For Charlie Sharp, poet, musician, artist, R.I.P

Autumn is waking
as a friend drifts to sleep
and trees shed their tears
in the distance the sound of a harmonica
soaring in the sky
by the side of a silvery moon
another star is born
all flames become light
blazing, burning bright.

Alan Moore - Jerusalem

Alan Moore is famous for his groundbreaking work in comics: Watchmen (1986–’87) which fundamentally transformed mainstream comic literature in the 1980s, and many of Moore’s other titles — V for Vendetta (1988–’89), Batman: The Killing Joke (1988), From Hell (1989–’96), and The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen (1999–) — have become cultural landmarks. Moore detests the corporate franchising of his work, however, and after finishing his occult series Promethea in 2005, he largely moved away from illustrated storytelling, spending the subsequent decade crafting Jerusalem, a massive prose narrative (“longer than the Bible,” Moore quips) divided into three volumes, which was released in 2016 by Liverlight Publishing.
Out now comes a beautiful paperback edition of Alan Moore's Jerusalem, in which he pens a grandiose tome about his hometown of Northampton, employing an extremely wide variety of styles, including a poem and a play, channeling both the ecstatic visions of William Blake and the theoretical physics of Albert Einstein .
Combining elements of historical and suprnatural fiction and drawing on a range of writing styles, the author describes it as a work of "genetic mythology". Fierce in its imagining and stupefying in its scope, Jerusalem is the tale of everything, told from a vanished gutter. In these pages lurk demons from the second-century Book of Tobit and angels with golden blood who reduce fate to a snooker tournament. Vagrants, prostitutes, and ghosts rub shoulders with Oliver Cromwell, Samuel Beckett, James Joyce’s tragic daughter Lucia, and Buffalo Bill, among many others. There is a conversation in the thunderstruck dome of St. Paul’s Cathedral, childbirth on the cobblestones of Lambeth Walk, an estranged couple sitting all night on the cold steps of a Gothic church front, and an infant choking on a cough drop for eleven chapters. An art exhibition is in preparation, and above the world a naked old man and a beautiful dead baby race along the Attics of the Breath toward the heat death of the universe.
An opulent  working class mythology for those without a pot to piss in, through the labyrinthine streets and pages of Jerusalem tread ghosts that sing of wealth, poverty, and our threadbare millennium. in these pages spin a metatextual ritual that aspires to overturn the fundamental economic mythology built into the social fabric of late capitalism. In an era when the working classes are portrayed as hopeless victims or demonised as thugs and idiots, while all the while being urged on to greater extremes of racism and xenophobia by the popular media, Jerusalem rejects the portrayal of limited horizons and the glamorisation of poverty that Moore sees in TV shows like Shameless in favour of a work that grants dignity and profundity to life at the bottom of the economic shitheap,
Yet another  masterpiece from my favourite visionary, who continues to plant seeds in us, so we may grow and understand. beyond the dark satanic mills of our ordinary oppressed existences, we are all already living in the shining, eternal city of Jerusalem. Alan Moore is one of  the few Writers capable of illuminating the exterior/interior of our Lives, for that I am truly grateful, this book by the way. is much easier than Ulysses and funnier too, though must add when I originally read got lost a bit, but that is often the way with me. Seek this tome out nevertheless, I strongly recommend.


Get it here :  amzn.to/2CX9toI

"A master storyteller taking  the voices of the dead as his own'" - Neil Gaiman 

"He saw, as through a fog, the grave mistake he'd made. He'd been so anxious for success and validation that he'd come to think you weren't really a writer unless you were a succesful one. He knew, in this unprecedeted patch of clarity, that the idea was nonsense. Look at William Blake, ignored and without recognition until years after his death, regarded as a lunatic or fool by his conpeporaries. Yet Benedict felt sure that Blake, in his three-score-and-ten, had never a moments doubt that he was a true artist. Ben's own problem, looked at in this new and brutal light, was a simple failure of nerve."-Alan Moore, Jerusalem 

Link to earlier posts of mine on Alan Moore :-

 https://teifidancer-teifidancer.blogspot.com/2018/03/alan-moore-on-art-and-magic.html

https://teifidancer-teifidancer.blogspot.com/2013/11/happy-60th-alan-moore-181113-dont-let.html?m=0
 

Booking.com :Erased Palestinians

  .

