Lyr Add: Esperanza Waits Above (George Papavgeris)

Subject: Lyr Add: ESPERANZA WAITS ABOVE (George Papavgeris)
From: George Papavgeris
Date: 14 Oct 10 - 08:13 PM

Gripped by the emotions of the miners' rescue in Chile, this popped out. Esperanza (Hope) is the name of the baby girl born while her dad was trapped in the mine.

ESPERANZA WAITS ABOVE
George Papavgeris, 13th October 2010

As thousands camp on a hill
Nunca perder la Esperanza (never lose hope)
As millions watch with one will
Nunca perder la Esperanza
As hour after hour after day after week
The noise of the drill first a hum then a shriek
The heart dares to dream what the lips cannot speak:
Esperanza waits above!

When the rocks gave the miners a tomb
Nunca perder la Esperanza
Thirty three in a dark airless room
Nunca perder la Esperanza
Were it up to the bosses what would be their lot?
Would they give up on them, would they leave them to rot?
But a nation can give what the bosses can not:
Esperanza waits above!

Just as courage can wipe away fears
Nunca perder la Esperanza
Every hand now wipes away tears
Nunca perder la Esperanza
Can you not feel the power, the magic, the spell
As the cable of steel pulls the Fenix from Hell
And millions of hearts pull together as well
Esperanza waits above!

(Chorus)
But the earth can't claim them yet,
For a country stands behind them.
The rocks can't hide them yet
For a nation's hopes will find them
And when all this is over
Chile's people won't forget
The thirteenth day of October
No, the earth can't have them yet!

You can hear the song here.

Subject: RE: Lyr Add: Esperanza Waits Above (Chilean miners)
From: DebC
Date: 14 Oct 10 - 08:14 PM

Wow, George. I can't listen right now, but just reading your wonderful lyrics I am overcome. Well done.

Debra Cowan

Subject: RE: Lyr Add: Esperanza Waits Above (Chilean miners)
From: Tug the Cox
Date: 14 Oct 10 - 08:27 PM

Wonderful, george. Hope you have sent this to the TV and radio stations.

Subject: RE: Lyr Add: Esperanza Waits Above (Chilean miners)
From: Q (Frank Staplin)
Date: 14 Oct 10 - 08:46 PM

Good! I hope you registered it.

After food started coming down, one of the miners jogged about a half mile each day through adjacent tunnels. The miners were not confined to one room. Not airless, but it would be to me- a temp of 30 C. and high humidity would have immobilized me.

I am also sure the mine bosses would not have just abandoned the men, but would have been working with the government, Chilean Bureau of Mines, and others to try to find a solution.

Subject: RE: Lyr Add: Esperanza Waits Above (Chilean miners)
From: George Papavgeris
Date: 14 Oct 10 - 09:14 PM

Yes, it is registered. The question re the bosses is rhetorical - they could not do anything on their own, and turned to the Government for help. Hence "they can not" rather than "they will not". Also I am using the word "airless" with its figurative rather than literal meaning. I know ti was not just one room, but I claim poetic licence there! :-)

Subject: RE: Lyr Add: Esperanza Waits Above (Chilean miners)
From: The Fooles Troupe
Date: 14 Oct 10 - 09:42 PM

Damn you George - I'm going to have to kill you now... :-P

Subject: RE: Lyr Add: Esperanza Waits Above (Chilean miners)
From: Leadfingers
Date: 14 Oct 10 - 10:10 PM

I have always wondered - What does a Poetic Licence cost , and where do I apply for one ? Always assuming that if I had one I Might stand a chance of writing lyrics half as good as yours George !

Subject: RE: Lyr Add: Esperanza Waits Above (Chilean miners)
From: Q (Frank Staplin)
Date: 14 Oct 10 - 10:18 PM

As I said, a good song, worth remembering. And outside of those involved, who will recall the actual details of being trapped and the eventual escape?

Subject: RE: Lyr Add: Esperanza Waits Above (Chilean miners)
From: katlaughing
Date: 14 Oct 10 - 11:46 PM

Another powerfully evocative song from you, George, in your beautiful, authentic way. Thank you for sharing with us. I've got tears, again!

One thing, I noticed you sang "rocks" instead of "soil" in this line:

"The soil can't hide them yet"

Would you like me to change it in your posting?

kat

Subject: RE: Lyr Add: Esperanza Waits Above (Chilean miners)
From: George Papavgeris
Date: 15 Oct 10 - 12:19 AM

Yes please, kat - I found that "rocks" made phrasing easier.

Subject: RE: Lyr Add: Esperanza Waits Above (Chilean miners)
From: George Papavgeris
Date: 15 Oct 10 - 07:26 AM

Now there is a video of it too on youTube:
Esperanza Waits Above (video)

Subject: RE: Lyr Add: Esperanza Waits Above (Chilean miners)
From: Sooz
Date: 15 Oct 10 - 07:45 AM

Beautiful, George.

Subject: RE: Lyr Add: Esperanza Waits Above (Chilean miners)
From: jacqui.c
Date: 15 Oct 10 - 08:23 AM

Great song George - watching the video made me tear up. Absolute genius.

Subject: RE: Lyr Add: Esperanza Waits Above (Chilean miners)
From: Andy Jackson
Date: 15 Oct 10 - 08:37 AM

Link sent to Jeremy Vine on BBC Radio2, who knows?
Like so many of George's songs this deserves a wider audience.

Subject: RE: Lyr Add: Esperanza Waits Above (Chilean miners)
From: SINSULL
Date: 15 Oct 10 - 09:26 AM

George,
I hope (no pun intended) you will send Esperanza a copy of your song when it is recorded in its final form. Beautifully done.
Mary

Subject: RE: Lyr Add: Esperanza Waits Above (Chilean miners)
From: katlaughing
Date: 15 Oct 10 - 09:28 AM

Thank you, George, I made the change. I think all of Chile needs to know of your song! Actually, the whole world!

