Thursday, April 22, 2010
Wednesday, April 21, 2010
The Boxer
Everyone has heard the original recording of the song "The Boxer" written in 1968 by Paul Simon and performed by Paul Simon and Art Garfunkel. It was an instant classic and remains an enduring classic. Last night on American Idol, contestant Lee DeWyze did his version of the song, and it gave me goosebumps for a couple of reasons: first, Lee changed up the melody somewhat and put some high notes in it that were not originally in the song; second, the song itself is enough to stir anyone with a beating heart and a soul that is full of "divine discontent and longing," as Kenneth Grahame penned in the first chapter of "The Wind in the Willows" in 1908. This book is definitely worth re-reading (or reading if you have never done so), and this song is definitely worth revisiting.
Click on the hot link below to hear Lee DeWyze do justice to this well-written lyric.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=exbIO39VlZ8
The only other notable person to record "The Boxer" was Alison Krauss who sang it with her band in a Paul Simon tribute done in 2007. This is also classic Alison Krauss (with her unparalleled, magnificent band Union Station) before she went nuts going off the ranch with Robert Plant and singing all kinds of atonal modern stuff. I hope she comes back to herself and her bluegrass roots because she is an incomparable bluegrass writer and musician, and she knows how to put together one of the best string bands in the universe. I know God is proud of AKUS.
Click on the hot link below to get down and mellow with the AKUS version of "The Boxer." What a wonderful tribute to Paul Simon, and what a soulful gift to the rest of us. Thank you to Alison Krauss, her indomitable Union Station band, and to Lee DeWyze for reminding me of a song I've never forgotten but haven't heard for far too long.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v4Lwx9F81Zs
Emmylou Harris also admirably sang "The Boxer" at a concert in Stuttgart in 1994. She is accompanied by the not-shabby Nash Ramblers in the video below.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZNMBI9dutlM&feature=related
And, finally, here are the lyrics for your meditation. Try not to cry. I dare you.
I am just a poor boy, though my story's seldom told.
I have squandered my resistance,
For a pocketful of mumbles, such are promises.
All lies and jest.
Still a man hears what he wants to hear and disregards the rest.
When I left my home and my family I was no more than a boy,
In the company of strangers,
In the quiet of the railway station, runnin' scared.
Laying low, seeking out the poorer quarters,
Where the ragged people go.
Lookin' for the places, only they would know.
Lie-la-lie ...
Asking only workman's wages I come lookin' for a job,
But I get no offers,
Just a come-on from the whores on Seventh Avenue.
I do declare there were times when I was so lonesome,
I took some comfort there.
La, la, la, la, la, la, la.
(Instrumental break)
Lie-la-lie ...
And I’m laying out my winter clothes, and wishing I was gone, goin’ home
Where the New York City winters aren’t bleedin’ me, leadin’ me goin' home.
In the clearing stands a boxer and a fighter by his trade,
And he carries the reminders of every glove that laid him down
Or cut him 'til he cried out in his anger and his shame,
"I am leaving, I am leaving."
But the fighter still remains.
Lie-la-lie ...
Click on the hot link below to hear Lee DeWyze do justice to this well-written lyric.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=exbIO39VlZ8
The only other notable person to record "The Boxer" was Alison Krauss who sang it with her band in a Paul Simon tribute done in 2007. This is also classic Alison Krauss (with her unparalleled, magnificent band Union Station) before she went nuts going off the ranch with Robert Plant and singing all kinds of atonal modern stuff. I hope she comes back to herself and her bluegrass roots because she is an incomparable bluegrass writer and musician, and she knows how to put together one of the best string bands in the universe. I know God is proud of AKUS.
Click on the hot link below to get down and mellow with the AKUS version of "The Boxer." What a wonderful tribute to Paul Simon, and what a soulful gift to the rest of us. Thank you to Alison Krauss, her indomitable Union Station band, and to Lee DeWyze for reminding me of a song I've never forgotten but haven't heard for far too long.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v4Lwx9F81Zs
Emmylou Harris also admirably sang "The Boxer" at a concert in Stuttgart in 1994. She is accompanied by the not-shabby Nash Ramblers in the video below.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZNMBI9dutlM&feature=related
And, finally, here are the lyrics for your meditation. Try not to cry. I dare you.
I am just a poor boy, though my story's seldom told.
I have squandered my resistance,
For a pocketful of mumbles, such are promises.
All lies and jest.
Still a man hears what he wants to hear and disregards the rest.