Shouldn’t you know if you’re going to book a room in an illegal Israeli settlement? Apparently, Booking.com doesn’t think so.
Days ago Booking.com, bowing to pressure from pro-Israel activists, started describing all of Jerusalem as a "city in Israel"- literally erasing Palestinian East Jerusalem. It's not clear why the online travel  reservation servixe made the call to change its description of Jerusalem, given that East Jerusalem is regarded as occupied territory under international law and global consensus is that the eastern part of the holy city is the capital of Palestine. Israel’s control over the eastern part, which the Jewish state annexed in the 1980s, is disputed and seen as illegal by many countries and international organizations, including the European Union and the United Nations, and to reject Israel’s decision to settle its citizens there. Despite the international community, rejecting Israeli settlements in East Jerusalem, it still continues to be occupied.
Through recent settlement activity, Israel continues to reinforce existing settlements and the separation of East Jerusalem from the rest of the West Bank and is exacerbating the territorial fragmentation of the West Bank. Settlements are illegal under international law as reaffirmed by UN Security Council Resolution 2334 (2016), The developments on the ground make the prospect of a two-state solution increasingly unattainable.
It is also worth noting that though Palestinians in East Jerusalem are required to pay taxes like any other inhabitant of the city, but do not receive the same services that others do. The Jerusalem Municipality deliberately avoids significantly investing in infrastructure and services in the Palestinian neighborhoods – including roads, pavements, water and sewage systems, schools and cultural institutions. This policy affects almost every aspect of Palestinians’ lives in East Jerusalem.
The willigness of the global brand to wade into a global row with such alacrity is likely to raise eyebrows. Founded in the Netherlands in 1996, Booking,com is said to offer more than 28 million reported listings in more than 138,000 destinations in 229 countries and territories worldwide. More than 1.5 million room nights are reserved daily on the platform, according to the firm.
Booking.com’s CEO Gillian Tans is a proud progressive female leader, famous for her openness — so if we put her personal reputation on the line we can get Booking.com must tell the truth: that East Jerusalem is occupied territory.
In response to media reports, Booking.com downplayed the change, showing they don't really understand how painful it is for Palestinian families to watch their history get erased one website at a time.
But this isn't just about websites, it's about a concerted cultural campaign that starts with pro-Israel, right wing extremists,extends to Trump moving the US embassy to Jerusalem, and continues when mainstream companies like Booking.com get on board with erasing Palestinians connection to their homeland.
We need to make Booking.com a line in the sand - anns CEO Gillian Tans is our best shot to getthem to tell the truth about Israeli occupation. Join CODEPINK, Jewish Voices for Peace and others in sending a message to Gillian Tans. Add your name below and share with everyone you know. Cheers.

