Monday, January 15, 2018

SONGWRITERS AND THE TRUTH


I don't usually write much about music here, though it is music that has run through my life in so many ways and saved me in so many ways.
Last night I learned that an old friend of mine whom I have not seen in years has died.
Today I learned that Dolores O'Riordan, lead singer and songwriter for The Cranberries, has died at 46. Too young.
On this day, 89 years ago, Martin Luther King, Jr was born. Today we observe the only American holiday that honors an African American. A holiday that took over 15 years to be approved by our government. I find it fitting that it is celebrated on or near the day of his birth rather than his death. What is important is that he was born, he lived, he fought for justice and freedom.
 On Twitter last night I found a tweet from Margaret Atwood saying she was taking a time out from Twitter due to all the attacks against her for a piece she wrote in The Guardian. You can look it up.
The world is so harsh with people who fight for freedom, justice and rights for all human beings.

As I was writing in my journal this morning I felt stunned, sad, beaten down, and words were hard to find. I found the lyrics of a song running through my mind. So I give you those lyrics, written by Stephen Stills when he was in Buffalo Springfield:

For What It Is Worth
There's something happening here
What it is ain't exactly clear
There's a man with a gun over there
Telling me I got to beware
I think it's time we stop, children, what's that sound
Everybody look what's going down
There's battle lines being drawn
Nobody's right if everybody's wrong
Young people speaking their minds
Getting so much resistance from behind
It's time we stop, hey, what's that sound
Everybody look what's going down
What a field-day for the heat
A thousand people in the street
Singing songs and carrying signs
Mostly say, hooray for our side
It's s time we stop, hey, what's that sound
Everybody look what's going down
Paranoia strikes deep
Into your life it will creep
It starts when you're always afraid
You step out of line, the man come and take you away
We better stop, hey, what's that sound
Everybody look what's going down
Stop, hey, what's that sound
Everybody look what's going down
Stop, now, what's that sound
Everybody look what's going down
Stop, children, what's that sound
Everybody look what's going down
Songwriters: Stephen Stills
For What It Is Worth lyrics © Warner/Chappell Music, Inc
 (How appropriate that our much vaunted technology had to garble my copying and pasting. At least the copyright is there.)

6 comments:

  1. I'm sorry to hear about your friend passing, and that you feel so down because of everything that is happening in society at large. I hope you feel better soon.

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    1. Thank you Carmen and thanks for reading my little sad rant. Some days are just a bit too much. Now it is almost bedtime and I feel better.

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  2. I remember that song well and it seems especially appropriate at the moment.

    I read the Atwood piece and found it a well-reasoned argument for the human rights of all. The knee-jerk reactions of some who criticize her just tell me that they are not really listening. All of which brings to mind one of my favorite MLK quotes: "Nothing in the world is more dangerous than sincere ignorance and conscientious stupidity."

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    1. Margaret Atwood came back to Twitter, said she took a nap and it snowed and she was ready to go on. I went to the movies with one of my best friends and saw The Shape of Water, which was brilliant. Thanks for the quote. That is what my father taught me too. On we go.

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  3. Sorry to hear of your friend's passing. And yes, I also agree with you that it's way to young for the lead singer of The Cranberries to have passed away as well.

    I read a thought provoking article online about Martin Luther King Jr yesterday. After reading the article about MLK Jr, I found myself wondering what MLK Jr would think about American society today if he were still alive nearly 50 years after his assassination.

    Has American society really changed that much in the past 50 years? Yes, in many ways it has... BUT at the same time, it's appalling to read about President Trump recently referring to Haiti and other African countries as 'Shitholes'. President Trump has routinely come across as sexist and racist/xenophobic since coming into office. This has left me asking myself how far has our nation really come when someone like Donald Trump is elected to the highest public office in the nation?

    Also, as a side note, Roxane Gay wrote an excellent article for the New York Times titled, 'No One Is Coming to Save Us From Trump’s Racism'. https://www.nytimes.com/2018/01/12/opinion/trump-shithole-countries-haiti-el-salvador-african-countries-immigration-racism.html?smid=fb-share

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  4. Thank you Captivated Reader for your thoughtful comments. I went and read the Roxane Gay article. More truth. As she says, we need to sit with all this. Well, actually those of us who read actual books do sit with it. Daily.

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