Det er 60 år i dag siden John F. Kennedy blev myrdet i Dallas, Texas. En chokerende begivenhed der rystede verden og trak lange spor efter sig. Naturligvis også i musikkens verden, hvor adskillige sange behandler dette gigantiske amerikanske traume. The Byrds skrev ‘He Was A Friend Of Mine’, The Beach Boys ‘The Warmth Of The Sun’, Phil Ochs sin abstrakte ‘Crucifixion’ og Bob Dylan sin ‘Chimes Of Freedom’ – og for kun tre år siden da også mægtige ‘Murder Most Foul’ – alle direkte eller stærkt formodet om JFK-mordet. Senere behandlede Lou Reed den skæbnesvangre dag i sin så fine ‘The Day John Kennedy Died’, hvor Reed med stor effekt fortæller personligt om hvordan nyheden landede hos ham i Upstate New York den eftermiddag i 1963. Her er det dog istedet engelske The Human League der besynger mordet, og tag ikke fejl af den letfordøjelige synthpop-lyd, for det er selve morderen (eller ialfald en af dem) Lee Harvey Oswald, Phil Oakey her adresserer i et nøgternt anklagende tonefald…

Vi giver ordet her til rabbi Robert Zimmerman…

“Twas a dark day in Dallas, November ’63
A day that will live on in infamy
President Kennedy was a-ridin’ high
Good day to be livin’ and a good day to die
Being led to the slaughter like a sacrificial lamb
He said, “Wait a minute, boys, you know who I am?”
“Of course we do, we know who you are”
Then they blew off his head while he was still in the car
Shot down like a dog in broad daylight
Was a matter of timing and the timing was right
You got unpaid debts, we’ve come to collect
We’re gonna kill you with hatred, without any respect
We’ll mock you and shock you and we’ll put it in your face
We’ve already got someone here to take your place
The day they blew out the brains of the king
Thousands were watchin’, no one saw a thing
It happened so quickly, so quick, by surprise
Right there in front of everyone’s eyes
Greatest magic trick ever under the sun
Perfectly executed, skillfully done
Wolfman, oh Wolfman, oh Wolfman, howl
Rub-a-dub-dub, it’s a murder most foul…”