https://secure.everyaction.com/ntXPlQJufkShJrAzW_fruA2

Chas and Dave singer Chas Hodges dies aged 74, RIP

Sad to hear that one half of much loved Cockney music duo Chas and Dave, singer Chas Hodges has died aged 74.It was announced earlier today in a tweet from the musical duo's twitter account. The band posted online: "It is with tremendous sadness that we announce the passing of our very own Chas Hodges, "Despite receiving successful treatment for oesophageal cancer recently, Chas suffered organ failure and passed away peacefully in the early hours of this morning."
https://twitter.com/chas_dave/status/1043470431783710720
A message on the groups website added:"We would like to thank our fans or their fantastic support and goodwill at this difficult time."
The official Twitter account for Tottenham Hotspur Football Club, of whom Hdges was a huge fan, posted ;Everyone at the Clun is deeply saddened to hear of one of our own, Chas Hodges."Our thoughts are with his family and friends at this difficult time,"
Born Charles Nicholas Hodges  in 1943, Chas will be forever remembered for his work with David Victor Peacock, better known as Dave.Hodges' career kicked of the 1960's working alongside legendary producer Joe Meek, while working as a musician he backed Jerry Lee Lewis and Gene Vincent. Hodges also played bass with a short lived band called the Outlaws , who were once supported  by the Beatles, who he stuck up a long friendship with. Hodges also worked with the highly respected Cliff Bennet and the Rebel Rousers , he  also had sessions with Ritchie Blackmore, and joined Albert Lee's band Heads ,Hands and Feet, plus a short lived stint with the Rockers, who featured Thin Lizzy frontman Phil Lynott, the Move's Roy Wood and Status Quo drummer John Coghlan.
Chas and Dave formed in 1975, known for their distinctive 'rockney' style, which blended early rock and roll with elements of cockney musical hall humour, pub singalong and boogie woogie piano.In the tradition of the Kinks and the Small Faces and around the same time as Ian Dury and Squeeze, they wrote exceptionally witty songs about life in London, performed with a strong affection for all.,so tied to its place, singing about the working classes of the city. After supporting Led Zeppelin at Knebworth in 1979, they went on to  enjoy a run of hits in the late seventies and early eighties with songs like  Gertcha,'Rabbit, The Sideboard Song,'Ain't No Pleasing You and'Snooper Loopy. They became known and loved because they knew how to give audiences a good time, gaining an enthusiastic cult following with both  young and old.
They disbanded in 2009 following the retirement of Dave Peacock  after his wife Sue's death.
However in 2010 Chas and Dave announced their return to live circuit  with much critical acclaim. The duo released their first album of new material in over three decades this year, ' A  'liitle Bit of Us'  included a track that addressed  Chas's cancer diagnosis. The band was forced to cancel a number of dates back in August of this year to his illness. In a statement at the time Hodges stoically said:"In my time as a musician/entertainer.I would say the most depressing thing to do is to have to cancel a gig or gigs."
Already the internet is awash with tributes to him,  on all accounts a gentleman who was admired and loved in equal measure. Over the years,  some  saw Chas and Dave as a bit of a novelty act, but  Chas Hodges was one of the most talented musicians this country has ever produced, my record collection is better to have them within it. An absolute legend, so long for now Chas ,R,I,P your songs  will continue to  brighten up many a darkened days,..

Rabbit - Chas and Dave, 1981

Chas and Dave - Gertcha

Chas and Dave - Ain't No  Pleasing you 

Chas and Dave - Sideboard Song, 1979

The Rockers - We are the boys

After EU Calls Theresa May Bluff - Time for her to go.

The Tory's double standards have long been plain to see. Strong and stable they certainly are not. Forced to backtrack time and time again. No wonder commentators have dubbed Theresa May the Queen of U-Turns. She and her party are completely lacking  any credibility or moral fibre, but keep continuing to  cause so much wreckage and damage to our country, with their sheer incompetance.
Now after farting around for over years, wasting everyone's  time with ludicrous plans regarding Brexit, she has again been put on the spot after delivering yet another pointless speech on the progress,or lack of it with  negotiations.Thursdays gathering of European leaders in Salzburg was supposed to help bridge outstanding differences and pave the way for a potential deal by the middle of November, but ended in humiliation for May as they rebuffed her plans.In an ambush that blindsided British  officials,  the EU council president, Donald Tusk dismissed and demolished  her Chequers proposals as unworkable after a private meeting of national leaders. He later openly mocked her on Instagram, with a satirical  post referring to the EU's rejections of her plans to "cherry pick" parts of the European single market. He was joined by the French president Emmanuel Macron, who dismissed the entire Brexit project as being pursued by "liars".
It really though came as no surprise that her plans were rejected.Michel Barnier, the blocs chief Brexit negotiator, has said on numerous occassions this summer that its core proposals, the UK effectively stays in the single market for goods and collects EU tariffs on Brussel's behalf was never going to be accepted.
This rejection has now triggered a crisis in government  of her own making, and as she ratchets up her language on the issue, in a form of futile defiance she really  does us no favours, with many believing that May has outlived her usefulness, as her domestic 'credibility' is seen to be so badly damaged, her subsequent statement  attracted widespread attention, partially for being "pathetic, painful and petulant''. If she really believes she has the country with her, and  has its best interests in mind, then she should call a General election. Blaming the EU will no longer work for her.We so need to bring  her down as soon as possible, she and her party have no clue how to extricate themselves from this mess, while continuing to screw the country.Yep Theresa May, it's time for her to go, I certainly will not be shedding  any tears for her.

