El Salvador

Killing the people to set them free

Oct 17, 2023

Hi all,

Thank you for joining me for this week’s song, El Salvador, written by Noel Paul Stookie in 1982 and sung by the group Peter, Paul and Mary.

If you’d like to hear the song before you read about it, you will find a YouTube video below the article.

Below, you’ll find my interpretation of the lyrics (written in italics). As with most everything, there are many ways to interpret things. Comments and questions are welcome. Please be respectful of others’ opinions if they should differ from yours.

Synonyms or definitions for vocabulary words in bold are provided below.

Background

(177 words)

From at least 1932, there was conflict between the indigenous people, the middle-class and poor people of El Salvador and the government that protected the upper-class power of landowners.

In the 1970s, the government purchased weapons from countries such as West Germany, the U.S., Israel and Brazil.

In 1972, there was an election in which a military officer became president. However, many people said there was electoral fraud and did not support the president. Several opposition groups were formed. In 1977, another military officer, Carlos Humberto Romero, won elections, again in a fraudulent election. For example, many rural farmers were forced at knife point to vote for Romero.

In 1979, there was a coup d’etat that put a left-wing group in power. This government started to redistribute land to the farmers and collective organizations. The wealthy objected to this, and it supported the military. The U.S. was afraid that El Salvador could become a communist country. In the U.S., Ronald Reagan became president in 1981. He spent about $1 billion to support the El Salvador military.

Map of El Salvador (Library of Congress)

The Song

(684 words)

The first verse introduces the country of El Salvador in Central America as a quiet place with running rivers and gentle winds. But breezes aren’t the only things that blow in El Salvador. The word “blow” can also refer to “blow up” or explode. This is the first clue that things are not as peaceful as they seem.

When visitors come to El Salvador, they enjoy exploring the country by car to see its beauty. At first, they are safe, not knowing what is really happening there. Odds are still good, in other words, there is a good chance that you’d come back alive.

El Salvador Beach by Rosie Cisneros (Unsplash)

The next verse describes the fighting between the government and the rebel forces: If the rebels take a bus on the grand highway, The government destroys a village miles away meaning the rebels attack a bus and, in response, the government bombs a village.

The man on the radio says, “Now we’ll play ‘South of the Border’”

South of the Border was a famous song from 1939 from a Hollywood western film called South of the Border Down Mexico Way. Including a reference to the song showed the great contrast between the stereotype many Americans had of countries in Central and South America and the reality of what was happening there.

The visitors are still enjoying their vacation. The people who actually live there have a different experience: Last night a thousand more passed away in El Salvador

In March, 1981, the Rio Lempa was a tragedy of the El Salvador civil war. The military had been attacking villages for several days, and the people, refugees, tried to escape. Some of the villagers were trying to cross a river into the neighboring country of Honduras. The military had helicopters that shot down at the people who were on the banks of the river, killing hundreds of people including children and the elderly.

Yet, on television, representatives of the government asked for assistance in the form of monetary aid, food and medicine, as well as weapons, hand grenades.

The visitors now experience a little of the life of the people. There is a thump, a sound like something hitting the ground, a rumble like a low deep vibration, and the visitor realizes it was a bomb being dropped. Soldiers are in the streets. The people, screaming, run for safety. The visitor understands that the war is reality and not the image of a peaceful land with swaying palm trees and lovely music playing in the background.

During the Cold War, the Soviet Union sent troops into countries like Poland, East Germany, Hungary and Czechoslovakia in order to maintain communist rule. Similarly, capitalism in countries in Central and South America was supported by the U.S. The U.S. government spent millions of dollars each year to maintain its influence over the region.

The U.S. sponsored the School of the Americas, a training center in the state of Georgia. Soldiers and police from many Latin American countries went there to receive training in how to fight people who wanted to change the government. They’ll continue training troops in the USA. Many of the school’s graduates have been accused of committing human rights violations.

The next line, And watch the nuns that got away, refers to the murders of several American missionaries, the Maryknoll Sisters, in 1980. The four women had been helping the poor by giving them food, medicine and other aid. They were taken by government soldiers, beaten, raped, and murdered.

And teach the military bands to play South of the Border to keep up the façade of a peaceful land.

And kill the people to set them free

Who put this price on their liberty?

The songwriter, Paul Stookie, calls for the U.S. to end its support of the government of El Salvador.

The war in El Salvador went on for 12 years, from 1980 to 1992. About 75,000 people lost their lives during that time. According to the United Nations Truth Commission, most of the horrible things that happened were done by the Salvadoran military and other groups who supported them.

Question:

Kill the people to set them free - What is the songwriter trying to say?

El Salvador

Killing the people to set them free

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