… Encores full ‘score “We are the
many” today on the Democracy Now news program —
We will occupy the
streets.
We will occupy the courts.
We will occupy the offices until you do
the
bidding of the many, not the few [ Makana ].
The time has come for us to voice our rage Against the ones who’ve trapped us in a cage
To steal from us the value of our wage
From underneath the vesture of law
The lobbyists at Washington do gnaw
At liberty, the bureaucrats guffaw
And until they are purged, we won’t withdraw
We’ll occupy the streets
We’ll occupy the courts
We’ll occupy the offices of you
’Til you do
The bidding of the many, not the few
Our nation was built upon the right Of every person to improve their plight
But laws of this republic they rewrite
And now a few own everything in sight
They own it free of liability
They own, but they are not like you and me
Their influence dictates legality
And until they are stopped we are not free
We’ll occupy the streets
We’ll occupy the courts
We’ll occupy the offices of you
’Til you do
The bidding of the many, not the few
You enforce your monopolies with guns While sacrificing our daughters and sons
But certain things belong to everyone
Your thievery has left the people none
So take heed of our notice to redress
We have little to lose, we must confess
Your empty words do leave us unimpressed
A growing number join us in protest
We occupy the streets
We occupy the courts
We occupy the offices of you
’Til you do
The bidding of the many, not the few
You can’t divide us into sides And from our gaze, you cannot hide
Denial serves to amplify
And our allegiance you can’t buy
Our government is not for sale
The banks do not deserve a bail
We will not reward those who fail
We will not move till we prevail
We’ll occupy the streets
We’ll occupy the courts
We’ll occupy the offices of you
’Til you do
The bidding of the many, not the few.
As 21 APEC member economies’ leaders dined in Honolulu on the weekend, renowned musician Makana began his serenade. He opened his suit jacket to show his t-shirt message ‘Occupy with Aloha’ and sang subtly, subliminally ‘We are the Many.’
In the Democracy Now interview, Makana recounted his APEC experience.
“I showed up and did my gig,” he said, “and
as I looked around, I thought about the song I just wrote called ‘We are the
Many.’ It was an incredible experience
to sing the words, those words, to
that room of people. I didn’t belt it out. I started very subtly and
subliminally …
‘Ye
come here, gather ‘round the stage.
The
time has come for us to voice our rage.’…
“Then I realized, ‘Wow! I didn’t get in trouble!’ so I played it again.
I made a different version of it and ended up playing it for about 45 minutes.
“To be able to sing that there [a
hall of APEC’s powerful] was an epic feeling. It felt right.
“… I found it odd that I was afraid to do it at first. I
found that disturbing; that’s why I did it.”
Breaking through
“I didn’t like the idea of being afraid to sing a song that
I created. I’ve never been afraid to sing anything. If that’s what we’ve come
to in the world — where we’re afraid to say certain things in the company of
certain people — I think that’s a dangerous place to be. For me to move out of
that space [of fear], I had to sing the song. That’s what I did.”
Prolific singer songwriter and guitarist Makana was born on Hawaii’s
Oahu Island and began singing at the age of seven. He was performing
professionally at Honolulu’s Duke’s Canoe Club at age 15 and has since produced
his own shows in many of Hawaii’s other significant venues. “Makana” was his
debut album (1999). It won the Best World Music Album Award at the Hawaii Music
Awards. Musician Makana contributed to the Grammy-nominated album Hawaiian
Slack Key Kings and the same year (2006) produced his fourth album “Different
Game.”
Makana tours the world with regular performances in the
United States, including Hawaii. He has made six solo tours of Japan. In
Germany, he opened for three Santana concerts performing for audiences of thousands
in world-class venues including Frankfurt’s Opera Platz.
Makana has also
performed at mega festivals. In 2001, he was the only solo artist to headline
the main stage at the WOMAD Festival (World of Music, Arts and Dance) in Reading,
England. In 2005, by invitation of the
Director of Hawaii’s Department of Business, Economic Development and Tourism,
Makana represented Hawaii in China. In addition to multiple concerts in
Shanghai, he produced and headlined an extravagant cultural showcase from Hawaii
at the Tianjin Opera House.