Anointments of Progression

On the verge of sleep, the world is waking
As time illuminated, keeps on passing,
Travelling through waves of longing
Hopes and fears forever thronging,
Among repeated languages of learning

Navigated thoughts, rhetorics of belonging..
.
Between homelands and borders
Over barricades halting progress
In mesmerizing moments of abidingness,
Our worn out feet moving onwards,
From early morn till late at night
Seeking better ways to break the rules.

Sending love songs to universe 

From affliction simple  honesty 

To melt  away all  borders of hate 

Taming the storms keep on releasing 

I refuse to be silent, often belligerent 

Spirit free, dancing  refuses to be broken.

And when solace accidentally slips on by
Some will surge among drunken woeful cry,
Those who escape, get a chance for another look
Turn the page, open a brand new book,
To dream and dare, among ubiquitous shoots
As a new season arrives, sprouts new routes.

Drifting in imperceptible process of change
Filling pockets with formulas to rearrange,
Paths unknown, awareness in transition
Creating beautiful new traditions,
In places stored deep from hearts
Listening, touching, wanting, living.

Days of  possibilities begin, 

With a galore of surprises,

Finding answers beyond  turbulence

The unquiet waves rearrange,

Offer different perspective

The gleam  of calming sunsets.

Owain Glyndwr Day

September 16th is the anniversary of the proclamation in 1400, of Owain Glyndwr as Prince of Wales and is now celebrated annually as Owain Glyndwr Day.We can not know for certain whether all the stories about him are true, but what we do know is that his life was a very remarkable one, and there is no name known better here in Wales than that of this great man.
He was born in the year 1359, at the height of the Black Plague, although the exact date remains a mystery, He was an  unlikely  candidate for the role of freedom fighter, born  as he was into an upper-class family descended from the princes of Powys on his father's side, and heir to the lands of Rhys ap Gruffydd on his mother's, he enjoyed the privileges due to one of the most powerful lords in Wales. It was the custom in these days for the sons of noble-men to be taught in the art of fighting early, but Glyndwr, as a lad was fond of learning, and when he was old enough, he was sent to London to study  law, at the Inns of Court in London, to become a squire to the Earl of Arundel, and  to serve with distinction in the Scottish campaigns of King Richard II, and later in the French campaigns. In 1383, he married Margaret, daughter of Sir David Hanmer, an important justice on the King's bench. He took up residence in his family home in Sycharth in the valley of the Dee. Here he called the Welsh bards and minstrels together in order to encourage  music and song.
Events soon brought this comfortable life to an end, and Owain would not enjoy peace for long, which not only disrupted Glyndwr's family circle but altered the course of Welsh history. In 1399, Henry Bolingbroke deposed Richard II. As King Henry IV, he levied even harsher taxes against the Welsh. This happened at the worst possible time for the Welsh, who were already suffering from recurring outbreaks of the Plague. The new taxes added to the hardships and resentment of the common people and made them ripe for rebellion, and soon Owain would be called to lead his people in war
He  also had a jealous neighbour called , the Marcher Lord, Sir Reginald de Grey of Ruthin, who was anxious to seize some of the land which Owain now possessed. Glyndwr appealled  to Parliament against Grey,but the new  king Henry IV, remembered  how Owain had served his enemy Richard, and took Grey's side. To make matters worse, Grey would not deliver a writ bidding Owain to join Henry in a war against Scotland, and this made it appear that Owain had disobeyed Henry and had become a traitor. Lord Grey saw this as an opportunity, and seized Owain's lands north  of the Dee,declaring them forfeit to the King. When Owain and his people saw this injustice, the old spirit of war bust into a fierce flame,as Owain felt he was left with no option other than to rebel against the unjust and oppressive rule of the English, and soon the whole of Gwynedd was in revolt.

