Tom Morello

Tom Morello (born
May 30, 1964), is a
Grammy Award-
winning guitarist
best known for his
tenure with the
band Rage Against
the Machine.

Tom Morello was
born in New York
City. His mother,
Mary Morello, who is part Irish and part Italian, is a founder of Parents for Rock and Rap, an anti-censorship group. She was
also a teacher at Libertyville High School. His father,
Ngethe Njoroge, a Kenyan, was a Mau Mau guerrilla
and revolutionary. Morello's great-uncle was the
first elected president in Kenya.
Morello grew up in Libertyville, Illinois, at the time a
virtually all-white suburb of Chicago.
There he attended Libertyville High School. He sang
in the school chorus and was active in speech and
drama club - a prominent role was Oberon in
A Midsummer Night's Dream.
He showed his political leanings early. Morello has
described himself as having been "the only anarchist
in a conservative high school", but has since identified
as a nonsectarian socialist. In the 1980 mock
elections at LHS, he campaigned for a fictitious
anarchist "candidate" named Hubie Maxwell, who
came in fourth place after Jimmy Carter at the
overwhelmingly Republican school. Ronald Reagan
won the mock election. He also wrote a piece
headlined "South Africa: Racist Fascism That We
Support" for the school's alternative paper, The
Student Pulse.

- Wikipedia -

Rage Against the Machine recorded "The Ghost of
Tom Joad" by Bruce Springsteen in 2002.

Tom joined Springsteen's concert in Los Angeles
on Apr 8, 2008 and performed "The Ghost of Tom
Joad" with Springsteen.

Lyrics :

Now Tom said "Mom, wherever there's a cop
beatin' a guy
Wherever a hungry newborn baby cries
Where there's a fight 'gainst the blood and
hatred in the air
Look for me Mom I'll be there
Wherever there's somebody fightin' for a
place to stand
Or decent job or a helpin' hand
Wherever somebody's strugglin' to be free
Look in their eyes Mom you'll see me."

It was one of the most powerful songs
played on that night. ギターリスト、トム・モレロの父親はケニア初の国連代表で、
若い頃は反政府ゲリラの一員。
母親は公民権運動の活動家。
肌の色でいじめにあった息子のトムにキング牧師のことなどを
話し、学び、闘う勇気をもたらした。
叔父さんはケニヤ初の選挙で選ばれた大統領。
白人中心社会の中で育ったトムは、差別を受けつつ、苦渋の日々を送りながらも、ハーバード大学を首席で卒業。
深い両親からは、深い息子が。
2002年、所属するバンド [ Rage Against the Machine ] はブルース・スプリングスティーンの 『 The Ghost of Tom
Joad 』 をカバー録音。
その彼が、2008年4月8日、ロスアンジェルスでのスプリングスティーンのコンサートに登場し、『 The Ghost of Tom Joad 』 を歌った。

歌詞　：

　警官が人を殴ったり、
　　産まれたばかりの赤ちゃんが空腹で泣いていたり、
　　　人が、自分の権利や職を守るために立ち上がり、
　　　　誰かが、自由になるために闘っているところに、
　　　　　オレはいるはずだよ、お母さん。

その夜のショーでも特に際立った曲になった。
一緒に観たイギリスの友達も感激していた。

ヒットすることなど考えないスプリングスティーンの隠れた傑作は、1996年のリリースから12年を経た今こそ、社会の暗部と
真実をピタリと捉えているのが分かる。
ジョン・スタインベック文学が、100年後もミュージシャンに
よって、社会改革の力を発揮。

(Photos : Backstreets Magazine)