When I left my home and my family I was no more than a boy,
In the company of strangers,
In the quiet of the railway station, runnin' scared.
Laying low, seeking out the poorer quarters,
Where the ragged people go.
Lookin' for the places, only they would know.
Lie-la-lie ...
Asking only workman's wages I come lookin' for a job,
But I get no offers,
Just a come-on from the whores on Seventh Avenue.
I do declare there were times when I was so lonesome,
I took some comfort there.
La, la, la, la, la, la, la.
(Instrumental break)
Lie-la-lie ...
And I’m laying out my winter clothes, and wishing I was gone, goin’ home
Where the New York City winters aren’t bleedin’ me, leadin’ me goin' home.
In the clearing stands a boxer and a fighter by his trade,
And he carries the reminders of every glove that laid him down
Or cut him 'til he cried out in his anger and his shame,
"I am leaving, I am leaving."
But the fighter still remains.
Lie-la-lie ...
Social Justice
There is a stanza in Curtis Mayfield's song "People Get Ready" (see blog post below this one) as follows:
"There ain't no room for the hopeless sinner who would hurt all mankind just to save his own. Have pity on those whose chances grow thinner, for there's no hiding place against the Kingdom's throne."
This is just a different, lyrical way of saying that "The love of money is the root of all evil" (The Bible) or "Behind every great fortune is a great crime" (Balzac).
Mayor Bloomberg of New York City is all afluster that Congress is about to pass a financial reform bill (Senator Dodd - Democrat from Connecticut) that would seriously regulate Wall Street's ability to make up shit as they go along, create phantom derivatives and credit default swaps, and fundamentally take your money and mine and gamble with it at no risk to themselves, meanwhile raking in personal and corporate profits that would make even Croesus blush.
As you will remember, Croesus was the king of Lydia from 560 to 546 BC until his defeat by the Persians in about 547 BC. He was, of course, renowned for his wealth, and often you will hear people say that someone is "richer than Croesus" or, in extreme cases, "richer than God." How did Croesus get so wealthy? He derived his wealth from gold deposits in the river Pactolus, said to have been left there by the mythological King Midas. Croesus was also heavy into "trading and mining." Do you suppose he sent slaves into his mines? To quote Sarah Palin, "You betcha."
Croesus tragically misinterpreted the oracle that told him that if he crossed a certain river he would destroy a kingdom. He didn't realize the kingdom that would be destroyed would be his own.
While I understand Mayor Bloomberg's concern that leaning too hard on Wall Street may possibly cause these criminal bankers, investors, and hedge-fund managers to abandon New York City for a more lenient venue (Somalia, perhaps, where there is no government and, hence, no friggin' regulation), I do have a suspicion that Mayor Bloomberg is willing to participate in "hurting all mankind just to save his own."
I have concluded that those amoral, godless, spiritually bankrupt, incompassionate, self-absorbed, selfish, greedy jackasses who yell the loudest about government interference and "social justice" (like Glenn Beck, Bill O'Reilly, Sean Hannity, just about everybody on FUCKS NOISE, the Grand Obstructionist Partygoers) are doing so because they are RICH, and they want to STAY RICH. Their kind of money is something you and I cannot even imagine, and rich people will do anything and everything to protect theirs. Screwing you and fucking with your mind in the process is a small spiritual price for them to pay to acquire, preserve, and grow their wealth. They love unfettered capitalism. They would like nothing more than to disband the governmental controls that purport to keep their unfettered and unmitigated greed in check (and we've done a pretty bad job of keeping capitalism under control, much to their glee).
The next time you hear a politician or somebody with a cable television show railing against healthcare reform, financial reform, "entitlement" governmental programs (like Medicare, Medicaid, Social Security, and Unemployment Compensation), welfare, student loans, unions, and foreign aid, ask yourself if that ignorant mouthpiece has a lot more money than you have. If the answer is yes, then you can be assured that this shill is not concerned one whit about your well-being or security but is, rather, concerned with his or her personal wealth and power. The more money they have, the louder they scream about government regulation and any public policy that has anything at all to do with helping the "little people." Little people are only allowed to exist because we provide exploited labor and exploited services, and we pave the way for rich folks so they can live the American dream.
You can't earn a living wage because to do so would deprive the rich people of their due. Maybe you are earning a living wage, but if you are, you are part of a small minority. Good-paying jobs that are NOT in the financial sector are very hard to come by now, aren't they? Non-union jobs are generally not attached to high salaries, especially in the manufacturing, service, and industrial sectors.