 
Word of Glyndwr's stance struck a chord with other disaffected Welsh people and he became the symbolic leader of the resistance movement against the crown and in September, 1400, Owain attacked the town of Ruthin, plundered it and left it in flames.He also took possession of some of the lands of Lord Grey.On 16th September  on the outskirts of Ruthin he was proclaimed by his followers as Prince of Wales.The men of Wales flocked in droves to Owain's banner as word of the revolt spread, like wildfire throughout the country and many exiled Welsh people returned to join what had become a widespread national uprising. Welsh students at Oxford and Cambridge reportedly dropped their books and headed home to join the fight. Anti-English sentiment grew so strong that Welsh labourers in Shropshire and Herefordshire left their jobs to support the cause.
Parliament didn't take these events lightly, immediately passing even harsher anti-Welsh laws. Henry then marched a large army across North Wales, burning and looting without mercy. Confronted with strong English opposition, Glyndwr and seven supporters headed for the safety of the mountains and bided their time.
Glyndwr won his first great victory against the English in the summer of 1401. Camped with fewer than 500 men at the bottom of the Hyddgen valley, he found himself surrounded by 1500 enemy troops. With no option other than to fight, he amazingly defeated the English, though about 200 of his followers died as well. This success inspired legions of new supporters, many from the higher ranks of Welsh society. Glyndwr received further support from England's enemies: Scotland, Ireland, and France. In the meantime, the English continued their offensive, fanning the flames of Welsh ire by attacking and defiling the Cistercian monastery of Strata Florida.
Owain was a natural leader ,the spark that united the Welsh discontent about specific issues in Wales,many dating back from the death of Llewelyn the last, https://teifidancer-teifidancer.blogspot.com/2016/12/llewellyn-ap-gruffyd-last-prince-of.html who was killed in 1282, and soon Owain had a large loyal army under his command. When Henry IV heard of this he hastened back from Scotland  intent on crushing Owain and destroying his army. Owain saw that it would be useless to try and lead his forces against an army of 28,000 of the King's men, so he wisely withdrew into the mountains,there he remained in safety until all was ready for an attack on the English. Henry and his army in the meantime, having destroyed much property returned to England, but after gaining little or nothing.
In his retreat at Snowdon, Owain planned his next campaign. In 1401, Owain made Plymlimon the base of the campaign on which he decided, because there his supporters could easily come to him from both North and South. In the spring of that year he attacked and destroyed various towns on his way to South Wales. Henry heard of this new uprising, and immediately led an army to fight Owain, but again the English had to return after suffering much loss, and gaining nothing.
The year 1402 was the most successful for Owain, a comet that had appeared in the skies was thought to herald greater victories and portending a sweeping victory for Welsh independence. and in fact the tide of battle swung dramatically in Glyndwr's favour. He took his old enemy, Lord Grey prisoner, and carried him off to the mountains, Marching to the South Owain and his army destroyed the castles of Crickhowell and Abergavenny.The town of Cardiff was attacked, and the bishops palace at Llandaf was burnt. Caerphilly and other castles fell, and soon the whole of Glamorgan was one. Henry IV was now planning to send three armies into Wales to surround and conquer the great Owain hurrying back to the North, cut off all the supplies of the English armies, and they returned to England with all haste.
Owain was now at the height of his power.In 1404 , Cricieth, Harlech and Aberystwyth  castles were captured. There was something forward thinking in his vision of Wales. He called not one but two Welsh Parliaments and wanted to create two Welsh universities and to have a Welsh Church controlled  by Welsh bishops.Until then, with the compliance of the Vatican, English Kings appointed Bishops for Wales,English speaking not Welsh. He called together a Welsh Parliament at Machynlleth, where he was crowned Prince of Wales.He told  the Parliament of his schemes to have Welsh universities which should be equal to that of Oxford, and promised to restore the old laws of Howel the Good. Owain intended to use his power for the good of his country, using his charismatic influence as a leader of a Wales free from the yoke of English rule.Agreements with France and Spain were drawn up  and rench troops landed at Milord Haven to join his army. The second parliament was held the following year in Harlech, and Glyndŵr's idea of splitting Wales and England into three parts was discussed. Mortimer would have the south and the west, Thomas Percy, Earl of Northumberland, would have the middle and north, and Owain himself would have Wales and the Marches. On 31 March 1406, to ensure extra help from France, Glyndŵr wrote a letter to King Charles VI from Pennal near Machynlleth. This is the famous Pennal Letter. In the letter Owain agrees to transfer the obedience of Welsh churches from the Pope in Rome to the Pope in Avignon. He did not receive a reply to the letter.

