Hard Road

An old song just came to mind, sung by Georgia Brown as the introduction theme to a 1970s UK TV series 'Roads to Freedom', based on work by Sartre.

Here are the (French) words of the song, at least all that were sung and stayed in my memory:

"La route est dure, mais je suis fort,
Mon âme est sûr, la peur est mort,
Je sais quoi faire avec la vie,
Quand toute la terre est endurcie."

It was sung with passion, and with the French (singing) emphasis on the 'e' in 'dure', 'faire' and 'terre', and also an 'e' inflected on the end of 'sûr', to complete the rhymes. Unfortunately, not available on YouTube, or anywhere else, as far as I can see.

I hope I remember my unused French correctly, for it was a rousing, defiant song, one that is fondly remembered, despite my antipathy to existentialism.

One lesson to draw from it is that you do not have to buckle to reactionary politics, as so many do. Witness the way that the chronic capitalist crisis has fuelled anti-Moslem and anti-immigration politics. This reflects the entrenched, pro-imperialist views of the mass of people in richer countries. Pro-welfare 'socialists' and liberals, ever so progressive when times are good, bend so easily in this wind.

Tony Norfield, 28 October 2014