Please Don't Bury Me

Woke up this morning
Put on my slippers
Walked in the kitchen and died
And oh what a feeling!
When my soul
Went thru the ceiling
And on up into heaven I did ride

When I got there they did say
John, it happened this way
You slipped upon the floor
And hit your head
And all the angels say
Just before you passed away
These were the very last words
That you said:

Chorus:
Please don't bury me
Down in that cold cold ground
No, I'd druther have "em" cut me up
And pass me all around
Throw my brain in a hurricane
And the blind can have my eyes
And the deaf can take both of my ears
If they don't mind the size

Give my stomach to Milwaukee
If they run out of beer
Put my socks in a cedar box
Just get "em" out of here
Venus de Milo can have my arms
Look out! I've got your nose
Sell my heart to the junkman
And give my love to Rose

Repeat Chorus

Give my feet to the footloose
Careless, fancy free
Give my knees to the needy
Don't pull that stuff on me
Hand me down my walking cane
It's a sin to tell a lie
Send my mouth way down south
And kiss my ass goodbye

Repeat Chorus

I'm just tired...

Sometimes I get so damn tired. I get so tired of people who are clueless who should know better. Who are so insensitive or worse, callous, to the heartache and suffering that can go on in this world. I'm so tired of the entitled, well-off in this country who never had to struggle in their lives, who had everything handed to them, who judge the rest of the world from inside their air-conditioned bubbles, acting so all-knowing. Don't judge the hungry unless you've been hungry. The homeless until at least your home was in jeopardy. The poor until you've woken up not knowing how you were going to pay your bills. Until you've had to hide your poverty, your hunger, or your pain.

I'm sick and tired of people who ruin other people's lives (especially those who are conscious that they do it) and then just cut and run, leaving others to pick up the pieces.

I am so tired of coddling people. I'm so sorry you weren't hugged enough when you were a child. I'm so sorry you had it so bad. That's no excuse. It's terrible, but it's no excuse to go around hurting people and ruining other people's lives.

We're all connected on this planet, and just because some people are too damn stupid to see that, to understand, doesn't make it any less true. Ignorance is not an excuse.

Ignorance is no excuse

Ignorance is no excuse.

And that's all I have to say on that right now.

But those words apply to just about every endeavor we do.

Inspiration

Sue told me about this kid she met who lives in a shelter in Roslindale. He's from Africa, and he's from a big family. He was in line to inherit the family wealth, so one of his brothers set him on fire. (His brother is now serving time in prison.) This kid is here in the U.S. for the multitude of operations to put his body back together. He's learning English, living in shelters, and doing menial work to make ends meet.

People avoid him on the bus.

They stare.

Remember this when you think you're having a bad day.

Hollywood screenwriters missed the boat

I couldn't have said it better.

Dashes and Splashes

He said/she said

He said:

The Wild Side of Life

CHORUS:
I didn't know God made honky tonk angels
I might have known you'd never make a wife
You gave up the only one that ever loved you
And went back to the wild side of life

The glamor of the gay night life has lured you
To the places where the wine and liquor flows
Where you wait to be anybody's baby
And forget the truest love you'll ever know

REPEAT CHORUS

You wouldn't read the letter that I wrote you
You told me not to call you on the phone
But there's something that I've just got to tell you
So I wrote it in the words of this song

CHORUS:
I didn't know God made honky tonk angels
I might have known you'd never make a wife
You gave up the only one that ever loved you
And went back to the wild side of life

The glamor of the gay night life has lured you
To the places where the wine and liquor flow
Where you wait to be anybody's baby
And forgot the truest love you'll ever know

She said:

It Wasn't God Who Made Honky Tonk Angels
Written by J. D. Miller
Recorded by Kitty Wells

Capo on 1st fret:
As I [A] sit here tonight the jukebox [D] playing
A [E] tune about the WILD SIDE OF [A] LIFE
As I listen to the words you are [D] saying
It brings [E] mem'ries when I was a trusting [A] wife.

CHORUS:
It wasn't God who made honky tonk [D] angels
As you [E] said in the words of your [A] song
Too many times married men think they're still [D] single
That has [E] caused many a good girl to go [A] wrong.

It's a shame that all the blame is on us women
It's not true that only you men feel the same
From the start most every heart that's ever broken
Was because there always was a man to blame.

REPEAT CHORUS

Wish You were Here

So, so you think you can tell
Heaven from hell
Blue skies from pain

The Road

"When he woke in the woods in the dark and the cold of the night he'd reach out to touch the child sleeping beside him. Nights dark beyond darkness and days more gray each one than what had gone before. Like the onset of some cold glaucoma dimming away the world. His hand rose and fell with each precious breath. He pushed away the plastic tarpaulin and raised himself in the stinking robes and blankets and looked toward the east for any light but there was none."