                                                      Owain Glyndwr's banner

However Owain was not to retain his powers for long, although he had the help of powerful allies. King Henry stopped the tide of his success, and in spite of the help that Owain received from his allies, the royal army won a decisive victory over him in 1405. Many Welsh soldiers were slain and Owain's son Gruffydd was taken prisoner. Prince Henry marched with his army into North Wales/ Aberystwyth castle was captured in 1846, and in the next year Owain's stronghold, Harlech Castle, fell into the hands of the English.
Owain the great  hero  though remaining a problem for a while, by 1410 Glyndwr was a hounded pariah, and saw anti-Welsh legislation more repressive than ever, Owain and his followers were forced to flee and hide themselves in the hills. In 1413,Henry IV died, and Henry of Monmouth was crowned Henry V. Little is known about the closing scenes of his life, Henry V offered him a pardon in 1415, but he was apparently too proud to accept it,but as the sands ran out of his rebellion, he was never captured or betrayed, and he simply slipped away, some say finding shelter at  the home of one of his daughters, across the border in Herefordshire. His son, Maredudd ap Owain Glyndwr, also refused the pardon, but accepted another in 1421, suggesting that by this time that his father was, by then dead.
Owen Rhoscomyl who wrote Flame bearers of Welsh History in 1905  believed Glyndwr’s spirit lived on, saying of Glyndwr’s unknown grave: ”Time shall not touch it, decay shall not dishonour it for that grave is in the heart of every true Cymro. There for ever, from generation to generation, grey Owen’s heart lies dreaming on, dreaming on, safe for ever and forever.”
Yet the people he presided over lost everything in a decade of bitter struggle, and saw the regulations designed to keep them repressed rendered considerably harsher for two generations to come, Wales' citizens were treated as second hand citizens compared to the English..
Centuries have now passed since this great Welshman died, but his name and his spirit will be forever honoured by the Cymry, because  he was the champion of its people, and his ideals still inspire this nation, he has  since become a symbol of pride and freedom, and our want for self autonomy. The nationalist movement has always held Owain Glyndwr in high regard, and  he is now a figure of mass culture in Wales. In his play, Henry IV, Shakespeare portrays Owain Glyndwr (anglicised as Owen Glendower) as a wild, exotic, magical and spiritual man, who recalled him as being “not in the roll of common men”. playing up the romantic 'Celtic' traits. In the 19th century his life and legacy was beginning to be re-evaluated as the Welsh 'nation' began to find its voice once more. The discovery of his seal and letters were proof that he was a national leader of some importance.

He has since become revered, almost a saint, referred to by many as the 'last Prince of Wales',  acquiring a mythical status alongside Cadwaladr, Cynan and like the legend of King  Arthur, Welsh legend has it that when Wales is threatened again threatened again, he will rise again in order to lead the defense of Wales  and liberate his people. Even the late Cuban leader Fidel Castro hailed him as “the World’s first guerilla leader" his coat of arms since waved in parades, an invocation of past grievances, with statues and monuments, alongside pub and street names commemorating him.
The Owain Glyn Dŵr society was founded in 1996 by Adrien Jones (the society’s President) to “...commemorate the role of Owain Glyn Dŵr in Welsh history...” and “... create a permanent memorial....” That memorial was unveiled at Machynlleth on the 600th anniversary of the start of his revolt against the English crown. For information about the society click her
Dydd Owain Glyndwr hapus i pawb/ Happy Owain Glyndwr day to all.

Twitter Storm : Sat 15 September, Tell @HSBC to #StopArmingIsrael & divest from Elbit Systems now!

