Wednesday, June 08, 2011

Greenbelt Festival /Michael Franti remembers Gil Scott-Heron

Michael Franti remembers Gil Scott-Heron

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Gil Scott-Heron died recently, leaving many of us involved in Greenbelt not only saddened by the loss of such a vital and interesting artist, but also dreaming of what could have been if Gil had performed at Greenbelt 2010.

A frequent Greenbelt performer, Michael Franti, has written a poignant and illuminating remembrance of Scott-Heron, which might go some way to explaining why Gil never showed for his gig at Greenbelt 2010. Interestingly, the blog post talks a lot about home, particularly relevant for this year's festival theme.

My two favorite songs of Gil's were his saddest and most personal, 1971's "Pieces of a Man" and "Home is where the Hatred is". In the latter he describes "home" as that place in his heart where it is so painful to live that he would prefer to never go there.

A junkie walking through the twilight
I'm on my way home
I left three days ago, but no one seems to know I'm gone…

…home is where the needle marks
try to heal my broken heart
and it might not be such a bad idea if I never, if I never went home again
home again

Gil Scott-Heron has finally gone "home" and I hope he has finally found a peaceful place in his heart.

Read the full article here »