We’ve updated our Terms of Use to reflect our new entity name and address. You can review the changes here.
We’ve updated our Terms of Use. You can review the changes here.

Thousand Splendid Suns

from Dust of Uruzgan by Fred Smith

/

  • Streaming + Download

    Includes unlimited streaming via the free Bandcamp app, plus high-quality download in MP3, FLAC and more.
    Purchasable with gift card

      $1 AUD  or more

     

  • Buy the Full Digital Album

  • Compact Disc (CD) + Digital Album

    Includes unlimited streaming of Dust of Uruzgan via the free Bandcamp app, plus high-quality download in MP3, FLAC and more.
    ships out within 2 days

      $25 AUD or more 

     

about

In my 18 month stint in Afghanistan, I can only remember talking to an Afghan woman once. That was up in Kabul, which is far more liberal than the Pashtun south. Women are very much confined to the home in Afghanistan. Photos from Kabul in the 60’s and 70’s show women walking around freely, attending university and dressing in Western fashions. The Russians were actually quite proactive in promoting the rights of women in their 10 year rule between 1979-89. That all went radically backwards when the Taliban took control of the city in 1996.
There is some good literature around on the lives of women in Afghanistan. I can recommend ‘My Forbidden Face’ by Latifa, ‘Bookseller of Kabul’ by Åsne Seierstad, the ‘Kabul Beauty School’ by Deborah Rodriguez, and ‘A Thousand Splendid Suns’ by Khaled Hosseini. None of these make light reading.
“Ah! How beautiful is Kabul encircled by her arid mountains. One could not count the moons that shimmer on her roofs, and the thousand splendid suns that hide behind her walls.”
...from ‘Kabul’ by Saib-e-Tabrizi (17th Century poet)

lyrics

The soldier down by the road, had manned his checkpoint all day out in the hot summer sun, old uniform and AK.
I too had worked a long day, behind this high compound wall. Felt the evening breeze, and took some time to recall.

Seems like a long time ago, back when this city was green. We walked the streets of Kabul, were not afraid to be seen.

Now hid behind these walls a thousand splendid suns a mind and hopeful heart behind each veil.

The Russians came from the north, with their tanks and their planes. Kabul took no time to fall, for years the Communists reigned. But the countryside held, and killed enough of their men, until they finally left, then trouble started again.

The Mudj turned in on themselves, whoever guessed that they would. Dostum, Sayyaf, and Fahim, Hekmatyer and Massoud.
The rockets rained from the south, so many long nights of fear before the Talibs swept in, Kalishnikovs and long beards.

Why did this struggle begin? When will this war ever end? A time of triumph of sin, a time of dangerous men. The soldier down by the road, asked his friend for a light. Smoked a quick cigarette, then wondered home for the night

credits

from Dust of Uruzgan, released August 30, 2020
Vocal by Liz Frencham

license

all rights reserved

tags

about

Fred Smith image

Fred Smith Canberra, Australia

“Fred Smith is simply the best folk/country musician working in this country in 2020. Beyond writing some of the finest songs about Australians at war, he has created a repertoire that is wry, literate, witty, powerfully emotional and insightful.”(Bruce Elder, Sydney Morning Herald). ... more

contact / help

Contact Fred Smith

Streaming and
Download help

Report this track or account

If you like Fred Smith, you may also like:

Bandcamp Daily  your guide to the world of Bandcamp

On Bandcamp Radio

Featuring Riley Pinkerton (aka The Rat Queen) from the theatrical NYC rockers, Castle Rat.
listen now