Israel uses military force to maintain its oppression of Palestinians. It targets and tests their weapons on Palestinian civilians using tear gas grenades, rubber-coated bullets and live ammunition, and carries out mass arrests, house demolitions and extrajudicial executions.
This brutality lies at the heart of Israel’s systematic violations of Palestinian rights, amounting to serious breaches of international law, and even war crimes.
HSBC is a major shareholder in companies selling weapons and military technology to Israel including Elbit Systems,that is Israel's largest private arms company, which manufactures drones and surveillance technology, and has recently sold Israel cannons for internationally banned cluster munitions. HSBC claims to have a strict policy against doing business with companies involved in cluster munitions production, but still holds millions of pounds worth of shares in Elbit Systems.
We can’t allow banks on our high streets to continue lending support to Israel’s militarised repression of Palestinians. Together, we can break the chain of complicity.
Join the  twitter storm happening now tell @HSBC it’s time to #StopArmingIsrael and divest from Elbit Systems and all companies selling weapons to Israel’s military today! #HSBComplicity

Marc Ribot -" Bella Ciao (Goodbye Beautiful) " ( feat. Tom Waits )

Bella Ciao is an Italian folk ballad, with a robust, storied past, the author of the lyrics is unknown; but the music and spirit of the song is based on a folk song sung by rice-weeders on the River Po basin in the early part of the 20th century,the earliest written version is dated 1906 and comes from near Vercelli, Piedmont.
It was revised and re-written during Word WarII for the Italian anti-fascist resistance fighters, and it has since becomes used worldwide as an anti-fascist hymn of freedom and resistance.
The original Partisan version  sung in Italian can be found here:-

 Many Italian versions, including this modern rendition by the  Modena City Ramblers, have appeared over the years, while in addition to the original Italian, the song has been sung by revolutionaries and fighters the world over in numerous languages.including Arabic, Bosnian, Breton, Catalan, Chinese , Croatian, Danish, English, Esperanto, Finnish, German, Hungarian, Hebrew, Japanese, Persian, Kurdish, Norwegian, Occitan, Russian, Serbian, Slovenian, Spanish, Syriac, You can read more about the songs  long history here http://riowang.blogspot.com/2008/12/bella-ciao.html
The following  beautiful version featuring Tom Waits with his grizzled inimitable voice, that puts real feeling into his reading of the song, is taken from Songs of Resistance 1948-2016, the new album by guitarist Marc Ribot, who describes it as a protest record adding, "Every movement which has won anyrhing has had songs."  “Tom brings a certain gravitas to everything he does,” says Ribot. “My Italian friends say he sounds exactly like an old ‘partigiano’ (resistance fighter)!”
The video below is directed by Jem Cohen and uses footage from anti-Trump demonstrations in Washington DC, that makes its parallels with modern life very explicit, the song is still so relevant for the world we are in today. Pairing Waits' vocals with footage of police and soldiers guarding barricades at anti-Trump protests.
This year. we have seen some of the biggest fascist demonstrations in decades, supported by the international Alt-right. The fight against these forces of fascism  must continue, as the flower of resistance still grows strong..
Songs of Resistance 1942-2018 comes out today  Sept. 14 via Anti-.

 Bella Ciao

One fine morning
I woke up early
(bella ciao, bella ciao, bella ciao)
One fine morning
I woke up early
to find the fascist at my door.

O, partisano,
please, take me with you
(bella ciao, bella ciao, goodbye beautiful)
O, partisano,
please take me with you,
I’m not afraid anymore.

And if I die
a partisano
(bella ciao, bella ciao, goodbye beautiful)
bury me upon my mountain
beneath the shadow of a flower.

So all the people,
the people passing
(bella ciao, bella ciao, goodbye beautiful)
So all the people, the people passing,
they say “O, what a beautiful flower!”

This is the flower of the partisan
(bella ciao, bella ciao, goodbye beautiful)
This is the flower of the partisan
who died for freedom.
This is the flower
of the partisan
who died for freedom.

