Patti Smith Remembers Rachel Corrie, Sings "Peaceable Kingdom" at DN!'s 30th Anniversary Event

Patti Smith detailed the unprecedented global anti-war demonstrations against the planned attack on Iraq by the Bush administration. She noted an estimated 200,000 people in Washington D.C. in October 2002, and the largest global anti-war protest in history on February 15, 2003, with nearly a million in England and three million in Italy. Smith herself marched in the Palestinian section in Paris.

On February 15th, the largest global anti-war protest in history was waged. In England alone, nearly a million protested. In Italy, a staggering three million. I marched in Paris in the Palestinian section...

Smith recounted the tragic death of Rachel Corrie, a young non-violence activist, on March 16, 2003. Corrie was protesting Israeli home demolitions in the Gaza Strip, specifically standing in the path of a bulldozer targeting the home of Professor Nasra, where she was staying. Despite wearing an orange vest and using a bullhorn, she was crushed to death. Smith highlighted the personal impact of Corrie's loss, noting she was only two years older than Smith's own son.

On March 16th, 2003, Rachel Corey, a young nonviolence activist, was protesting the Israeli demolition of homes in the Gaza Strip... She stood on a raised mound in the path of an Israeli bulldozer, but it kept going... she was crushed to death. The loss of Corey, a bright altruistic force just two years older than my own son, haunted me.

Smith explained that despite the millions protesting worldwide, the Bush administration proceeded with its plan to attack Baghdad. In response to this political failure and the personal tragedy of Rachel Corrie's death, she and Tony Shanahan wrote the song 'Peaceable Kingdom.' The song's purpose was to comfort Corrie's family and send a message of hope to the Palestinian people, demonstrating how art can process grief and sustain advocacy.

Sadly, the collective voice of the people was not heeded... it was obvious that all the marches, pleas, and protests of millions of people worldwide were not going to halt the Bush administration's plan to attack Baghdad. That was 23 years ago when Tony Shanahan and I wrote the song. We wrote it to comfort the family of Rachel Corey and to send a small a small message of hope to the Palestinian people.