Sources and
notes
“Occupy Honolulu: Hawaiian Musician Makana Performs Protest
Song to World Leaders at APEC Summit,” November 14, 2011, http://www.democracynow.org/2011/11/14/occupy_honolulu_hawaiian_musician_makana_performs
MAKANA
Born Matthew
Swalinkavich, Makana [called ‘Hawaii’s Guitar Hero’] is a U.S. singer-
songwriter and slack-key guitarist. On November 12, 2011, he turned his
performance at an Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation dinner meeting of member
state leaders into a political protest
by opening his suit jacket to reveal a t-shirt reading ‘Occupy With Aloha’ and
for three quarters of an hour singing his composition ‘We Are the Many.’
The name “Makana”
is also a mountain located on northern shore of the island of Kauai. This
mountain rises 1,115 feet (340 m) above Limahuli Valley.
Makana is a
Hawaiian language term meaning “gift” or “reward” and is often used as a person’s
name or as part of a name.
Slack-key guitar
is a finger style genre of guitar music that originated in Hawaii. Its name
refers to its characteristic open tunings: the English term is a translation of
the Hawaiian kī hō’alu, which means ‘loosen the [tuning] key’. Most slack-key
tunings can be achieved by starting with a classically tuned guitar and
detuning or ‘slacking’ one or more of the strings until the six strings form a
single chord, frequently G major.
“An open tuning
in guitar is one where the strings are tuned so that a chord is achieved
without fretting, or pressing any of the strings. With such a tuning, other
chords may be played by simply barring a fret or through the use of a slide.
Open tunings are common in blues music and some rock and folk music. They are
particularly used in steel guitar and bottleneck guitar playing.”
Makana biographical and guitar notes
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Makana_(musician); http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Makana
http://www.artistdirect.com/artist/bio/makana/1048714
http://pasifika-artists.com/index.php?page=bio-recordings-13
APEC
APEC’s 21 member
economies are: Australia; Brunei Darussalam; Canada; Chile; People's Republic
of China; Hong Kong, China; Indonesia; Japan; Republic of Korea; Malaysia;
Mexico; New Zealand; Papua New Guinea; Peru; The Republic of the Philippines;
The Russian Federation; Singapore; Chinese Taipei; Thailand; United States of
America; and Viet Nam.
The Asia-Pacific
Economic Cooperation began as an informal dialogue group in 1989 and has since
become “the premier forum for facilitating economic growth, cooperation, trade
and investment in the Asia-Pacific region.” An APEC Secretariat was established in 1993 in
Singapore to support the activities of the forum. http://www.apec.org/FAQ.aspx
News from weekend
APEC meetings
Senior officials
from the 21 member economies of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC)
forum worked [in November] to finalize their recommendations to Ministers and
Leaders this week as they met for the final time this year. APEC aims to
promote sustainable growth and facilitate job creation by deepening regional
economic integration.
Honolulu, United
States, November 10-11, 2011, APEC Finance Ministers issue statement committing
“to strengthening recovery, reinforcing stability and opening markets.”
Ministers pledged
to address risks to the global economy to restore confidence, financial
stability and sustainable growth.
Ministers
acknowledged that growth and job creation have weakened in the region,
particularly in advanced economies, while inflation remains elevated in many.
Capital flow volatility has intensified in response to heightened risk
aversion.
Ministers
reaffirmed their shared interest in reforming the financial sector to better
meet the needs of APEC economies.
APEC Finance
Ministers also considered analysis and perspectives from the President of the
Asian Development Bank, the President of the Inter-American Development Bank,
the Managing Director of the World Bank Group, the Deputy Managing Director of
the International Monetary Fund, and the APEC Business Advisory Council.
“APEC Leaders Week 2011, APEC Ministerial Meeting,” Honolulu, Hawaii,
United States November 11, 2011, http://www.apec.org/Press/News-Releases/2011/1110_FMM.aspx
________________________________
Bennett's books are available in New York State independent bookstores: Lift Bridge Bookshop: www.liftbridgebooks.com [Brockport, NY]; Sundance Books: http://www.sundancebooks.com/main.html [Geneseo, NY]; Mood Makers Books: www.moodmakersbooks.com [City of Rochester, NY]; Dog Ears Bookstore and Literary Arts Center: www.enlightenthedog.org/ [Buffalo, NY]; Burlingham Books – ‘Your Local Chapter’: http://burlinghambooks.com/ [Perry, NY 14530]; The Bookworm: http://www.eabookworm.com/ [East Aurora, NY] • See also: World Pulse: Global Issues through the eyes of Women: http://www.worldpulse.com/ http://www.worldpulse.com/pulsewire
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