New Albany is a state of mind … but whose? Since 2004, we’ve been observing the contemporary scene in this slowly awakening old river town. If it’s true that a pre-digital stopped clock is right twice a day, when will New Albany learn to tell time?
I've forgotten the context, but thanks to RG for the idea; in essence, the best way to honor the departed is to live in peace, even if humans seem incapable of doing it and unwilling to try.
As I'm fond of saying, a boy can dream.
Ed McCurdy (January 11, 1919 – March 23, 2000) was an American folk singer, songwriter, and television actor. His most well-known song was the anti-war "Last Night I Had the Strangest Dream", written in 1950.
Last night I had the strangest dream
I ever dreamed before
I dreamed the world had all agreed
To put an end to war
I dreamed I saw a mighty room
Filled with women and men
And the paper they were signing said
They'd never fight again
And when the papers all were signed
And a million copies made
They all joined hands and bowed their heads
And grateful prayers were prayed
And the people in the streets below
Were dancing round and round
And guns and swords and uniforms
Were scattered on the ground
Last night I had the strangest dream
I ever dreamed before
I dreamed the world had all agreed
To put an end to war
I've forgotten the context, but thanks to RG for the idea; in essence, the best way to honor the departed is to live in peace, even if humans seem incapable of doing it and unwilling to try.
As I'm fond of saying, a boy can dream.
Ed McCurdy (January 11, 1919 – March 23, 2000) was an American folk singer, songwriter, and television actor. His most well-known song was the anti-war "Last Night I Had the Strangest Dream", written in 1950.
Last night I had the strangest dream
I ever dreamed before
I dreamed the world had all agreed
To put an end to war
I dreamed I saw a mighty room
Filled with women and men
And the paper they were signing said
They'd never fight again
And when the papers all were signed
And a million copies made
They all joined hands and bowed their heads
And grateful prayers were prayed
And the people in the streets below
Were dancing round and round
And guns and swords and uniforms
Were scattered on the ground
Last night I had the strangest dream
I ever dreamed before
I dreamed the world had all agreed
To put an end to war
This week's inquiry is a tad convoluted, and it begins with the Johnny Cash song, from the 1971 album of the same name: Man in Black.
As I observed recently on Facebook, I had this album in the year of its release, at the tender age of 11. In trying to recall how and why, I concluded it must have been a gift from my father, with the lyrical content of the song serving to explain why he was a Johnny Cash fan in spite of listening to little in the way of "country" music.
Looking back to where the nation stood in 1971, and considering the typical context of country music at the time, Cash's protest song stuns. It cannot be pegged right or left, and stands as a statement of independent (and individual) conscience. I liked the song then, and still do.
My friend Allan commented.
Wondering about his lyrics about wearing the “rainbow”. When did the recent meaning appear?
Ah, I'd love to wear a rainbow every day, And tell the world that everything's OK, But I'll try to carry off a little darkness on my back, 'Till things are brighter, I'm the Man In Black
... The word rainbow has long been used as a modifier to signify a wide range of related and typically colourful things, and as human civilization has progressed, the rainbow has come to be associated with a similar theme: that of diversity, inclusion, and acceptance. In fact, the most common collocates of rainbow in the Oxford English Corpus (leaving animal names such as trout, runner, and lorikeet aside) are flag, coalition, and nation. The rainbow flag has a long history of being used by many ethnic groups, political parties, and religious movements over the centuries, but since the late 1970s has been most often associated with the LGBT movement, where it stands for diversity and gay pride. A rainbow coalition can refer to either the established American movement for social change, or any political alliance of several different groups, while rainbow nation is a term attributed to Archbishop Desmond Tutu to describe South Africa’s racial and ethnic diversity.
"Rainbow Coalition" was a term used by Chicago Black Panther Fred Hampton in 1968, and subsequently borrowed by Jesse Jackson around 1971, when Cash's song was written and recorded. The Rainbow flag as symbol of the LGBT movement debuted in 1978.
I don't have a clear conclusion as to Cash's use of the term in this song, which protests inequality and supports diversity and inclusion. Occam's Razor suggests that the simplest answer is best: He'll continue to wear black as opposed to bright rainbow-colored clothing precisely as a form of protest against injustice.
Interestingly, Cash later had an album by the name of Rainbow(1985), and a song on it called "Here Comes That Rainbow Again." Watch the video of Cash on David Letterman's show singing his new single, and wait for a surprise at the end.
I've forgotten the context, but thanks to RG for the idea; in essence, the best way to honor the departed is to live in peace, even if humans seem incapable of doing it and unwilling to try.
As I'm fond of saying, a boy can dream.
Ed McCurdy (January 11, 1919 – March 23, 2000) was an American folk singer, songwriter, and television actor. His most well-known song was the anti-war "Last Night I Had the Strangest Dream", written in 1950.
Last night I had the strangest dream
I ever dreamed before
I dreamed the world had all agreed
To put an end to war
I dreamed I saw a mighty room
Filled with women and men
And the paper they were signing said
They'd never fight again
And when the papers all were signed
And a million copies made
They all joined hands and bowed their heads
And grateful prayers were prayed
And the people in the streets below
Were dancing round and round
And guns and swords and uniforms
Were scattered on the ground
Last night I had the strangest dream
I ever dreamed before
I dreamed the world had all agreed
To put an end to war
Thanks to Robin Garr for the idea. The best way to honor the departed is to live in peace, even if humans seem incapable of doing it.
And yet a boy can dream.
Ed McCurdy (January 11, 1919 – March 23, 2000) was an American folk singer, songwriter, and television actor. His most well-known song was the anti-war "Last Night I Had the Strangest Dream", written in 1950.
I owned the cassette of this album around the period of its release in 1971, and listened to it quite often. My elementary school classmates were appropriately befuddled.
Hearing the title song just now, I'm surprised at having retained almost all the lyrics. It's too bad I didn't learn Spanish or German around the same time. A language might have stuck.
Johnny Cash's life was a work in progress, and filled with contradictions. One anecdote holds that at least in the beginning, his choice of black clothing was merely expedient; they were easier to keep clean on the road.
Later, black was a persona, although Cash does a fine job here in attaching principle to appearance.
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