Dan Pallotta has lived a storied life, growing up in working-class Massachusetts and absorbing his parents’ love of folk, country, and Irish music. Palotta wound up at Harvard — and into John Denver’s inner circle. In his interview with Adobe & Teardrops, Pallotta explained the circuitous path and almost-starts that have led to him putting out his first full-length album in his 40s. His new song, “Keith Smerage” is a powerful ballad that reflects how far the LGBTQ+ liberation movement has come, even in the midst of our battles today.
“My new single, ‘Keith Smerage,’ was inspired by a horrific secret court established by Harvard University in 1920 to purge the campus of homosexuals,” Palotta explains. “Thirty-two students who were suspected of being gay were questioned. Fourteen of them were ‘convicted’ and expelled from Harvard for being gay. Three of them took their own lives.”
The ballad concludes with Smerage’s fate — his burial in Palotta’s hometowm of Topsfield, Massachussetts.
“This song is sorrowful and contemplative, yet I also find its existence to be very hopeful. Imagine if this kid, who thought he was forgotten, who believed his life never amounted to anything, could know that a hundred years later people all over the world, including many 21st century students at Harvard, would be hearing his story and building him a new legacy and that his legacy would be helping to build a more just society. He comes alive again.”
Beautiful and haunting. Shame on harvard
Unfortunately I’m sure they are not the only colleges to do this.
Thank you so much for listening Kim.