Accents
On wings of songs, “Yes, we can!”
The mantra was excellent: “Yes, we can!” Barack Obama couldn’t have chosen a more dynamic catchphrase to carry and sustain him from the rigors of the long campaign trail to the fantastic walk on Pennsylvania Avenue up to the White House. As the President-elect and his wife Michelle waved, cheers and optimism emanated from the crowd. TV made us so close that we gushed with this thought: “Here is a man who can, and together, these people can.”
Obama had spoken of change they can believe in, and these people who came to witness the inauguration of the first black President repose their faith in him. Here is a man out to overhaul what needs to be critically changed in the governance of his predecessor, George W. Bush. (Didn’t we ourselves pin our hopes on Cory Aquino as a foil to everything that Ferdinand Marcos stood for? But that is a long, sad story—blasted hopes and opportunities—consigned to the dustbin of Philippine history.)
“Yes, we can!” The spirit of the campaign chant was infused in the millions who came to the Obama Inauguration. The same can-do spirit permeated the throng in the opening salvo, the Inaugural Concert, Jan. 18. Since it was the birthday of our granddaughter Danika, we didn’t catch it live on TV, but viewed it uninterrupted on Tuesday. We Are One, as the concert was named, was a call for unity—encompassing peoples of differing race, creed, color, and political beliefs.
Oscar winner Denzel Washington gave the opening remarks. The right choice, we think, the seasoned actor’s poise and eloquence matching that of the majestic statue of Abraham Lincoln at the Lincoln Memorial where the concert was held—a most fitting site for the concert, Lincoln being the Great Emancipator that freed the blacks from unjust slavery.
Bruce Springsteen sang The Rising, the enraptured crowd swaying and singing in harmony with the red-robed gospel choir behind Springsteen. It was just the song to usher in the dawning of the Obama era: Come on up for the rising/Come on up, lay your hands in mine/Come on up for the rising/Come on up for the rising tonight.
A grandfather and his grandson bonded with their rendition of Woody Guthrie’s This Land is Your Land. The first and last stanza of the song I’m quoting here speak of the earth as a domain for all: This land is your land, this land is my land,/From California to the New York Island,/From the redwood forest to the gulfstream waters,/This land was made for you and me.
This land is your land, this land is my land/Nobody living can ever stop me/As I go walking my freedom highway/Nobody living can make me turn back/This land was made for you and me.
The inauguration concert featured other singers, but I relate here with only those I’m familiar with. There was Tom Hanks, my favorite in many dramatic films. Ever the accomplished actor, his quotes and brief talk on Abraham Lincoln provided a break from the musical numbers.
It was wonderful listening to the Irish singers U2 with their front man Bono. Composed of activists and progressives, the band fights global poverty through their songs as they did in Live Aid 1985, the concert held in the struggle against world hunger. Bono’s choice, Pride (In the Name of Love) was a hit. Excerpts: One man come in the name of love/One man come and go/One man come, he to justify/One man to overthrow. One stanza in the song commemorates the assassination of Martin Luther King, Jr.: Early morning, April 4/Shot rings out in the Memphis sky/Free at last, they took your life/They could not take your pride.
The concert ended with America the Beautiful, a beautiful song sang beautifully by the beautiful Beyonce. (Make room for beauty and the fervor for love of country).
And now more of my two cents’ worth:
Jack Black we love in School of Rock was solemn in a brief solemn talk. Definitely a miscast. A choice from Hollywood activists could have been put instead. George Clooney (Good Night, and Good Luck, and many more) or Tim Robbins (The Shawshank Redemption, also many more) would have been just fine. I would have wanted to see Susan Sarandon and the Dixie Chicks, too. And finally, John Lennon’s Imagine fits to a T the theme of the concert: Imagine no possessions/I wonder if you can/No need for greed or hunger/A brotherhood of man/Imagine all the people/Sharing all the world...
You may say I'm a dreamer/But I'm not the only one/I hope someday you'll join us/And the world will live as one.
As it was with some of the song numbers, changes in the lines could be made to suit the inauguration. The song expresses oneness and universality, enjoining all of mankind, transcending all borders and boundaries. On wings of songs and with the “audacity of hope,” I wish for the fulfillment of the chant, “Yes, we can!” (Email: lagoc@hargray.com)