Wow. Those are the opening lines of The Road by Cormac McCarthy. I needed a good book. I just finished Into the Wild, and when my days are kind of gray the way they have been for what seems like a long time now, I need something to preoccupy my mind. To take it far, far away from here. And since I can't bring a guitar on the train for the two hours I'm riding it, that means a book.

Still, there's something very hopeful about those lines, huh? About him feeling the child breathing next to him. Maybe you have to be a parent to feel that. Once I wrote the line, "When my daughter sleeps, the warmth that comes off her head could breathe the life back into a dead man."

Because it did.

Monday Afternoon

MONDAY AFTERNOON

Capo II
Intro: (G)

(G)It's Monday afternoon and I'm drinking again
And I (Em)know I promised you that the Lord would be my friend

But the (G)Lord and I don't get along so very good

He doesn't (Em)speak a word out to me

Like you promised that he would 

And I'm (C)telling you
I (D)wish I was a better (G)person

(G)When the clouds roll in and the sky promises rain

You just ac(Em)cept the way she is and you don't even complain

Though you (G)wish that it was sunny and the sky would stay blue

You don't ac(Em)cept a thing about me

And wish that I was just like you

But I'm (C)telling you

I (D)wish I was a better (G)person

(C)I don't want to (G)work at it

(C)It should come natural(G)ly

(C)It shouldn't be so (G)difficult

Should be (D)more like honey to the bee

Well the (G)bee has his sting and the sky has her rain

And I have (Em)all of my things that I should do over again

But if I (G)just say the words and I look you in the eye

That I am (Em)promising you, I promise

I (C)wish I was (D)a better (G)person

(C)I don't want to (G)work at it

(C)It should come natural(G)ly

(C)It shouldn't be so (G)difficult

Should be (D)more like honey to the bee

Well it's (G)Monday afternoon and I'm drinking again

And I (Em)know I promised you that the Lord would be my friend

But the (G)Lord and I don't get along so very good

He doesn't (Em)speak a word out to me

Like you promised that he would 

And I'm (C)telling you (D)

I am (C)telling you (D)

I am (C)telling you

I (D)wish I was a better (G)person

A better (Em) person

A better (G) person

A better (Em)person (C)(D)(G)


--Lori McKenna

One from Colleen: Luckenbach, Texas

Here's a comment from Colleen on a older post where I posted some lyrics from Steve Earle's song, Guitar Town. These are some great lyrics that shouldn't be buried in the comments of an old post.

Thanks Colleen, and good luck.


Great song John. How about this one by
Waylon Jennings?


There only two things in life that make it worth livin'
That's guitars that tune good and firm feelin' women
I don't need my name in the marquis lights
I got my song and I got you with me tonight
Maybe it's time we got back to the basics of love

Chorus:
Let's go to Luckenbach Texas with Waylon and Willie and the boys
This successful life we're livin' got us fueding
like the Hatfield and McCoys
Between Hank Williams pain songs, Newberry's train songs
and blue eyes cryin' in the rain out in Luckenbach Texas
ain't nobody feelin' no pain

So baby let's sell your diamond ring
Buy some boots and faded jeans and go away
This coat and tie is choking me
In your high socitey you cry all day
We've been so busy keepin' up with the Jones
Four car garage and we're still building on
Maby it's time we got back to the basics of love

Chorus:
Let's go to Luckenbach Texas with Waylon and Willie and the boys
This successful life we're livin' got us fueding
like the Hatfield and McCoys
Between Hank Williams pain songs, Newberry's train songs
and blue eyes cryin' in the rain out in Luckenbach Texas
ain't nobody feelin' no pain

Let's go to Luckenbach Texas with Waylon and Willie and the boys
This successful life we're livin' got us fueding
like the Hatfield and McCoys
Between Hank Williams pain songs, Newberry's train songs
and blue eyes cryin' in the rain out in Luckenbach Texas
ain't nobody feelin' no pain

Colleen in Austin TX

Coco and Lafe

Who the heck needs MBTA radio? Really, it's true, there are too many really good musicians busking out there that give this city so much soul.

Out in Irish Famine Memorial Park outside Borders near Downtown Crossing Coco and Lafe from the Republic of Vermont were playing their playful, earthy songs today at noon.

Lafe started while I was sitting, and he was playing nice picking songs with open chords. When Coco stepped up to the mike and joined in, the crowd formed.

From cocolafe.com: "Coco and Lafe have a vocal chemistry that pays off in friendly, cohesive warmth." They sing original acoustic music, as well as covers by Bob Dylan, John Prine, Lyle Lovett and others.

