SONG OF THE DAY Victor Jara – La Pala

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“Víctor Lidio Jara Martínez didn’t sing in English, nor did his songs substantially influence Western music, but the manner of his death, the symbolic silencing of his music, made him an international symbol of resistance: “[a] cross between Bob Dylan and Martin Luther King,” as someone says in the Netflix documentary. Dylan himself headlined a tribute concert in New York a few months after the coup….” (Extract from a BBC Culture article)

There is something so magic about the music of Victor Jara and though I do not understand his lyrics, the conviction in his delivery transcends any language barrier. I promised myself last year when I first featured this Chilean folk singer that I would investigate him further, so after I have finished this post this is what I intend on doing!

Víctor Lidio Jara Martínez, better known as Victor Jara, was a highly respected, insanely revered and impressively defiant (until the end) Chilian folk singer of the 1960’s/70’s. Known as one of the pioneers of the nueva canción genre of politically charged popular songs, it was his political activism that led to his all-too early death at the age of just 40. Jara was murdered shortly after Pinochet’s coup on September 11th 1973 and from that moment on his wife Joan Jara campaigned for justice. Fighting for her husband and others murdered by the Pinochet regime, she established the Victor Jara Foundation to perpetuate his music and values.

Jara’s interest in folk music was sparked when in 1957 he met Violeta Parra, one of the founders of the nueva canción movement. He began playing folk songs with a decided leftist bent, and he released his self-titled debut album in 1966. Throughout the late 1960’s he continued to write and record many albums, right up until his execution in 1973.

La Pala appears on his 1970 album, Canto Libre (Free Singing) and I absolutely love the melody change that occurs about a minute into the song. This haunting shift strikes deep and its subtle beauty really moves me. Translating the lyrics only heightens its power to resonate and I love the way this man wrote! He was a beautiful, strong soul and this really shines out in his music!…Enjoy!

La Pala (The Shovel)

They gave me a shovel
That I would look after it for me
That I would never abandon it
So that the earth would water
Slowly, slowly

And when I was more young,
They gave me a guillemot
That I would push it hard
So that the earth would scream
Slowly, slowly

Take them along the roads
Like you carry your destiny
The work must be taken care of
They will give you bread
Take them along the roads

Enyugao for the years
My leather no longer gives any more
Everything I work
Toíto they have taken it from me
Slowly, slowly

Malaya the dark life
What I had to lead
But I have seen that the night
has begun to clear
Slowly, slowly
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Keep opening the paths
The furrow of your destiny
The joy of sowing
They cannot take it away from you
The joy of sowing
It is yours, no one else’s