World-wide, the outlook for average people is even worse than it is in the United States. One billion people in this world live in abject poverty. Over three billion people in the world live on less than $2.50 a day. And 80% of the world's population lives on less than $10 a day.
Women in the USA make 80 cents on the dollar compared to what men make in identical jobs. That's a drop of 1 cent since last year. Real wages are going down. Women's wages are going down. Down, down, down. Following this recession/depression in the United States, whatever jobs will be "created" now will have lower salaries attached to them. Count on it. Corporations love to downsize and love to have fewer employees doing more work for less money. They love it. It's one terrific way for them to maximize their profits so they look good to Wall Street and can keep their shareholders happy.
Will there be class warfare in this country? In the world? Those gun-totin' teabaggers who are so concerned with protecting their second-amendment "right to bear arms" should be more concerned with protecting their (and your) right to earn a decent living from the rich who would make us all slaves if they could. Working-class people are already de facto slaves.
The current meme is that 47% of people in this country pay no federal income tax. Why is that? Could it be because they don't earn enough freakin' money to qualify? You betcha. They pay plenty of other taxes (sales tax, FICA, gas tax, etc.), but I guess that doesn't count. How many of the really wealthy pay federal income tax? Most corporations pay no income tax. Most rich people avoid paying income tax because they can afford lawyers and accountants who know the legal loopholes that are built into the tax code. How did these legal loopholes get into the tax code? Rich people lobbied our representatives in the Congress to enact them into law. That's how. Rich people rule this world. And they want to keep you on a "subsistence existence" so you don't have the resources or energy to overthrow their privileged reign or foment a revolution. No social justice here, please. You can only be assured of healthcare, justice, or security if you are rich. The rest of us can go fornicate ourselves.
"There ain't no room for the hopeless sinner who would hurt all mankind just to save his own. Have pity on those whose chances grow thinner, for there's no hiding place against the Kingdom's throne."
This is just a different, lyrical way of saying that "The love of money is the root of all evil" (The Bible) or "Behind every great fortune is a great crime" (Balzac).
Mayor Bloomberg of New York City is all afluster that Congress is about to pass a financial reform bill (Senator Dodd - Democrat from Connecticut) that would seriously regulate Wall Street's ability to make up shit as they go along, create phantom derivatives and credit default swaps, and fundamentally take your money and mine and gamble with it at no risk to themselves, meanwhile raking in personal and corporate profits that would make even Croesus blush.
As you will remember, Croesus was the king of Lydia from 560 to 546 BC until his defeat by the Persians in about 547 BC. He was, of course, renowned for his wealth, and often you will hear people say that someone is "richer than Croesus" or, in extreme cases, "richer than God." How did Croesus get so wealthy? He derived his wealth from gold deposits in the river Pactolus, said to have been left there by the mythological King Midas. Croesus was also heavy into "trading and mining." Do you suppose he sent slaves into his mines? To quote Sarah Palin, "You betcha."
Croesus tragically misinterpreted the oracle that told him that if he crossed a certain river he would destroy a kingdom. He didn't realize the kingdom that would be destroyed would be his own.
While I understand Mayor Bloomberg's concern that leaning too hard on Wall Street may possibly cause these criminal bankers, investors, and hedge-fund managers to abandon New York City for a more lenient venue (Somalia, perhaps, where there is no government and, hence, no friggin' regulation), I do have a suspicion that Mayor Bloomberg is willing to participate in "hurting all mankind just to save his own."
I have concluded that those amoral, godless, spiritually bankrupt, incompassionate, self-absorbed, selfish, greedy jackasses who yell the loudest about government interference and "social justice" (like Glenn Beck, Bill O'Reilly, Sean Hannity, just about everybody on FUCKS NOISE, the Grand Obstructionist Partygoers) are doing so because they are RICH, and they want to STAY RICH. Their kind of money is something you and I cannot even imagine, and rich people will do anything and everything to protect theirs. Screwing you and fucking with your mind in the process is a small spiritual price for them to pay to acquire, preserve, and grow their wealth. They love unfettered capitalism. They would like nothing more than to disband the governmental controls that purport to keep their unfettered and unmitigated greed in check (and we've done a pretty bad job of keeping capitalism under control, much to their glee).
