it started with this song, though. It completes the story.
Re: You rock my sox
Date: 2004-05-30 10:40 pm (UTC)The song...well, it was hard not to just copy the words and put them right into the fic. Such a graphic description of a heart-wrenching scene. And to think it's true... Very moving. The last lines about forgiving a friend triggered the whole Dean-Seamus plot line.
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Date: 2004-06-01 03:30 pm (UTC)