Ocuppy with Aloha

, por robot

Domingo 13 de noviembre en Honolulu, territorio ocupado por los gringos, los mandones del mundo recibieron un destello de la fuerza que está fisurando la dominación del capital. Reunidos 21 mandatarios de los países miembros del Foro de Cooperación Económica Asia-Pacífico esperaban otra noche de autocomplacencia, protegidos por sus militares y sus tecnologías de vanguardia. Pero oh sorpresa! el ataque vino de... una guitarra y su intérprete! Makana es su nombre y su número consistió en presentarse con una playera con la leyenda "Ocupa con Aloha" y cantar largo tiempo su rola "Somos los muchos", que entre otras cosas dice

"Los cabilderos en Washington muerden/Y hasta que sean purgados/No nos retiraremos/ Ocuparemos las calles/Ocuparemos los tribunales/Ocuparemos sus oficinas/Hasta que ustedes hagan el trabajo de los muchos/Y no sólo el de los pocos

Ustedes refuerzan sus monopolios con armas/Mientras sacrifican nuestras hijas e hijos/Pero algunas cosas pertenecen a todas/Su robadera dejo sin nada al pueblo/ Así que atención con nuestro llamado a que se compongan/Tenemos poco que perder, hay que confesar/Sus palabras vacías nos dejan fríos/Y un número creciente se nos une en la protesta"

. Makana no se coló sino que fue contratado por el gobierno gringo para amenizar la velada. De hecho, Makana ya actuó en la residencia presidencial, pero ahora sí se voló la barda. Cómo que la poesía y la audacia siempre podrán más que el miedo y los medios de los ricos. Te invitamos a escuchar esta canción al final del espacio de noticias... quién se apunta para la versión al español?


La versión oficial WE ARE THE MANY


Video con la escena en la Gala de la APEC


La letra:

Lyrics to "We Are the Many":

Ye come here, gather ’round the stage
The time has come for us to voice our rage
Against the ones who’ve trapped us in a cage
To steal from us the value of our wage

From underneath the vestiture of law
The lobbyists at Washington do gnaw
At liberty, the bureaucrats guffaw
And until they are purged, we won’t withdraw

We’ll occupy the streets
We’ll occupy the courts
We’ll occupy the offices of you
Till you do
The bidding of the many, not the few

Our nation was built upon the right
Of every person to improve their plight
But laws of this Republic they rewrite
And now a few own everything in sight

They own it free of liability
They own, but they are not like you and me
Their influence dictates legality
And until they are stopped we are not free

We’ll occupy the streets
We’ll occupy the courts
We’ll occupy the offices of you
Till you do
The bidding of the many, not the few

You enforce your monopolies with guns
While sacrificing our daughters and sons
But certain things belong to everyone
Your thievery has left the people none

So take heed of our notice to redress
We have little to lose, we must confess
Your empty words do leave us unimpressed
A growing number join us in protest

We occupy the streets
We occupy the courts
We occupy the offices of you
Till you do
The bidding of the many, not the few

You can’t divide us into sides
And from our gaze, you cannot hide
Denial serves to amplify
And our allegiance you can’t buy

Our government is not for sale
The banks do not deserve a bail
We will not reward those who fail
We will not move till we prevail

We’ll occupy the streets
We’ll occupy the courts
We’ll occupy the offices of you
Till you do
The bidding of the many, not the few

We’ll occupy the streets
We’ll occupy the courts
We’ll occupy the offices of you
Till you do
The bidding of the many, not the few

We are the many
You are the few


Un texto en el sitio YesLab

APEC World Leaders Dinner Gets Occupied
Within secure zone, musician sings on behalf of the many

Honolulu - A change in the programmed entertainment at last night’s Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) gala left a few world leaders slack-jawed, though most seemed not to notice that anything was amiss.

During the gala dinner, renowned Hawaiian guitarist Makana, who performed at the White House in 2009, opened his suit jacket to reveal a home-made “Occupy with Aloha” T-shirt. Then, instead of playing the expected instrumental background music, he spent almost 45 minutes repeatedly singing his protest ballad released earlier that day. The ballad, called “We Are the Many,” includes lines such as “The lobbyists at Washington do gnaw.... And until they are purged, we won’t withdraw,” and ends with the refrain: “We’ll occupy the streets, we’ll occupy the courts, we’ll occupy the offices of you, till you do the bidding of the many, not the few.”

Those who could hear Makana’s message included Presidents Barack Obama of the United States of America, Hu Jintao of China, Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono of Indonesia, Prime Minister Stephen Harper of Canada, and over a dozen other heads of state.

“At first, I was worried about playing ‘We Are The Many,’” said Makana. “But I found it odd that I was afraid to sing a song I’d written, especially since I’d written it with these people in mind.”

The gala was the most secure event of the summit. It was held inside the Hale Koa hotel, a 72-acre facility owned and controlled by the US Defense Department; the site was fortified with an additional three miles of fencing constructed solely for the APEC summit.

Makana was surprised that no one objected to him playing the overtly critical song. “I just kept doing different versions,” he said. “I must’ve repeated ‘the bidding of the many, not the few’ at least 50 times, like a mantra. It was surreal and sobering.”

