Farm Aid: Activism Takes the Stage

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The fun continued when he played a version of Woody Guthrie's classic song "To Washington." Mellencamp's version, which is on his new CD Trouble No More, is a scathing indictment of President Bush, the 2000 election, and the war for oil. In his rendition of Dylan's "Highway 61 Revisited," for "rovin' gambler" he substituted "Texas gambler tryin' to start the Third World War." He finally silenced the boo-birds with smoking renditions of "House of the Rising Sun" and "Little Pink Houses." Those renditions were so hot, in fact, that two people in wheelchairs got up to boogie.

During the last few months, Willie Nelson has seen healthy signs that a new attitude is emerging. "For a while if you spoke out you were labeled a traitor," he says. "I think the successful tour and strong record sales by the Dixie Chicks after Natalie spoke out against the president was a real turning point. We have the right to play and pick and say any goddamn thing we want to. This is America!"

Jim Slama is the co-founder of Conscious Choice magazine and the president of Sustain.

Farm Aid on PBS: The two-hour "Soundstage" show featuring Farm Aid will appear on Thanksgiving evening, November 27, 2003, on many PBS stations across the country. Please check your local listings for the time.

Related Links:

• Farm Aid
• Federation of Southern Cooperatives
• National Campaign for Sustainable Agriculture (NCSA)
• National Family Farm Coalition (NFFC)
• Ohio Ecological Food and Farm Association
• PBS
• Silk Soymilk (Farm Aid Sponsor)

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