The next time you hear a politician or somebody with a cable television show railing against healthcare reform, financial reform, "entitlement" governmental programs (like Medicare, Medicaid, Social Security, and Unemployment Compensation), welfare, student loans, unions, and foreign aid, ask yourself if that ignorant mouthpiece has a lot more money than you have. If the answer is yes, then you can be assured that this shill is not concerned one whit about your well-being or security but is, rather, concerned with his or her personal wealth and power. The more money they have, the louder they scream about government regulation and any public policy that has anything at all to do with helping the "little people." Little people are only allowed to exist because we provide exploited labor and exploited services, and we pave the way for rich folks so they can live the American dream.
You can't earn a living wage because to do so would deprive the rich people of their due. Maybe you are earning a living wage, but if you are, you are part of a small minority. Good-paying jobs that are NOT in the financial sector are very hard to come by now, aren't they? Non-union jobs are generally not attached to high salaries, especially in the manufacturing, service, and industrial sectors.
World-wide, the outlook for average people is even worse than it is in the United States. One billion people in this world live in abject poverty. Over three billion people in the world live on less than $2.50 a day. And 80% of the world's population lives on less than $10 a day.
Women in the USA make 80 cents on the dollar compared to what men make in identical jobs. That's a drop of 1 cent since last year. Real wages are going down. Women's wages are going down. Down, down, down. Following this recession/depression in the United States, whatever jobs will be "created" now will have lower salaries attached to them. Count on it. Corporations love to downsize and love to have fewer employees doing more work for less money. They love it. It's one terrific way for them to maximize their profits so they look good to Wall Street and can keep their shareholders happy.
Will there be class warfare in this country? In the world? Those gun-totin' teabaggers who are so concerned with protecting their second-amendment "right to bear arms" should be more concerned with protecting their (and your) right to earn a decent living from the rich who would make us all slaves if they could. Working-class people are already de facto slaves.
The current meme is that 47% of people in this country pay no federal income tax. Why is that? Could it be because they don't earn enough freakin' money to qualify? You betcha. They pay plenty of other taxes (sales tax, FICA, gas tax, etc.), but I guess that doesn't count. How many of the really wealthy pay federal income tax? Most corporations pay no income tax. Most rich people avoid paying income tax because they can afford lawyers and accountants who know the legal loopholes that are built into the tax code. How did these legal loopholes get into the tax code? Rich people lobbied our representatives in the Congress to enact them into law. That's how. Rich people rule this world. And they want to keep you on a "subsistence existence" so you don't have the resources or energy to overthrow their privileged reign or foment a revolution. No social justice here, please. You can only be assured of healthcare, justice, or security if you are rich. The rest of us can go fornicate ourselves.
Thank the Lord for Crystal Bowersox
Last night on American Idol, Crystal Bowersox from Elliston, Ohio, sang Curtis Mayfield's song "People Get Ready." Curtis Mayfield and the Impressions were popular in the 1960s. For more information about them, go to
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Curtis_Mayfield#Early_years_and_The_Impressions
People get ready, there's a train a comin'
You don't need no baggage, you just get on board
All you need is faith to hear the diesels hummin'
Don't need no ticket, you just thank the Lord
People get ready for the train to Jordan
It's picking up passengers from coast to coast
Faith is the key, open the doors and board 'em
There's hope for all among those loved the most.
There ain't no room for the hopeless sinner
Who would hurt all mankind just to save his own
Have pity on those whose chances grow thinner
For there's no hiding place against the Kingdom's throne
So people get ready, there's a train a comin'
You don't need no baggage, you just get on board
All you need is faith to hear the diesels hummin'
Don't need no ticket, you just thank the Lord
Click on the hot link below to see Crystal Bowersox's fabulous version of the song.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S8Ic90JkAQA
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Curtis_Mayfield#Early_years_and_The_Impressions
People get ready, there's a train a comin'
You don't need no baggage, you just get on board
All you need is faith to hear the diesels hummin'
Don't need no ticket, you just thank the Lord
People get ready for the train to Jordan
It's picking up passengers from coast to coast
Faith is the key, open the doors and board 'em
There's hope for all among those loved the most.
There ain't no room for the hopeless sinner
Who would hurt all mankind just to save his own
Have pity on those whose chances grow thinner
For there's no hiding place against the Kingdom's throne
So people get ready, there's a train a comin'
You don't need no baggage, you just get on board
All you need is faith to hear the diesels hummin'
Don't need no ticket, you just thank the Lord
Click on the hot link below to see Crystal Bowersox's fabulous version of the song.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S8Ic90JkAQA
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