Makana’s new song is inspired by the Occupy Wall Street movement, which has taken root in cities worldwide. Last Saturday, eight protesters were arrested when they refused to leave the Occupy Honolulu encampment at Thomas Square Park. Occupy Honolulu has joined other groups, including Moana Nui, to protest the APEC meeting, and while Makana performed, hundreds of people protested outside.

After facing large-scale protests in South Korea, Australia, Peru, and Japan, APEC moved this year’s event to Hawaii, the most isolated piece of land on earth. In preparation for the meeting, homeless families were moved out of sight and millions of taxpayer dollars were spent on security—including over $700,000 on non-lethal weapons for crowd control. In a bitter twist, the multi-million dollar security plans backfired when a local Hawaiian man was shot and killed by a 27-year-old DC-based federal agent providing security for dignitaries.

Makana’s action was assisted by the Yes Lab and Occupy the Boardroom. In recent weeks, Occupy protesters have been showing up at corporate events, headquarters and even on the doorsteps of those in power. “Makana really raised the bar by delivering the Occupy message inside what is probably the most secure place on the planet right now,” said Mike Bonanno of the Yes Lab.

“My uncle taught me to feel out the audience and play what my heart tells me to,” said Makana. “That’s what I did tonight.”

Contact:
Mike Bonanno: music@yeslab.org, 917-209-3282
John Sweeney: hawaii@yeslab.org, 808-230-0799

original en: http://yeslab.org/APEC


Algo más sobre Makana

Matthew Swalinkavich is a well-known Hawaiian slack guitar specialist who calls himself Makana (the Hawaiian word for “the gift”). Recently he gave us all a gift with a new Song called “We Are the Many.” Reminiscent of Bob Dylan’s folk anthems from a half century ago (especially “The Times They Are a’Changin”), this one focuses on the Occupy movement and, getting right to point, asserts that the many will not be denied. Here is his well-produced video, posted November 11, 2011: Makana – We Are the Many.

Makana had an unusually spectacular opportunity to introduce such a song to the world. Saturday night (11/12/11) he performed his song for President Obama, First Lady Michelle Obama, and the leaders of 18 other nations. At first he played traditional Hawaiian-style music as the leaders arrived at Honolulu’s Hale Koa Hotel: “He continued his performance during dinner, positioned next to the four tables where leaders and their spouses dined. Eventually he unbuttoned his shirt to reveal a t-shirt that said, in handwritten letters, ‘Occupy with Aloha,’” [1] and began playing his new song:

Video recorded on a cell phone by Makana’s sound technician showed some leaders turning their attention toward him as he sang the song, but most appeared not to notice. “I started out very cautiously because my intention was not to disrupt their dinner. My intention was to subliminally convey a message that I felt was paramount to the negotiations,” Makana told CNN. “Eventually I got enough courage to go into it for an extended period of time. And I ended my show with the line ‘the bidding of the many not the few.’ I sang it about fifty times in different ways for them to hear.”

Makana said President Obama’s table, located on the far side of the tent from where he performed, appeared engaged in conversation throughout the meal and it was unclear if the president heard the protest song. Aides were not present at the dinner, Makana said, and the wait staff only made brief appearances to deliver courses.

This is a good song, lyrically. Many singer-songwriters are responding to the challenge of the Occupy Movement with some fine songs. I expect Makana’s song to be among the main candidates for the Occupy Movement’s anthem. Requests are already going out for the guitar chords and lyrics to this song. Here are the chords and lyrics I copied for myself. I have determined chords based both on viewing the video and listening to the guitar. His guitar is in standard tuning, and my chords are, I believe, mostly accurate. Some variation (for example, choices between a C fingering and an Am7) based on the discretion of the performer will be natural. The key thing to replicate is the guitar sequence he uses in his introduction and turnarounds:

We Are the Many by Makana

Key: E capo: 7 chording: G

Intro: G, Gsus4, G, Em7 x 2

1. We come here, gather ‘round the stage / The time has come for us to voice our rage

Against the ones who trapped us in a cage / To steal from us the value of our wage

2. From underneath the vestiture of law / The lobbyists at Washington do gnaw

At liberty; the bureaucrats guffaw / And until they are purged we won’t withdraw

Refrain

We’ll occupy the streets, we’ll occupy the courts / We’ll occupy the offices of you

‘Til you do / The bidding of the many, not the few

3. Our nation was built upon the right / Of every person to improve their plight

The laws of this republic they rewrite / And now the few own everything in sight

4. They own it free of liability / They own, but they are not like you and me

Their influence dictates legality / And until they are stopped we are not free

Refrain

5. You enforce your monopolies with guns / While sacrificing our daughters and sons

Well, certain things belong to everyone / You’re thievery has left the people none

6. So take heed of our notice to redress / We have little to lose we must confess

Your empty words leave us unimpressed / A growing number join us in protest

Refrain

7. You can’t divide us into sides / And, from our gaze you cannot hide

Denial serves to amplify / And our allegiance you can’t buy

8. Our government is not for sale / The banks do not deserve a bail

We won’t reward those who fail / we’ll not move ‘til we prevail

Refrain

Repeat Refrain

We are the many, you are the few.

Thank you Makana, for your fine gift!

JMH – 11/14/11