Song for Day 12 of a 4 Year Funeral - "Cactus" by Ferron

Day 12 - "Cactus" by Ferron

Songwriter Deborah "Ferron" Foisy.

     A tree has fallen across the narrow road, blocking your progress.  Your first instinct is to:

a) look for a way to move it; or,

b) look for a way around it.

     Perhaps this songwriter should not be included in this series.  Ferron's work may be too personal and nuanced for us option "a)" activists;  she is very much a plan "b)" survivor.  Hers is a hyper-romantic solipsism-for-two that doesn't recognize a group larger than a lover's triangle, let alone the politics that might govern it. 

And the coldest bed I found does not hold one but it will hold three.
I hope you never have to know what that can mean.

     She doesn't speak of election day, but of every day.  Her focus is not the 54% who vote but the 46% who don't.  Her songs focus not on an optimistic future but on a poignant past that has brought us to an awkward present.  She doesn't write anthems, she writes narratives, more like Harry Chapin and Joni Mitchell than Bruce Cockburn and Buffy Ste. Marie.  Her songs are longer and less rhythmic than those by John Prine and Carly Simon.  Her verse is more like prose, new each time you hear it, than verbatim memorable poetry.  You will probably not sing Ferron songs in the shower.

"I read this book about how some scientists tried to get primates to paint. For 10 years they worked on it, and nothing happened. Then, one of the monkeys suddenly began to paint, and what it painted were the bars of its cage. So, in my writing, I believe I'm painting the bars of my cage so that I can get out. This is something you have to get done before you can meaningfully move on in any way." - Ferron

    Deborah "Ferron" Foisy rarely speaks directly about the sexual and physical abuse she suffered as a child and teen, but it's stitched into every line.  In the words of one critic, she lives and writes entirely in parentheses.  And somewhere there is humor.  We saw this on Day 2 with "Testimony".  We revisit it with "Shadows on a Dime", "Ain't Life a Brook?", "It Won't Take Long", "Girl on the Road", "I Never Was to Africa", "Our Purpose Here", "Harmless Love", the heart-wrenching, autobiographical "Shady Gate", and the visceral beauty of "The Cart".  Still, there is no better example of this than "Cactus":

Lyrics:

It's been a year
since you left home for higher ground.
In the distance I hear a hoot owl
ask the only question I have found
to be worthy of the sound it makes
as it breaks the silence of your old town
These letters are another way to love you.

It takes trouble, and it takes courage to be free.
But you 'll find, it you are soft enough, love will hang around for free.
And the coldest bed I found does not hold one but it will hold three.
I hope you never have to know what that can mean.

It's safe to say I took the long and winding path.
And were it not for loving friendships
who knows how long I would have lasted.
You're young one day but youth is rude
and while you watch it walks right past
and then...hey...you get your chance to think like me.

When I was young I was in service to my pain.
On sunny days you'd find me walking miles to look for rain.
And as many times I swapped it all just to hop a moving train.
Looking back, it was a most expensive way to get around.

And I found that all the world could love you save for one.
And I don't know why it is, but that kiss will be the haunted one.
You'll pine and weep and you'll lose good sleep
and you'll think your life has come undone,
until you learn to turn and spurn that bitter wind.

Because it'll probably be the one you least expect to,
who will wager through your storm with you,
who will give your fears respect...
who will melt your burden down...
though you probably don't want that yet,
still...the odds fall sweet in favor to an open heart.

Seems to me the tools for being human are wicked crude.
They're not so slick and smooth and shiny
as some stranger might allude.
And while your longest night might test you,
you don't be scared of solitude.
And remember what is shared is also true.

Because there's a place where the water races wide.
And you could be hard pressed (in the muck of time)
just trying to reach the other side.
You learn to find the only way, or you learn to say you tried.
It seems to me a lot of little towns were made that way.

Now while I'm at it...let me tell you about the moon.
Because I heard some people talking,
looks like we're probably going to have to move there soon.
All I know is the face it shows at midnight
is not the one it shows at noon.
But I bet it's a standing kind of wistful from over there.

In a word, I heard that life is a cactus tree.
And should you find a way to break it's skin,
won't you have a drink for me.
But if you're standing near a cactus,
you're probably where you shouldn't be.
Isn't this why you left your home, though you love me.

Now when I imagine life is only time and space...
then I guess I've seen the best of it upon your tender, loving face.
And the faith that you bestowed in me gives me a solid sense of place.

I learn to say...Fire, Water, Earth and Air...
I learn to say Fire, Water, Earth and Air...
I learn to say Fire, Water, Earth and Air...

I'll see you there.