They'll be at the farmer's market on Copley Square on 10.23, and back at the Irish Famine Park on Wednesday 10.24. Check them out. Request Let's Get Away.

Jame Lipton: I was young...i needed the money

That excuse has been used more than once...

From the National Review Online:

James Lipton, the host of U.S. talk show, Inside the Actors' Studio, once worked as a pimp in Paris, France.

The revered TV presenter, who has sat down with Hollywood's biggest names for in-depth chats about their life and work over the last 13 years, has revealed he once procured clients for French hookers.

He says, "This was when I was very very young, living in Paris, penniless, unable to get any kind of working permit... I had a friend who worked in what is called the Milieu, which is that world and she suggested to me one night, `Look, you'll be my meck... We would translate it perhaps... as pimp.

Web 2.0

Sat through a presentation today of Web 2.0 and all it's implications.

People are ruling the Internet. It's a true democracy. It's communication, not monologue. It's interaction. It's honest.

True, all true. But you still have to be careful. Case in point: product reviews. A product can live or die based on what people say about it. But, who the heck are these people? Case in point: The presenter today just happened to use a site for an example where people could write reviews. The site was to learn about outdoor gear. There was an image of some urban woman model striding along, power walking and I noticed a couple of reviews for trekkers (shoes).

I'm a pretty serious hiker. I used to work for both REI and Eastern Mountain Sports. I think I know outdoor gear pretty well, and I'm leery to advise people about gear. Part of the reason is you can get killed out in the outdoors. And there are lots of people who would use a site inhabited by suburban mom power walkers to base their buying decisions for gear.

If you present information, no matter what--write reviews, comment on politics, write recipes--you have to have a modicum of knowledge in that area. And the thing about the Web is anyone can post (even me!) Not everyone is going to take the responsibility. Or they might think they're responsible, but haven't a clue what they are talking about. The rule still applies: You have to check the source. But there's no way of doing that on the Web.

So the Web is wide open and everyone has a say. That's the good news. It's also the bad news.

Catalogs are a-clogging my mailbox

I guess the holiday season is coming, cause my mailbox is jammed with catalogs. LL Bean. National Geographic. Sundance. Territory Ahead. They all are filled with clothes and items that will prove to the world what a hip, tasteful, cool person I am if I wear and decorate my home with all this stuff.

It's called branding and taste and style. It's something we've all known about since the time we were teenagers and wouldn't be caught dead wearing a certain pair of jeans. It's gone way out of control now, though, to the point where it almost looks like people are wearing costumes, and not clothes. Looks like we're walking around on movie sets. Look at me: I'm a mountaineer. I'm a world traveler. I'm a rancher right out of Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid. I'm a rough but sensitive cowboy.

There's another word for it, too: Posing.

But I should talk. We all have a way we want to present ourselves to the world. Me? A pair of jeans. A scuffed up pair of boots. My beat-up old truck. My old flea-bitten dog. A guitar. What does that say about me? Effing Marlboro Man? LOL.

Manny says team has no reason to panic

From the AP on the MSN site:

With the Red Sox just one loss from elimination, the star slugger was asked about Game 5 of the AL Championship Series against Cleveland.

"Why should we panic?" he said Wednesday in a rare clubhouse interview. "We've got a great team."

And then, this: "It doesn't happen, so who cares? There's always next year. It's not like it's the end of the world."

Gotta love Manny. He isn't afraid to tell it like it is. To be himself. It isn't the end of the world. For the fans who live and breath the Sox, get a life. For the players, we've known all along, just like Justin Timberlake, Madonna, and Mick Jagger, you're all just a bunch of entertainers who get paid a helluva lot of money. Instead of strutting the stage, you strut the ballfield. It isn't mom and apple pie anymore, and probably never was. That's marketing. That's branding.

Dick Cheney and Barack Obama are cousins

Lynne Cheney, the vice president’s wife, revealed this bit of political trivia during a television interview Tuesday.

Obama's response?

"Every family has a black sheep,” said Obama spokesman Bill Burton.

As my co-worker, C, pointed out, this is better than learning that Al Sharpton and Strom Thurmond were related.

Green Line extension to Medford and Somerville

The Green Line extension to Somerville and Medford is in the first stages of development. An environmental review and preliminary engineering study is in the works. Work is slated to be completed by 2014 to the tune of $560 million.

Well, first we know it's going to go over budget and off schedule. These things always do.

And completed by 2014? Gee, what's the rush?

