Tankian Releases ‘Artsakh’ in Support of NKR
Serj Tankian, frontman of System of a Down, released an Armenian song via rollingstone.com today, called “Artsakh,” in support of the people of the Nagorno-Karabagh Republic (Artsakh/NKR) and in protest of Azerbaijani aggression.
“These people have lived on those lands for thousands of years. They have struggle but also great beauty written on their foreheads. The whimsical appropriation of land by an empire (Stalin) placed them under Azerbaijan. They have since gained their independence and have lived a prosperous existence for the last 20 or so years. I do not believe in wars—and ultimately borders—but I deeply believe in self-determination and life without oppression. Therefore, it is time for the world to recognize them as the Republic of Artsakh (Nagorno-Karabagh),” Tankian said in a statement.
The video is available here.
“Artsakh” lyrics (translated):
We’ve always lived on these lands,
Reaped and harvested these fields,
Generations sprung from your rivers,
Children born from your mountains,
The public mask of tradition,
The struggle for liberation or death,
The enemy’s gaze at your terrain,
Our smiles at your bosom,
At your bottomless will.
We’re going to sing with our fists
With the tricolor flag of justice,
Humanitarian love of peace
With the holy blessing of a child’s face,
We are going to prevail with culture
We are going to prevail with culture
We are going to prevail by being Armenian.
Source: Armenian Weekly Mid-West