DOI Page / Citation link:
https://doi.org/10.11588/diglit.21216#0264
war in Vietnam and now it's necessary to continue singing against nuclear
weapons and everything. [long applause] For my, for my own politics I re-
main a pacifist. The difficulty with the word pacifist is that it sounds like
'passivity' but it's the opposite. It's the opposite. [slight applause] To be a
pacifist to me means that you are active, you are aggressive, you are a fighter,
you use everything you have from your brain to your sense of humour, I
use my voice, you use every trick you can but you refuse to use the gun
[applause]. That's the difference. Because to me the most important thing in
the world is children, and when there's fighting [applause] to me there's no
difference in the corpse of a child if that child is from the right wing or from
the left wing, it's the same dead baby. So [strums guitar] so if human beings
say we're more intelligent than the dogs, eehhh if this is true, if this is true
then we finish with the guns, we finish with the bombs, and we find a new
way to fight. I think it's possible but we must be very forceful and aggressive
[applause].
The verses to "Kumbaya" are the same as in Dortmund except that the "no
more prisons" verse is left out. There is very long applause after the song, which
she follows with "Swing Low Sweet Chariot" and "Oh Happy Day". The former
is acappella throughout and the latter has an acappella part in it. Thus she ends
the first half of the concert, proceeds of which went to the International Fellow-
ship of Reconciliation, with her "lecture" followed by three "religious" songs.
"Swing Low" is a vocal tour de force which shows off Baez' ränge. It also serves
as symbol for nonviolence, since Baez puts down her guitar and sings unaccom-
panied (unarmed). Sometimes, though not here, she moves away from the micro-
phone and also sings without the aid of amplification. Judging from length and
loudness of applause this is one of the best received songs in her concerts. The
acappella part in "Oh Happy Day" is often followed by spontaneous applause.
This combination of these three songs is a way of completing what has been said,
evoking emotional ties to what went before. She closes "Swing Low" by singing
"coming to carry you, me, us, home". This change in lyrics is geared to bring the
audience and Baez together. Her gestures underscore this, motioning to include
every one.
This "lecture" includes a Statement of Baez' top priority: children. I think it
unlikely that someone who was more concerned with rational argumentation
would have such a priority. It is in fact noticeable that where rational discourse
is given pride of place, children and young people often disappear from view or
are treated as mere preparatory stages. I have earlier referred to Baez' use of the
term "wise" with regard to children. She has also set the goal of having people
regain the faith in their own dreams and aspiration that a four year old can have
259
weapons and everything. [long applause] For my, for my own politics I re-
main a pacifist. The difficulty with the word pacifist is that it sounds like
'passivity' but it's the opposite. It's the opposite. [slight applause] To be a
pacifist to me means that you are active, you are aggressive, you are a fighter,
you use everything you have from your brain to your sense of humour, I
use my voice, you use every trick you can but you refuse to use the gun
[applause]. That's the difference. Because to me the most important thing in
the world is children, and when there's fighting [applause] to me there's no
difference in the corpse of a child if that child is from the right wing or from
the left wing, it's the same dead baby. So [strums guitar] so if human beings
say we're more intelligent than the dogs, eehhh if this is true, if this is true
then we finish with the guns, we finish with the bombs, and we find a new
way to fight. I think it's possible but we must be very forceful and aggressive
[applause].
The verses to "Kumbaya" are the same as in Dortmund except that the "no
more prisons" verse is left out. There is very long applause after the song, which
she follows with "Swing Low Sweet Chariot" and "Oh Happy Day". The former
is acappella throughout and the latter has an acappella part in it. Thus she ends
the first half of the concert, proceeds of which went to the International Fellow-
ship of Reconciliation, with her "lecture" followed by three "religious" songs.
"Swing Low" is a vocal tour de force which shows off Baez' ränge. It also serves
as symbol for nonviolence, since Baez puts down her guitar and sings unaccom-
panied (unarmed). Sometimes, though not here, she moves away from the micro-
phone and also sings without the aid of amplification. Judging from length and
loudness of applause this is one of the best received songs in her concerts. The
acappella part in "Oh Happy Day" is often followed by spontaneous applause.
This combination of these three songs is a way of completing what has been said,
evoking emotional ties to what went before. She closes "Swing Low" by singing
"coming to carry you, me, us, home". This change in lyrics is geared to bring the
audience and Baez together. Her gestures underscore this, motioning to include
every one.
This "lecture" includes a Statement of Baez' top priority: children. I think it
unlikely that someone who was more concerned with rational argumentation
would have such a priority. It is in fact noticeable that where rational discourse
is given pride of place, children and young people often disappear from view or
are treated as mere preparatory stages. I have earlier referred to Baez' use of the
term "wise" with regard to children. She has also set the goal of having people
regain the faith in their own dreams and aspiration that a four year old can have
259