Zoals elke institutionele feestdag vraagt dat om muziek, maar ook om subversieve omkering. Waar het op Goede Vrijdag officieel gaat om de executie van Jezus, aan het Gezag verraden door diens discipel Judas, keert Leon Rosselson de boel om. Het resultaat: Stand Up for Judas.
Die Leon Rosselson trouwens, dat is een radicaal opruiend en melodieus genie. Een Britse singer/songwriter met een repertoire dat wortelt in de Britse folk, maar waarin je opeens ook een trompetsolo kunt horen, je voelt ook verwantschap met chanson en Brecht/Weil.
En dan de teksten! Vrij bekend is van hem The World Turned Upside Down, over die anarcho-communistische landkrakers uit het zeventiende eeuwse revolutionaire Engeland. Dat is voor een andere keer. Vandaag is het Goede Vrijdag, vandaag staan we op voor dat verdrongen opstandige archetype: Judas. Met piano. Let ook op dat melodietje helemaal aan het begin.
The Romans were the masters when Jesus walked the land
In Judea and in Galilee they ruled with an iron hand
And the poor were sick with hunger and the rich were clothed in splendour
And the rebels whipped and crucified hung rotting as a warning
And Jesus knew the answer
Said give to Caesar what is Caesar’s
Said love your enemies
But Judas was a Zealot and he wanted to be free
Resist, he said, the Romans’ tyranny
So stand up, stand up for Judas and the cause that Judas served
It was Jesus who betrayed the poor with his word
Jesus was a conjuror, miracles were his game
And he fed the hungry thousands and they glorified his name
He cured the lame and the lepers, he calmed the wind and the weather
And the wretched flocked to touch him so their troubles would be taken
And Jesus knew the answer
All you who labour, all you who suffer only believe in me
But Judas sought a world where no one starved or begged for bread
The poor are always with us, Jesus said
So stand up, stand up for Judas and the cause that Judas served
It was Jesus who betrayed the poor with his word
Now Jesus brought division where none had been before
Not the slaves against their masters but the poor against the poor
Set son to rise up against father, and brother to fight against brother
For he that is not with me is against me was his teaching
Said Jesus, I am the answer
You unbelievers shall burn forever, shall die in your sins
Not sheep and goats, said Judas, But together we may dare
Shake off the chains of misery we share
So stand up, stand up for Judas and the cause that Judas served
It was Jesus who betrayed the poor with his word
Jesus stood upon the mountain with a distance in his eyes
I am the way, the life, he cried, The light that never dies
So renounce all earthly treasures and pray to your heavenly father
And he pacified the hopeless with the hope of life eternal
Said Jesus, I am the answer
And you who hunger only remember your reward’s in Heaven
So Jesus preached the other world but Judas wanted this
And he betrayed his master with a kiss
So stand up, stand up for Judas and the cause that Judas served
It was Jesus who betrayed the poor with his word
By sword and gun and crucifix Christ’s gospel has been spread
And 2000 cruel years have shown the way that Jesus led
The heretics burned and tortured, and the butchering bloody crusaders
The bombs and rockets sanctified that rained down death from heaven
They followed Jesus, they knew the answer
All non-believers must be believers or else be broken
So put no trust in saviours, Judas said, for everyone
Must be to his or her own self – a sun
Er is ook een versie van Leon Rosselson samen met Robb Johnson. De dramatiek van de pianoversie heeft daarplaatsgemaakt voor een veel folksier, luchtiger benadering.
Dick Gaughan deed het weer anders. Ook met gitaar in folkstyle, maar weer meer dramatiek.
Op Leon Rosselson kom ik nog wel eens terug. Op Dick Gaughan wellicht ook. En dan is er ook nog Roy Bailey…
Uitgelichte afbeelding: By Rathfelder – Bolton Socialist Club performance, CC BY-SA 4.0, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?curid=62391058