The other 9/11

 

 Repost with additional information

On September 11, 2001 the USA experienced a great tragedy,I join people all over the world in remembering the lives lost on that day, and the hundreds of thousands more killed in Afghanistan, Iraq, and the other wars that followed.
Today though I also remember another 9/11, when on this day on September 11 1973, the democratically elected Government of Chile's socialist President Allende was brutally overthrown in a bloody, military coup led by fascist General Augusto Pinochet, friend of Margaret Thatcher. An American sponsored coup  that crushed a democratically elected government, which would lead  to years of repression, torture, forced disappearance, false imprisonment, fear, death and for many Chileans exile. Democracy would not return for 17 years with the Chilean people having to endure years of autocratic military rule.
In Chile in 1970 Salvador Allende won 36.6% of the vote and established his Popular Unity government in power much to the alarm of the United States government who feared his leftist government would slide into one party rule like Fidel Castro's Cuba. Allende's political platform was populist and he promised the nationalization of many sectors of the Chilean economy and the distribution of wealth to the country's poor. These plans, however, were not accepted in Washington, which saw Chile as the new “red menace”, a cancer to be eradicated and in a way to make it an example to anyone who dared to follow in its footsteps.The involvement of the CIA is proved by documents and files decrypted that confirm what we already knew: the coup had its legitimation from  President Nixon and the National Security Adviser Henry Kissinger, the future Nobel Peace Prize.
Today in 1973 the Chilean military, under Pinochet's command, announced a coup and  Air Force planes  attacked the presidential palace. Within a few hours, the military had seized control of the government, and Allende and many of his ministers were left dead  in the presidential palace as the military unleashed a wave of brutal repression against the population and  the people's movements, ushering in almost two decades of right wing military rule under Pinochet. 

The military and secret police began rounding up thousands of  people loyal to President Allende.Many disappeared" into army-run, CIA-supported torture centers, never to be heard from again.Over 20,000 people  are  established to have been killed during Pinochet's reign  of terror. and 60,000 tortured,  hundreds of Allendes supporters alone were gunned down in Santiago Soccer stadium, so  today in Chile  this event is still marked  with anger, people taking to the streets and displaying it, Chileans still having to deal  with the devastating legacy of life  under a fascist regime.
Today on  this tragic anniversary, it is time to remember again, a time in our  history that still holds daily reverence to most Chileans lives,and for much of Latin America, and for the  many democratic reformers and carriers of solidarity's message worldwide.
In Florida in June,2016 a jury  found a former Chilean army officer liable for the murder of folk singer and activist Víctor Jara in 1973. Jara was tortured and shot more than 40 times in the days after the U.S.-backed coup. The verdict against Pedro Pablo Barrientos Nuñez marked what The Guardian newspaper called "one of the biggest and most significant legal human rights victories against a foreign war criminal in a US courtroom." https://www.theguardian.com/world/2016/jun/27/victor-jara-pedro-pablo-barrientos-nunez-killing-chile  Speaking on the steps of the Florida courthouse, on , Jara’s widow Joan Jara Turner said at  the time, "What we were trying to do for more than 40 years, for Víctor, has today come true."
Since then in a form of justice eight retired Chilean military officers have been sentenced to 15 years in prison for Victor's murder.This hero of the people whose life and music has been celebrated ever since. 

Yet  no US presidential apology, has ever been made for what was unleashed on the workers, students and ordinary people of Chile on this day. So today as America  remembers  their own  9/11 lets not forget the other injustice that they helped cause.

I am  sadly reminded that years after the world watched as planes hijacked by terrorists  crashed into the World Trade Center ( that caused a further millions deaths, also creating millions of refugees, malnutrition, birth defects and other health disasters on generations of children  in Iraq and other war zones), the harrowing  cycle of violence never ended. 

My only hope now is that we continue to express true sorrow, whilst collectively recognising the terrible legacy of these two  9/11's. Let us chart a more just and peaceful path forward. Lets hope the forces of truth and reconciliation long continue to be fostered and that  all victims are  rightfully remembered. 

Victor Jara - Venceremos
 

http://teifidancer-teifidancer.blogspot.co.uk/2013/09/40th-anniversary-of-chilean-coup.html