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14 May 2008

The Story Behind "American Triangle"





"American Triangle", initially to be called "American Tragedy" was about the murder of young Matthew Shepard, born on December 1, 1976. He was tragically murdered in an anti-gay hate crime in Wyoming in October 1998.

His parents created the Matthew Shepard Foundation, as it is described in the official website (that's http://www.matthewshepard.org/), "to honor Matthew in a manner that was appropriate to his dreams, beliefs and aspirations".

The website described also the day of the horrific event: "that took place shortly after midnight on October 7, 1998 went against everything that Matthew embodied. Two men, Aaron McKinney and Russell Henderson, lead him to a remote area east of Laramie where they demonstrated unimaginable acts of hate. Matthew was tied to a split-rail fence where he was beaten and left to die in the cold of the night. Almost 18 hours later he was found by a cyclist who initially mistook him for a scarecrow. Matthew died on October 12 at 12:53 am at a hospital in Fort Collins, Colorado. His entire family was by his side for the last few days of his life. His funeral was attended by friends and family from around the world and gained the appropriate media attention that brought Matthew's story to the forefront of the fight against hate."

Bernie related this story and made his particular homage, according to Elton's desire. Elton put beatiful and moving music to his lyrics.

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