Great thanks to Feña, Sylvia, and Lichi. Also to all the people at La Peña Cultural Center in Berkeley who have not only kept the spirit and music of Chile alive for all these years, but have made La Peña into one of the most important cultural centers in the U.S.
The recording of the concert with Inti Illimani and myself was made in 1984, at a time when we had neither the capacity nor the desire to tweak our music to auditory perfection—good, bad, flat, and sharp notes all made their way on to the recordings. Other artists were able to afford the time and money to make fixes but we had to live with the notes we sang. Listening back today, I am quite impressed by how well we did! I encourage the next generation to hold on to craft and not to lean too heavily on the machines of perfection. Find your own notes and sing them as they are meant to be sung.Of the two live concerts on this reissue that Inti Illimani and I did together, one was in a large concert hall and the second in a small and intimate music club. The audiences at both were terrific, inspiring us to rise to our best. We had only one day of rehearsal and it is a testimony to the musicianship of Inti Illimani that we so quickly got to the essence of these songs.
As for me, I must have been fearless or in a heightened state of denial. I had invited this ensemble to tour with me in the U.S. fully aware that the tour would make no money. Not only that, I had agreed to sing without my trusty pianist and to sing several songs in Spanish!! What was I thinking? I didn't even speak Spanish!
But now, over 20 years later, as I listen, I hear the spirit and energy of the collaboration and my ear forgives all the little shaky places, the mispronounced words. I get to the meaning, the essence of the tour, which was meant to gather the progressive forces in my country and feed the solidarity movement so it might continue the work of cutting off funds to Pinochet and other dictators in Latin America. The work was to make very public the violence and torture, to bring world attention to “the disappeared.” This same work goes on today; one example is in Columbus, Georgia where activists gather every year to protest at the School of the Americas—the site where our government trains the future dictators and torturers of our world.
CREDITS
Sing To Me The Dream Reissue
Produced by Holly Near
Production coordinator, Alison de Grassi
Mastered by Paul Stubblebine
Mix of bonus tracks, Neal Harris 1984 Peace in the Americas Concert Tour
Tour produced by Redwood Records and Jeanne Bradshaw Rizzo
Recorded at Great American Music Hall in San Francisco and at the Berkeley Community Theater, Berkeley, CA
Recording produced by Holly Near, Joanie Shoemaker and Jo-Lynne Worley
1989 Oakland Concert
Concert produced by Redwood Cultural Work
Recorded at Calvin Simmons Theatre, Oakland, CA
Live Concert Recording produced by Stephen Powers and Holly Near
Remote Facilities provided by The Plant, San Francisc,o CA
Engineered by Bob Skye
Mixed by Jim Scott at Ground Control, Santa Monica, CA and Sound Castle, Los Angeles, CA
Mastered by Doug Sax at The Mastering Lab, Hollywood CA Post-Production Coordination, Melissa Howden
2000 Studio Recording
Produced by Holly Near
Engineered by Lesle Ann Jones
Assistant Engineer, Dann Thompson
Recorded at Skywalker Sound in Nicasio, CA
Mastered by Paul Stubblebine
THE PLAYERS
1984 tour of the United States
Holly Near
Inti Illimani: Horacio Salinas Alvarez, Horacio Duran Vidal, Jorge Coulon Larrañaga, Max Berru Carrion, José Seves Sepulveda, Marcelo Coulon Larrañaga, and guest Jorge Ball Vargas
Studio recording, 2000
Holly Near, vocals
Adrienne Torf, piano
Quique Cruz, zampoñas Live concert in Oakland, 1989:
Mercedes Sosa, vocals
Holly Near, vocals
Nicolas Brizuela, guitars
Osvaldo Avena, percussion
Poppi Spatocco, keyboards
Oscar Alem, Bass
Live Concert with Holly Near and Inti Illimani, 1984
Tinku
Gypsy
Te Doy Una Cancion
Sing to Me the Dream
Colibri
El Arado
Watch Out
La Pajita
La Marusa
We're Not Alone
She
Medley: Hay Una Mujer Desaparecida / Voices / It Could Have Been Me
Samba Lando
Gracias a la Vida
Studio Recording, 2000
Hay Una Mujer Desaparecida
Live Concert with Holly Near and Mercedes Sosa, 1989
They Dance Alone
Todavia Cantamos
The lyrics below are the songs that Holly either wrote or co-wrote only. Lyrics written by others, which appear on the CD, are not listed for copyright reasons. Click the name of the song to open the lyrics.
Music: Jose Seves, Lyrics: Holly Near / © Hereford Music
Out on the highway of flutes and fire
A circle of Gypsies and sparks
Ancient forever we head for tomorrow
A city of lights in the dark
The land is our home, home is where we are
Love in our arms.
If love comes into our life we'll go on and on
The Gypsy dances on
Out on the highway of disappointment
Past cities of metal and tears
Are we running forever to doubtful tomorrows
A symphony playing on fear
If our land is no longer our home
Then our home is not where we are
And love no longer disarms
Can life go on and on the
Gypsy dances on
Out on the highway of death and madness
The plan of extinction will fall
Faithful forever to earth and to children
We answer a passionate call
The land is our life
And life is where we are
With love come into our arms
We live on and on -- Gypsy dances on. lst verse again.
Land must be our home -- home must be where we are
If love comes into
We can live on
Holly Near & Jorge Coulon / © Hereford Music
When you speak the
language of your life
I do not
know the story
The words are only sounds,
they leave my mind to wonder
Perhaps you speak of the mountains,
or the child you used to be
Of the city Santiago and the moment you were free
To sing of hungry hearts and of the dream,
do you speak of the dream.
