Here's To You by Joan Baez

Album: Sacco and Vanzetti (1971)

License This Song

lyrics

artistfacts

Songfacts®:

This song appears at the end of the 1971 Italian film Sacco e Vanzetti which was released in English as Sacco & Vanzetti. The film tells the story of Nicola Sacco and Bartolomeo Vanzetti, Italian immigrants living in Massachusetts when two men were killed in a 1920 armed robbery. They were arrested for the crime but vehemently pleaded their innocence, drawing worldwide attention as their case dragged on for years, coming to an end when they were executed in 1927.

Long after their death, their true-crime story was much discussed, with many believing the evidence implicated them in the crime, and many others believing they were wrongly convicted because of their status as immigrants and anarchists. Their supporters kept their case in the news; in 1945 Woody Guthrie released an album called Ballads Of Sacco & Vanzetti on their behalf. The 1971 movie also makes the case for their innocence.
As she did with all of the Sacco & Vanzetti soundtrack, Joan Baez wrote "Here's To You" with the lauded composer Ennio Morricone. The song concludes the film with a clear statement, repeating the same stanza several times:

Here's to you, Nicola and Bart
Rest forever here in our hearts
The last and final moment is yours
That agony is your triumph
Surprisingly, "Here's To You" has been used outside of the biopic for which it was written. It appears in the 2014 movie The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou, and in two releases of the video game Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots (2008) and Ground Zeroes (2014).

Comments: 1

Matthew from London, United KingdomThe comment above states that Nicola Sacco and Bartolomo Vanzetti were 'rightly convicted' and that there is 'evidence' of their guilt.

Even the most cursory examination of the facts surrounding the case reveals this 'official' line to be highly dubious, at best.
Moreover, the arrest, trial and conviction of Sacco and Vanzetti was the result of anti-Italian prejudice in parts of the US at the time, and there was also a strong political motivation as both Sacco and Vanzetti were well known anarchists, a political movement which was getehring force in Europe at the time and threatened the entrenched interests of capitalists there and in the US.
This is over and above the human rights abuses which were perpetrated against Sacco and Vanzetti in the name of US 'justice'.

Depressingly, with the horrors of Abu Graib and Guantanamo Bay fresh in the mind, little seems to have changed in the last 80 years.

see more comments

More Songfacts:

JeopardyGreg Kihn Band

"Jeopardy" by The Greg Kihn Band got the Weird Al treatment with "I Lost On Jeopardy." Kihn and Jeopardy game show announcer Art Fleming both appear in the video.

Crocodile RockElton John

Elton John's "Crocodile Rock" borrows a bit from Don McLean's "American Pie." Both songs feature a Chevy, and are about young people who are heartbroken when their music "dies."

Islands In The StreamKenny Rogers and Dolly Parton

"Islands in the Stream" was originally written by The Bee Gees as an R&B song. It was originally written by the brothers for Marvin Gaye, however it was recorded instead as a duet by Kenny Rogers and Dolly Parton with the Gibb Brothers also contributing vocals.

Every Breath You TakeThe Police

Sting wrote "Every Breath You Take" at the same desk in Jamaica where Ian Fleming wrote his James Bond novels.

Open Your HeartMadonna

The kid in Madonna's "Open Your Heart" video became a successful songwriter. His songs include Amy Winehouse's "You Sent Me Flying" and James Blunt's "1973."

All Through The NightCyndi Lauper

Cyndi Lauper's hit "All Through The Night" was written and originally recorded by Jules Shear, who also wrote "If She Knew What She Wants" by the Bangles.