Sure, things take time, but man, by the time the extension is finished it will be out-of-date. I guess the project itself has been postponed time and time again over the course of 17 years. Who knows why, because for me, upgrading and extending the T all over Boston should be a main priority. Sometimes I think the money spent on the Big Dig would have been better spent on public transportation. Traffic is still snarled in the city. Maybe we should have knocked down the Central Artery, made a park, and built big parking garages north and south of the city where people would have parked then taken trains into and around the city.

MBTA radio

Okay, I've heard it twice now, down below in South Station, and ya gotta wonder who's idea that was. What idiot marketing person came up with this idea?

Monday night I was strolling through, singing a song to myself (yes, I sing a lot to myself as I walk along these city streets) and I got interrupted.

Last night, same place. Coming down the stairs and into that central area where the Charlie card machines are, I heard the last bit of some pop song. Then some kind of announcement like, You are listening to MBTA radio.

First, it's only loud enough to be annoyingly noticeable. Second, it's annoying that some damn organization wants to tell me what to hear during the course of my commute. Plus commercials. I want to hear either my own music (and especially not some vapid pop crap) or my own thoughts.

Big question: Who's making money on this? Find where the money leads, and you got your answer. Does some T exec's brother-in-law sell this? What's the reason? Why do we need this anyway?

The separation of professional and personal lives

The talk at lunch yesterday turned to the separation of private and professional lives. How you should or shouldn't keep things separate, and especially not post "compromising " pictures on sites like MySpace and FaceBook. And there was a slight nod to getting personal like I do on this blog.

My life is my life. It encompasses not just my work, but my family and friends and Sue, my interests in music and theater and books and the outdoors and travel and well, you get the idea. My life also includes my feeling and thoughts and values and ideas. I don't want to separate them out. I'm not going to post pictures of some drunken night I had, that's not the purpose of this blog anyway. But I'm not going to shy away from politics or even those nasty, gritty thoughts and feelings that we have deep in our recesses.

I work at a marketing agency where the dress code is lax, but I've worked places where there was a dress code. And people, commenting on the grey flannel suits and ties and dress shoes they were wearing would say, "This isn't me. On the weekends, I, blah, blah, blah."

Yeah, that is you. It's you if you're willing to compromise and do something you really don't like doing or feel uncomfortable all for the dollar, even if it's wear clothes you don't like. That says more about you than anything I'd ever put down in this blog.

When I was freelancing, I would walk into big fancy clients wearing my daily wardrobe of Levis, scuffed cowboy boots, and open shirt. It said, this is me, this is what you're getting, I'm comfortable with it, now let's all make us some money. If some potential boss is going to judge me and not hire my based on this blog, well, that's for the better all the way around. Why the heck would I want to work someplace where I can't be who I am? Or work for someone who won't accept me for who I am?

Like the profile says, read the blog, draw your own conclusions. If you don't like what you see...well, get in line. There are a lot of people who don't like me, just like there a whole bunch who think I'm A-OK. Just fine the way I am.

I guess I could fabricate some online persona just to keep my personal life a secret. Just to get a job. I could post a picture of me, a pretty blonde wife, a cute little boy and girl with a golden retriever. I could swallow my opinions and my beliefs and my prejudices, and keep them hidden. That kind of deceit isn't for me though. Always tell the truth. Always seek the truth. It really won't hurt you.

Madonnna partners with Live Nation

Madonna broke ranks with Warner Music and signed on with music promoter Live Nation in a "global partnership." The "partnership"--I love that word, especially when used by corporate types; they use the word in the same shallow way that I've said Americans use the word, "friend"--encompasses all of Madonna's music and music-related business including albums, touring, merchandising (hey, get your Madonna t-shirt, perfume, stainless-steal (sic) bra), fan club/website, DVDs, television and movie projects, and associated sponsorship agreements. That last bit sounds like lawyerese for, "and everything else we couldn't think of but we can make a buck off." Be prepared for lots and lots of litigation in the years to come.

Well, shit...

As I've posted and ranted about for awhile now, the paradigm has shifted (and I think that's the last time I'll use that particular phrase because Madonna's been quoted in the press as saying that. If Madonna's picked up on it, I'm packing my bags and heading further out on the fringe where it's quiet.) Musicians have to figure out other ways to get their music out there, figure out other ways to get heard.

But this isn't about music. This is about the almighty dollar. And more and more bands and entertainers are going to milk the cash cow. Why shouldn't they? Well, for one reason, it's gonna mean that things--tickets, a souvenir t-shirt, a beer, hell, a download--are just going to get more expensive. When you see the phrase, revenue stream, in an arts story, you know the somebody's selling out somewhere big time.

Madonna, though, deciphered something called branding a long time ago. She's a product and people buy it/her. I don't know who's buying, but Live Nation expects to reap $1 billion during the life of the contract.