Subject: RE: Lyr Add: Esperanza Waits Above (Chilean miners)
From: breezy
Date: 15 Oct 10 - 09:38 AM

and now he's done a runner

fenix ?

Subject: RE: Lyr Add: Esperanza Waits Above (Chilean miners)
From: McGrath of Harlow
Date: 15 Oct 10 - 10:06 AM

Great song, George - I'd been thinking it needed Victor Jara to do justice to this amazing episode - and now I'm thinking he couldn't have done it better.

One trivial point - you sing "la esperanza" - would "l'esperanza" be more likely, or at least possible? If so would it work better in the song?

Thanks for this, anyway.

Subject: RE: Lyr Add: Esperanza Waits Above (Chilean miners)
From: George Papavgeris
Date: 15 Oct 10 - 11:15 AM

Breezy, Fenix is what the capsule was called - it was spelled so on its side. I am keeping the Chilean spelling, as indeed the pronunciation of Chile (not "chilly" but "Chileh").
Kevin, my daughter who speaks spanish (and has lived in Chile 3 months) in dicates that the conflation "La - e..." is rare and "inelegant"... It wouldn't have helped me in any case, I'd be missing a beat in the metre...

Subject: RE: Lyr Add: Esperanza Waits Above (Chilean miners)
From: George Papavgeris
Date: 15 Oct 10 - 11:15 AM

I meant "meter" of course... which generally much shorter than 1 metre.

Subject: RE: Lyr Add: Esperanza Waits Above (Chilean miners)
From: YorkshireYankee
Date: 15 Oct 10 - 02:04 PM

Great, stuff, George! (No surprise there, then...)

Vikki

Subject: RE: Lyr Add: Esperanza Waits Above (Chilean miners)
From: Q (Frank Staplin)
Date: 15 Oct 10 - 02:10 PM

Yes, rock also better because the drill was through hard rock.

And your daughter is correct, the 'l'e....' is often seen in French but not normally used in Spanish.

I wonder if your daughter could tell us how the country got its name-

'Fenix'- 'f' is the simplified spelling used in all Spanish-speaking countries for the Greek 'ph' words. English would be easier if we had similar conventions.

There is talk of putting a museum at the site to preserve the objects- and the memories.

Subject: RE: Lyr Add: Esperanza Waits Above (Chilean miners)
From: Arthur_itus
Date: 15 Oct 10 - 02:20 PM

Nice one Georgie Boy

Subject: RE: Lyr Add: Esperanza Waits Above (Chilean miners)
From: Arthur_itus
Date: 15 Oct 10 - 02:29 PM

I thought you would have written one for Breezies daughter George on her retirement from competition.

Subject: RE: Lyr Add: Esperanza Waits Above (Chilean miners)
From: George Papavgeris
Date: 15 Oct 10 - 02:51 PM

The thing is that Michaela's resignation from competition is a lot less "final" than the word implies. She is young, intelligent, good-looking (despite taking after her dad), has a career ahead of her not just teaching but potentially coaching/training, she has many fruitful, productive and hopefully happy years ahead of her. I can't therefore work up any strong sense of loss there. Whereas with the miners the potential for loss was not only enormous, it was a statistical certainty. It is this reversal of the laws of statistics in the face of a nation's dogged persistence, combined with the sense of regaining what was effectively already lost in many people's minds, that heightened the drama in Chile.

Plus Breeze would have thumped me and called me names ("old satyr" comes to mind). What am I saying - Michaela herself would have thumped me even more resoundingly! Seriously though, she's a lovely lass (I met her briefly) and Breezy deserves to be very proud of her.

Subject: RE: Lyr Add: Esperanza Waits Above (Chilean miners)
From: McGrath of Harlow
Date: 15 Oct 10 - 03:02 PM

Esperanza (Hope) is the name of the baby girl born while her dad was trapped in the mine.

And also it was of course the name of the camp where the families were waiting and holding vigil all that time.

Subject: RE: Lyr Add: Esperanza Waits Above (Chilean miners)
From: Arthur_itus
Date: 15 Oct 10 - 03:07 PM

You chicken George :-)
Don't you mean Michaele would have picked you up and thrown you across the room.

(despite taking after her dad) I know what you mean George :-)

Subject: RE: Lyr Add: Esperanza Waits Above (Chilean miners)
From: GUEST,karen k
Date: 16 Oct 10 - 04:54 AM

Thanks George. Saw the words on Facebook. Great to have now heard the tune. Will watch the video next. It is wonderful. It should be sent to Chile soon. Great job.

Subject: RE: Lyr Add: Esperanza Waits Above (Chilean miners)
From: Desert Dancer
Date: 16 Oct 10 - 02:36 PM

A fine one.

~ Becky in Tucson

Subject: RE: Lyr Add: Esperanza Waits Above (Chilean miners)
From: Wild Flying Dove
Date: 17 Oct 10 - 06:38 AM

Excellent song George. I had been thinking that such an event needed a song, and who better to provide one than you - brilliant!

Subject: RE: Lyr Add: Esperanza Waits Above (Chilean miners)
From: Little Robyn
Date: 17 Oct 10 - 06:48 AM

Hi George, we played your song on our radio show, Folk on Sunday, this afternoon.
Thank you.
Robyn

Subject: RE: Lyr Add: Esperanza Waits Above (Chilean miners)
From: Backwoodsman
Date: 17 Oct 10 - 07:32 AM

Magical stuff, George.
A fine celebration of a story of courage, determination, persistence and faith - congratulations my friend.