Song of the Day #5

I wish these lyrics felt like a history lesson about how close the country came to disaster during the darkness of the Bush years, but given what we're faced with today (largely, I would argue, as a result of the Bush presidency), the bleakness presented here is all too much a part of the present. Obama, in my view, is doing the necessary job of containing the fire so more damage isn't immediately done. But it's still burning.

Ruins of the Realm
By James McMurtry

Standin' in the middle of a Roman street
Marble dust all over my feet
Bearded masses at the gates
Dancin' in the ruins while it's not too late

Drivin' a Rolls through old Bombay
Rickshaw driver's in my way
Well he'd better move over and he'd better move fast
Dancin' in the ruins of a golden past
Dancin' in the ruins of the Raj
Queen and country's noble cause

Standin' on banks of the river Seine
I ain't got tuppence to my name
Stand my ground and I cast my net
Dancin' in the ruins where the sun don't set
Dancin' in the ruins of the Crown
Enfield rifles keepin' us down

I got a thirty-ought-six and a premium load
In a shotgun shack on a two lane road
Smack in the middle of the bible belt
Dancin' in the ruins all by myself

We got the National Guard with the bayonets
We got the ten commandments on the State House steps
We shalt not steal and we shalt not kill
Dancin' in the ruins of our own free will
Dancin' in the ruins of the South
Confederate flag taped over my mouth

We thank thee lord for all we got
While the multi-nationals call the shots
So scrape them hides and clean that slate
Dancin' in the ruins of the nation-state

We'll fight 'em in the land, we'll fight 'em in the air
Little cowboy says we got to fight 'em over there
You ain't seen nothing like it since Saigon fell
Dancin' in the ruins 'cause we might as well
Dancin' in the ruins of the realm
A fool and a mad man at the helm
Dancin' in the ruins of the Reich
Down in the bunker on a hunger strike

One Day, Two Odd Coincidences

This morning, as I was driving down Storrow Drive, listening to Planxty's Arthur McBride, with vocals by Andy Irvine, what did I see before me but a tow truck with a hand-lettered sign of the garage owner's last name, Irvine.

Later, while listening to talk radio, I was also reading about Bolivia's president Evo Morales and his hunger strike. The conservative talker was babbling about leftist regimes and mentioned Cuba, Venezuela, and Bolivia.

Song of the Day #1

Arcade Fire's Funeral

I don't know what it is about Arcade Fire, because I didn't like them at first. The lead singer's voice comes dangerously close to a whine pretty regularly, and they seemed inscrutable (and therefore not appealing) the first few times I listened to them. But they grew on me, and I keep returning to them again and again. As for today's song, Neighborhood #1 (Tunnels), I have no idea what the lyrics are all about, if anything, but the music is incredible. Understated, mostly acoustic, yet intensely dramatic all the same. There's an organ in the song that drives it through and makes me want to listen again and again. I'm even digging the vocals now. You can download it from Amazon for $0.89.

Neighborhood #1 (Tunnels)

And if the snow buries my,
my neighborhood.
And if my parents are crying
then I'll dig a tunnel
from my window to yours,
yeah a tunnel from my window to yours.

You climb out the chimney
and meet me in the middle,
the middle of town.
And since there's no one else around,
we let our hair grow long
and forget all we used to know,
then our skin gets thicker
from living out in the snow.

You change all the lead
sleepin' in my head,
as the day grows dim
I hear you sing a golden hymn.
Then we tried to name our babies,
but we forgot all the names that,
the names we used to know.
But sometimes,
we remember our bedrooms,
and our parent's bedrooms,
and the bedrooms of our friends.
Then we think of our parents,
well what ever happened to them?

You change all the lead
sleepin' in my head to gold,
as the day grows dim,
I hear you sing a golden hymn,
the song I've been trying to say.
Purify the colors, purify my mind.
Purify the colors, purify my mind,
and spread the ashes of the colors
over this heart of mine!

Quote of the Day #12

In honor of the holiday:

"But the funniest thing was
When I was leavin' the bay
I saw three ships a-sailin'
They were all heading my way
I asked the captain what his name was
And how come he didn't drive a truck
He said his name was Columbus
I just said, 'Good luck.'"
-Bob Dylan, Bob Dylan's 115th Dream

Quote of the Day #7

God Bless America/Pat McDonald Must Die

By James McMurtry, © 2008

Look yonder coming, mercy me
Three wise men in an SUV
Corporate logo on the side
Air-conditioned, quiet ride

That thing don't run on french fry grease
That thing don't run on love and peace
It takes gasoline to make that thing go
Now bring your hands up nice and slow

Take us to the land of milk and honey
Sing and dance all night long
Whatcha gonna do with all that money?
Whatcha gonna do when that money's all gone?

Negotiation's just no fun
And it don't serve our interest none
Gonna turn up the heat 'til it comes to a boil
So we can go get that Arab oil

And we'll suck it all up through the barrel of a gun
Everyday's the end of days for some
Republicans don't cut and run
Tell me, ain't you proud of what we've done?

Take us to the land of milk and honey
Sing and dance all night long
Whatcha gonna do with all that money?
Whatcha gonna do when that money's all gone?

You keep talking that sh** like I've never heard
Hush, little president, don't say a word
When the rapture comes and the angels sing
God's gonna buy you a diamond ring

Take us to the land of milk and honey
Sing and dance all night long
Whatcha gonna do with all that money?
Whatcha gonna do when that money's all gone?

Take us to the land of milk and honey
Sing and dance all night long
Whatcha gonna do with all that money?
Whatcha gonna do when that money's all gone?