[no subject]

[Lawrence French <lrfrench>]

One of the highlights of Ivan Kral's DVD / video,
DANCING BAREFOOT is the electrifying clip of Patti's
appearance on a PBS television special, (which aired
in the summer of 1978), entitled THE NIGHT OF THE
EMPTY CHAIRS.  It was a show put together by Leonard
Bernstein, and featured many well know artists,
writers and performers (such as Arthur Miller),
reading from their work and speaking out against
political oppression in other countries, as a benefit
for Amnesty International.  Unfortunately, the clip
used on the DANCING BAREFOOT DVD is only about half of
Patti's performance, so here is the text of the entire
reading, which was a piece written by the Czech band,
The Plastic People of the Universe.  Art Buchwald
introduced Patti with the following remarks, which
Patti took violent exception to, right in the middle
of her performance. 
  

Art Buchwald:   Even rock bands are not spared from
political reprisal.  To tell about one group, called
The Plastic People, in Czechoslovakia, is Miss Patti
Smith.  Joining Patti, is her guest guitarist, Ivan
Kral.   


Patti Smith:  In the sixties there was a piece called
HUNDRED PER CENT that the Plastic People of the
Universe writ.  After a decade of harassment,
censorship, mace, lice - they were arrested in the
Spring of 1977.  All their work - the technology of
their work - everything built on blood and sweat, was
confiscated, which brought another blow in the face,
which mouths the tongue of love.   Rock 'n' roll: the
universal language of freedom.  

____________________________________________________ 


A HUNDRED PER CENT - REVISITED 

They're afraid of the old for their memory.  
They're afraid of the young for their ideas - ideals. 
They're afraid of funerals - of flowers - of workers -
of churches - of party members - of good times. 
They're afraid of art - they're afraid of art. 
They're afraid of language - communication. 
They're afraid of theater. 
They're afraid of film - of Pasolini - of God/dard. 
 of painters - of musicians - of stones and sculptors.

They're afraid. 
They're afraid of radio stations. 
They're afraid of technology, free float form of
information. Paris Match - Telex - Guttenburg - Xerox
- IBM - wave lengths. 
They're afraid of telephones. 
They're afraid. 
They're afraid to let the people in.  
They're afraid to let the people out. 
They're afraid of the left. 
They're afraid of the right. 
They're afraid of the sudden departure of Soviet
troops - of change in Moscow - of facing the strange -
of spies - of counterspies.
They're afraid. 
They're afraid of their own police. 
They're afraid of guitar players. 
They're afraid of athletes - of Olympics - of the
Olympic spirit - of saints - of the innocence of
children.  
They're afraid.  
They're afraid of political prisoners.  
They're afraid of prisoners families - of conscience -
of science. 
They're afraid of the future. 
They're afraid of tomorrow's morning. 
They're afraid of tomorrow's evening. 
They're afraid of tomorrow. 
They're afraid of the future. 
They're afraid of stratocasters - of telecasters. 
They're afraid of rock 'n' roll. 
What does he mean, even rock bands?  Even rock bands? 
Rock bands more than anybody else suffer from
political repression.  
They're afraid. 
They're afraid of rock 'n' roll - of telecasters - of
stratocasters - of old age - in the streets - behind
the locked doors. 
They're afraid of what they've written - of what
they've said - of fire - of water - of wind - of slow
- of snow - of love - excretion. 
They're afraid of noise - of peace - of silence - of
grief - of joy - of language - of laughter - of
pornography - of honest and upright - they're uptight.

They're afraid of lone and learn and learned people. 
They're afraid of human rights and Karl Marx and raw
power. 
They're afraid of socialism.  
They're afraid of rock 'n' roll. 
They're afraid of rock 'n' roll. 
They're afraid of rock 'n' roll. 
They're afraid of rock 'n' roll. 

AND WHY THE HELL ARE WE AFRAID OF THEM?   





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