Could it be 14 years already? The tragic death of Matthew Shepard on October 12, 1998, had a huge effect on people everywhere, especially GLBT people. That hate crime has inspired a large number of songs to be written about him over the years. I was deeply moved and began collecting these songs and have gathered 57 of them on a page of my website. And I am pleased that this happens to be my 100th blog entry.
While preparing this blog entry I found an on-line video of Matthew, and his boyfriend at that time, done in 1996, so had to share that information.
At another website I found this description of the video:
There’s very little video of Matthew Shepard, this is the only one I’ve ever seen. It comes from a documentary called “Dear Jesse”, which is about Jesse Helms. This is such a case of chance; just by coincidence, when Tim Kirkman, the director, was interviewing students, Matthew happened to be one of them. At the time, he was just an average guy, and there was no way to know how significant he would become posthumously in our movement.
Below is a brand new, and very well done video by the San Francisco Gay Men's Chorus. I found it quite moving. (You can click on the cc in the player to view the lyrics)
Great stuff, my friend!
ReplyDeleteWonderful post, as always.
ReplyDeleteHis murder happened when I was on tour. I remember singing "A Family of Friends" at the next concert and people sang with me. The song isn't about him, but I often think of him when I sing it. Rest in peace, Matthew.