Notes from Obamastock

Obamastock has arrived. The concert definitely lived up to its message of inclusion, with amazing artists from every possible genre and age range. It was great to see older musicians like Stevie Wonder and Pete Seeger collaborating with their younger counterparts. Stevie Wonder sounded fantastic and I'm so glad I got to see him live. The girl in front of me was overwhelmed with joy at seeing Usher and Beyoncé and kept texting the names of each new performer to someone back home. There were people climbing trees and sitting on top of port-a-potties to try to get a better view.

Unfortunately I didn't get many close-ups because my camera's zoom turned out very grainy. Obama was speaking at the podium in the middle of the stage in this first photo--his face is on the screens below. The backdrop of the Lincoln Memorial was poignant but the patriotic themes became a bit overdone at times, like when two bald eagles were brought out for display and allowed to spread their wings for the cameras.

For me there were two highly significant moments during the concert. The first was when Bono spoke of MLK's dream as "an Irish dream, a European dream, an African dream... an Israeli dream... and also a Palestinian dream." I really thought he was going to stop after he said an Israeli dream, and his reference to Palestine was crucial at this moment of intense violence in the region. I think it's time for the struggles of both the Israelis and the Palestinians to be recognized by the public at large.

The second moment was during Pete Seeger's rendition of "This Land is Your Land," in which he sang the song in its entirety, with Woody Guthrie's subversive lyrics that have been left out for the past fifty years. As Greendem remarked in the Daily Kos, "Pete Seeger and Bruce Springsteen restored the song to its former glory, not the sanitized version so many of us learned in grammar school and summer camp."



In one of the verses that has been omitted, the song speaks of the line of hungry people in front of the "relief office" and asks, "Is this land made for you and me?" Instead of a blanket statement about the happiness and diversity of Americans, then, the song actually contained a critique about poverty and implied that the land was truly meant for you and me, not just for those who can afford it. At age 89, Pete Seeger continues to be an icon of the American folk movement and I am so glad Obama invited him to come and to sing the WHOLE song.

Here are the verses most of us haven't heard before:

There was a big high wall there that tried to stop me;
Sign was painted, it said private property;
But on the back side it didn't say nothing;
That side was made for you and me.

In the shadow of the steeple I saw my people,
By the relief office I seen my people;
As they stood there hungry, I stood there asking
Is this land made for you and me?

Nobody living can ever stop me,
As I go walking that freedom highway;
Nobody living can ever make me turn back
This land was made for you and me.