No, I don’t
really believe we will come to a fiery end sometime around midnight of December
12 (or, is it the 21st?)… Nor is this about that...
Actually,
late last night I was watching one of a series of fund raisers for public
television (better than watching the one
and only slicer/juicer/vacuum package and coffee maker for $29.99) and this particular one
had to do with folk music of the 60’s. These years (late 60’s to early 70’s)
were particularly rough on the country.
On
the one side, the radical social movements of the left and the Afro-American
movement, on the other side the Viet-Nam conflict (it was never actually declared a war…) which turned out to be a
great divide in our country; not to mention the VN issue being a useless war (I’m not sure there has ever been a “useful”
war) where thousands of kids died, on both sides. In the middle, as usual,
a throng of somewhat bewildered people just trying to make a living and go on
with their lives in the midst of Prime Time body counts.
This
era spawned some of the most meaningful music (and a host of silly entries as well) we had seen (and have, since then) especially in the
folk music movement. There were individuals who rose to the top, like one Pete
Seeger, who became one of a kind. His best known work was a little ditty which
went something like “To every season… turn, turn, turn…” remember that one? It
was sung by many. The best known rendition came from McGuinn and the Byrds, I
believe. My favorite take? Judy Collins’… she of the incredible voice…
Many
trios, groups and individuals with a lot of talent justly rode the movement to
glory and fame; some others just latched on to their coattails. Clarence
Clearwater, The New Christy Minstrels, PP&M (that’s Peter, Paul and Mary,
if you had to ask…) James Taylor, and so many others. In that music, there were
stories, as were also in the music of one Harry Chapin, a trailblazer of new
songs in the traditional story telling mode.
One
such singer, who became prominent after he left his original organization, the
before mentioned New (never knew the
“old”) Christy Minstrels, was Barry McGuire. He had collaborated on their initial
big hit “Green Green” and, on leaving them, he wrote the song for which he is
best known and remembered “The Eve of Destruction”. His gravelly voice made it
unique and the message was deep cutting for the times. A favorite quote from
it… “you’re old enough for killin’ but
not for votin’… you say you hate war, so what’s that gun you’re totin’?”
Last
night, I heard him sing it once again, gravelly voice intact, but not so the
mop which covered his top back then… this Barry version, obviously older (why is it they all get older but one
doesn’t?) had a shiny top where that mop used to sit… a little heavier
around the belt but still rendering the message. It was a déjà-vu moment, a moment which, at 1
in the am, very easily takes one into that reverie land where time evaporates
and the mists of the years disappear but for a fleeting moment.
Army
time and Penny Lane (came to really
dislike that song in the beginning…), the flower movement, the VN conflict,
the night classes at the university, the stints at the different radio stations
where I worked, the feeling of joy at exploring a new universe… A time when new
thoughts were being espoused, never before defined horizons explored and
society was being rocked out of complacency and into a new reality… even if it
was done while that very society kicked and screamed at the top of its lungs.
It
has been said by more than one historian that from 1967 to 1972 it was the
closest this country had been to a civil war since the North/South war…
Alabama’s Governor Wallace standing at the University’s doorstep, trying to stop black
students from coming into the heretofore lily white halls; the oh so brave kids
coming to class and having to walk between police dogs which looked at them as
looking at a potential meal. These kids were unsung champions; what they braved
then, in the name of that very society which was trying to maul them
emotionally, if not physically, was indeed the stuff of heroes.
Daily
demonstrations in just about all University Campuses (Campii?), disruption of
classes, the 1968 democratic convention where blood actually flowed in the street
and hundreds were jailed… If we were to
describe these images today, the listener might think we were talking about a
Middle Eastern country in the throes of social upheaval… And it was social
upheaval all right, except this was happening in our own backyard, our country.
But
we survived, and the system once again (and
God Bless it for this) proved to be stronger than the individual causes and
interests; we are here today, facing other issues and other problems, but with
the knowledge that we don’t have to stage a take over or a revolution to
resolve them.
We
just have to exercise the right to vote based on our own beliefs and
convictions.
So,
many time softened memories and much thought and remembrances, all sparked by
one song whose message was as real then, as it is now.
Be
Well … Be Back!!!
Final Notes:
- Pray for those who are fighting an illness which
may take them away from their loved ones… Every request is heard, and
counts!!
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Otra Caja de Pandora”… The
Spanish language Blog… “otracaja.blogspot.com”
… Bienvenidos!!!
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