When you speak the language of your love
I do not know the story
The words are only sounds and they leave my mind to wonder
But when you soar through my heart with a melody
I hear the dancing feet, I taste the salty tears
I know the laughing child and the moment of the dream
When you sing the language I feel love
Now I know the story
the songs are mighty sounds that fill my mind to wonder
And when you soar through my heart with a melody
I hear the dancing feet, I taste the salty tears
I am the laughing child, sing to me the dream
Come fill my mind with wonder
And sing to me the dream
Holly Near / © Hereford Music
Watch Out! Watch Out!
There's a rumble of war in the air
Watch Out! Watch Out!
There's a rumble of war in the air
With a man like that you never know
Just where or when
He's gone, he's gone and sent in the
Marines again
Some are small and frightened
Some well-seasoned men
Some are rightly scared to death
Some are feeling joy at seeing blood again
Today they recruited calmly
In a patriotic trend
Sending poor people off to war
it's cheap cannon fodder again
Casualties seldom counted
Are the ones the guns invade
The ones who work the land, the ones
who love the land
Where dreams of peace are made
Holly Near / © Hereford Music
I shall not tire of the road we're walking
Your smile a candle, I shall not tire
I shall not weaken in the face of danger
But draw you close to me
We're not alone, we're not alone
Earth like a friend who's wounded
Child, you're the fragile promise of tomorrow
You, who become a condor in a moment
Can you spread your wings of courage and fly on
Trees are a story telling
Stars, like the burning sun that warms the water
Wind is a force that cleans our sails of sorrow
Woman guide the ship of freedom and sail on
Creatures of courage make a chain that cant be broken
Like my heart can be broken
Links must withstand the strain and pull
That tries to tear our souls apart
Hands are a map I follow
Songs are the haunting call that draws me forward
Hearts be the drum that keeps my feet from slowing
Like a cadence that is crying come on
Force that has turned the flower of the people
Into steel that strikes a fire
Can we use the heat to solder such a chain
And believe on, believe on
Holly Near / © Hereford Music
She danced across the mountain, she thought no one could see
And every move she made across the land taught her to be free
She swept across the valley, her body so defined
And wet with the sweat of seventeen, she found another mountain to be climbed
She soared across the desert, the moon was all aglow
She stumbled once in the freezing sand but no one would ever know
She swam across the river, her muscles straining strong
And she knew as she crossed, the water pulled her deeper into places she belonged
She came to another mountain and found that all could see
Every move was proudly made with love and dignity
For she is Freedom's daughter and Mother—Nature's child
As she raced across the finish line her beauty drove the watchful people wild
She paused to feel the power of people singing songs
That celebrated living, a feeling that she longed for
But slicing through the laughter came an anguished country's cries
And she saw a gun blow up the song and stole away the future from her eyes
A child was standing near her and caught the runner's fire
She kissed her mouth with passion and filled her with desire
And when her feet were on the ground she faced the burning sky
And with a cry that filled the air with rain she cooled the skin of those who would not die
The killer saw her power, the tyrant saw her skill
The women saw themselves in her and the people saw her will
Divided by their colors, betrayed by fear's decree
But no matter how the future goes, She has been and She will always be
She will dance across the mountain
She will dance across the mountain
I have dreamed on this mountain
Holly Near / © Hereford Music
Hay Una Mujer Desaparecida
Michelle Pena Herrera
Nalvia Rosa Mena Alvarado
Cecilia Castro Salvadores
Ida Amelia Almarza
Clare Elena Cantero
Elisa Del Carmen Escobar
Eliana Maria Espinosa
Rosa Elena Morales
Hay una mujer desaparecida en Chile
And the junta knows where they are hiding her, she is dying
Missing in Brazil
Missing in Uruguay
Missing in Guatemala
Missing in El Salvador
Hay un hombre, hay una nina
Oh los ninos
Hay una mujer desaparecida
A spirit lives in Chile
New lives, new songs are rising up
A spirit lives/grows/sings in Chile
New lives, new songs are rising up
Voices
Listen to the voices of the indigenous nations
Calling out the messages of the earth and sky
Telling us what we need to know in order to survive
Old women
Moon and sea
Telling us what we need to know In order to be free
Young children
Heart and soul
Telling us what we need to know Before the lies were told
It Could Have Been Me
It could have been me, but instead it was you
So I'll keep doing the work you were doing as if Iwere two
I'll be a student of life, a singer of songs
A farmer of food and a righter of wrong
It could have been me, but instead it was you
And it may be me dear sisters and brother
Before we are through
But if you can work for freedom
Freedom, freedom, freedom
If you can work ( die, sing, live, work, speak) for freedom
I can too
If you can die for freedom I can too
Students in Ohio 200 yards away
Shot down by a nameless fire one early day in May
Some people cried out angry you should have shot more of them down
But you can't bury youth my friend
Youth grows the whole world round
The junta broke the fingers on Victor Jara's hands
They said to the gentle poet "play your guitar now if you can"
Victor started singing but they brought his body down
You can kill that man but not his song
When it's sung the whole world round
A woman in the jungle so many wars away
Studies late into the night, defends the village in the day
Although her skin is golden like mine will never be
Her song is heard and i know the words
And i'll sing them until she's free
Additional verses added over time:
One night in Oklahoma Karen Silkwood died
Because she had some secrets that big companies wanted to hide
There's talk of nuclear safety and there's talk of national pride
But we all know it is a death machine and that's why Karen died
The songs of Nicaragua and El Salvador
Will long outlast the singers who face the guns in war
They sing at the line of fire, they sing from the fire within
All across the land the poets stand
El pueblo unido jamas sera vencida
El pueblo unido jamas sera vencida