Berkeley Diary
YAMAOKA Masaki
Nov/30/2005 Deportees
American music
Even in the USA, my favorite music, which I always listen
to in
my
apartment, is Latin-American music, especially, Mexican and Cuban
songs.
I think that to like the music of the area is to like the place. Then,
to
be fond of American music, I have attended a Jazz concert a
few times. I think that. Jazz has many attractive aspects,
e.g. the players' marvelous technique,
various sounds, that is, sometimes powerful and sometimes
melodious. However, basically, my preference is not
Jazz, so I do not desire to purchase CDs.
In addition to Jazz, we can list Gospel, religious
songs, Country music, western indigenous songs, and
many types of American music. I think there are many wonderful musical
treasures which I have not yet encountered.
After I came to the USA, I encountered one excellent song.
I
have
listened to the song many times even now. It was the song of the
well-known folk singer, Woody Gathrie, who
passed
away around forty years ago, so it was “Deportees.”
The CD which Bob loaned me
U.C.Berkeley has volunteers who support
English to foreign students and visiting scholars like me. To meet my
request, they
introduced me Mr. Robert Wasser, 85-year-old gentleman. He is a retired
lecturer from the department of social welfare, U.C.Berkeley, and after
he retired, he volunteered as a social
contribution. I visit his home about once a week, and then we are
chatting in English, at times I ask him, “how do you say, when such a
case・・・・?”, and sometimes I request the native check of my thesis which
I should submit to Dr. Searle. One day I asked him to introduce his
favorite American music, and he loaned me a CD, which has the best
selection of Woody Gathrie's popular songs.
In the CD, Woody does not sing, but the contemporary singers
sing
Woody's popular pieces. Some songs a man sings alone, some songs a
group
including men and women sing together. I am not interested in whom the
singers are, but I listened to the music. And then, I found the most
beautiful and attractive melody, and I cannot forget it. The song was
“Deportees”.
At the beginning, I could not understand the words of this
song. I
listened
and listened to it many times and try to dictate it, and I asked Bob to
correct it. I understood the meaning of the words clearly little by
little. In addition, Bob explained me a historical fact
concerning this song.
The orchard workers of Mexican immigration
For
long period, one of the main industries in California had been the
fruit
culture. In those days, many Mexican people had come to California to
seek jobs, and the owners of the orchards liked to employ them
because of low wages. Though, it was severe labor nevertheless the
wages was cheep. Besides, after the heavy labor the owners often sent
them back to Mexico. If there is at least one person who was illegal
in terms of an immigration visa, they claimed the all
persons
were responsible for it, and then they deported them.
And the tragedy was happened on January 1st. 1948. The chartered
airplane for the deportation of the Mexican people took-off from the
Oakland airport. But in the sky at Los Gatos Canyon, the
airplane for unknown reason, suddenly crashed and burned, killing all
the
crew and the passengers. In the radio broadcast, Associated Press told
of the
tragedy, giving the names of the crew, that is, pilot, co-pilot,
stewardess, and immigration guard as a victims, however, they did not
give the names of the 28 Mexican deportees. They summed up and said
just “the deportees who entered the United States illegally.”
Woody
Gathrie was a typical popular American singer and composer
in those
days, so he had always sung the American heart. However he got angry at
this tragedy, and he empathized with the Mexican immigrants, and he
sang their feelings from their viewpoint.
To hear the voices of the dead
In the end of the severe labor, they were rolled their
wages up and deported. I empathize with how frustrated they are. They
took their names away, and made them ride the airplane just as
“deportees,” then became trivial beings, and fell into the canyon like
dry leaves. Nevertheless they came to America, believing in Jesus and
happy life, could he protect them? On the contrary, even Jesus
would also have his name taken away, and made ride the airplane. They
ignored our dignity entirely・・・. Woody expressed the
voiceless anger and frustration of the dead who cannot say
anything.
Although the words depict misery, how beautiful the melody
is. It is so clearly, flowing slowly like a bright blue sky, without
any hesitation. In the CD which I borrowed, a young woman singer starts
to sing alone. Her voice has a kind of power with intense, unshaken
mind.
The chorus refrain part is the most impressive and repeated
many
times. It includes a short Spanish phrase, “Adios
mis amigos, Jesus y
Maria” (Good-bye my friends, Jesus and
Maria). I was moved by the sincere appeal to the God, Jesus and
the Holy Mother, Maria. And men singers pile their voices up,
increasing their power. At the climax of this song, they shout the
tragedy of the crash. After that, this song finished calmly.
Gazing at the negative factor of America
This song “Deportees” alludes to the negative factor of
America severely, that is, mammonism, conceitedness, discrimination,
which remained in American people's mind. A few months ago, when I
talked my Japanese friend, Andrew who has lived here for over 20 years,
I told him
about this song, and then he was disappointed. I was so sorry that I
forgot
he loves America so much. America has many merits and virtues. I do not
have any qualification to criticize America, because I have lived here
for only a half year. However, since I visited Mexico three times
before I
came to USA at first, so I sympathized to Mexican people. Besides I
have one more reason. I always empathized with the side of the poor and
low
class people. I am proud of it rather than ashamed.
Woody
Gathrie is one of the representative American artists. I guess that
since he loved America, he could not ignore the negative factor. I
think he might compose this song because of redemption.
Today era has changed, such discrimination has
reduced. To sweep the residue of the discrimination away is the mission
of youth. Anyway, we would like to listen to the beauty of this song
calmly, and commit ourselves to the purity of it.
Deportees
The crops are all in and the
peaches are
rott'ning,
The oranges piled in their creosote dumps,
You're flying 'em back to the
Mexican
border
To pay all their money to wade
back again
Goodbye to my Juan, goodbye,
Rosalita,
Adios mis amigos, Jesus y
Maria;
You won't have your names when you ride the
big airplane,
All they will call you will be
"deportees"
My father's own father, he waded
that
river,
They took all the money he made in his
life;
My brothers and sisters come
working the
fruit trees,
And they rode the truck till they took down
and died.
Goodbye to my Juan, goodbye,
Rosalita,
Adios mis amigos, Jesus y
Maria;
You won't have your names when you ride the
big airplane,
All they will call you will be
"deportees"
Some of us are illegal, and some
are not
wanted,
Our work contract's out and we
have to move
on;
Six hundred miles to that Mexican
border,
They chase us like outlaws, like
rubbers,
like thieves.
Goodbye to my Juan, goodbye,
Rosalita,
Adios mis amigos, Jesus y
Maria;
You won't have your names when you ride the
big airplane,
All they will call you will be
"deportees"
We died in your hills, we died in
your
deserts,
We died in your valleys and died
on your
plains.
We died 'neath your trees and we
died in
your bushes,
Both sides of the river, we died
just the
same.
Goodbye
to my Juan, goodbye,
Rosalita,
Adios mis amigos, Jesus y
Maria;
You won't have your names when you ride the
big airplane,
All they will call you will be
"deportees"
The sky plane caught fire over Los Gatos Canyon,
A fireball of lightning, and
shook all our
hills,
Who are all these friends, all
scattered
like dry leaves?
The radio says, "They are just
deportees"
Is this the best way we can grow
our big
orchards?
Is this the best way we can grow
our good
fruit?
To fall like dry leaves to rot on
my
topsoil
And be called by no name except
"deportees"?
Goodbye
to my Juan, goodbye,
Rosalita,
Adios mis amigos, Jesus y
Maria;
You won't have your names when you ride the
big airplane,
All they will call you will be
"deportees"
To Soka University Web Site
To Department
of Japanese language and literature
To Masaki
Yamaoka Home Page