Chico Mendes
This is a song in memory of the first true ecological martyr, Chico Mendes who was killed by the rubber tappers because of his political activism against the policy of burning down the rain forests to create pasture land for cattle.
His motives were not strictly ecological, he wanted to preserve his job and the jobs of his fellow rubber tapper union colleagues. He was a natural orator, and not only gained a strong following in Brazil, but his fame spread world wide. Not surprisingly he gained a lot of enemies and after receiving a number of death threats was eventually killed.
Oh, Chico Mendes,
You are a friend of the trees
Oh, Chico Mendes,
You are a friend to me
Like your father before you,
You tapped rubber from the trees
You harvested the forest
And in return it met your needs
Chico, Chico, Chico, Chico, Chico, Chico
But the ranchers with their subsidies
Started chopping down the trees
To make room for their cattle
And the smoke drifted in the breeze
But Chico, he had a Union
And with help from other lands
He got himself a court order
And he stayed the ranchers' hands
Chico, Chico, Chico, Chico
But the ranchers had the money
And the money bought them guns
Like cowboys on their horses
They rode into the sun
They hired a contract killer;
They put money in his hands
They said Chico was the victim
As he made his final stand
Chico, Chico, Chico, Chico
He knew that they'd be there waiting
As he stepped out into the night
He was unarmed and unprotected,
He was unprepared to fight
Forty shotgun pellets in his body
Cut Chico down to his knees
And they chopped down Chico Mendes
Just like they're chopping down the trees
Chico, Chico, Chico, Chico
The sun's still shining
Down on the pasture land
The air is getting hotter
As the soil turns into sand
There's still a lot of forest
But Chico's no longer there to fight
You can see the tall trees burning
They are lighting up the night.
Chico, Chico, Chico, Chico