Links:

Day 1 (The Inauguration) - "Hands" - Jewel

Day 2 (The Million Woman March) - "Testimony" by Ferron, sung by Marcelle Davies Lashley

Day 3 - "Ruins" - by Cat Stevens
 
Day 4 - "Eve of Destruction" (1964) - by P. F. Sloan performed by Barry McGuire

Day 5 - "Hypersensive Jester" - by Denny Guy

Day 6 - "Teresa" - by John Stewart

Day 7 - "Black Boys on Mopeds" by Sinéad O'Connor

Day 8 - "Burn, Baby, Burn" - by Bruce Cockburn

Day 9 - "Black Day in July" - by Gordon Lightfoot

Day 10 - "Democracy is Coming" - Leonard Cohen

Day 11 - "First We Take Manhattan" - Leonard Cohen

Day 12 - "Cactus" - Ferron

Song for Day 11 of a 4 Year Funeral - Leonard Cohen's "First We Take Manhattan"

Day 11:  "First We Take Manhattan" by Leonard Cohen

Songwriter Leonard Cohen (1934-2016)

     Some of Cohen's most interesting songs were not recorded by him--not originally, at least.  Judy Collins and a few others put out tracks of "Priests", which derives its title from an opening scene of a car passing a hitchhiker while the immodest songwriter's tune plays on the radio:

"And who will write love songs for you
when I am lord at last
and your body is some little highway shrine
that all my priests have passed?"

     Jennifer Warnes beat Cohen to the market with the bold "First We Take Manhattan", with its characteristic Stevie Ray Vaughan guitar riff, in her 1986 All-Cohen tribute album, "Famous Blue Raincoat" (a song title from Cohen's second album, "Songs of Love and Hate").

        Cohen's own version came out in 1988 on the "I'm Your Man" album:

      R.E.M. did a cover in 1991 on their "I'm Your Fan" tribute album.  Joe Cocker (1944–2014) included the song on his 1999 "No Ordinary World" album.  Warren Zevon (1947-2003) included a sendup version (which sounded a bit like "Send Lawyers, Guns and Money") while on tour in 1998.

Lyrics:

They sentenced me to twenty years of boredom
For trying to change the system from within
I'm coming now, I'm coming to reward them
First we take Manhattan, then we take Berlin
I'm guided by a signal in the heavens
I'm guided by this birthmark on my skin
I'm guided by the beauty of our weapons
First we take Manhattan, then we take Berlin

I'd really like to live beside you, baby
I love your body and your spirit and your clothes
But you see that line there moving through the station?
I told you, I told you, told you, I was one of those

Ah you loved me as a loser, but now you're worried that I just might win
You know the way to stop me, but you don't have the discipline
How many nights I prayed for this, to let my work begin
First we take Manhattan, then we take Berlin

I don't like your fashion business mister
And I don't like these drugs that keep you thin
I don't like what happened to my sister
First we take Manhattan, then we take Berlin

I'd really like to live beside you, baby ...

And I thank you for those items that you sent me
The monkey and the plywood violin
I practiced every night, now I'm ready
First we take Manhattan, then we take Berlin

I am guided

Ah remember me, I used to live for music
Remember me, I brought your groceries in
Well it's Father's Day and everybody's wounded
First we take Manhattan, then we take Berlin

Links:

Day 1 (The Inauguration) - "Hands" - Jewel

Day 2 (The Million Woman March) - "Testimony" by Ferron, sung by Marcelle Davies Lashley

Day 3 - "Ruins" - by Cat Stevens
 
Day 4 - "Eve of Destruction" (1964) - by P. F. Sloan performed by Barry McGuire

Day 5 - "Hypersensive Jester" - by Denny Guy

Day 6 - "Teresa" - by John Stewart

Day 7 - "Black Boys on Mopeds" by Sinéad O'Connor

Day 8 - "Burn, Baby, Burn" - by Bruce Cockburn

Day 9 - "Black Day in July" - by Gordon Lightfoot

Day 10 - "Democracy is Coming" - Leonard Cohen

Day 11 - "First We Take Manhattan" - Leonard Cohen

Day 12 - "Cactus" - Ferron

Song for Day 10 of a 4 Year Funeral - Leonard Cohen

Song for Day 10 of a 4 Year Funeral - "Democracy is Coming" - Leonard Cohen

Songwriter Leonard Cohen (1934-2016)

     The late Leonard Cohen brought us the full human experience, largely from a romantic viewpoint.  He was to heterosexual males what Saint Sebastian, the Divas, Liza Minnelli, Barbra Streisand and Judy Garland, are to gay ones, or what Sappho, Ellen DeGeneres and Ferron are to lesbian women.  As a political songwriter Cohen was nowhere near as prolific as Bruce Cockburn, John Stewart or Buffy Sainte Marie.

     Leonard Cohen has won his nation's highest award in both prose and verse.  Indeed, he authored two well-received novels, "The Favorite Game" (1963) and "Beautiful Losers" (1966), and three bestselling poetry--assuming that wasn't an oxymoron in the 1960s, as it is now--collections before his music career began in 1967:  "Let Us Compare Mythologies" (1956), "The Spice-Box of Earth" (1961) and "Flowers for Hitler" (1964).  When Buffy Ste. Marie read an excerpt from "Beautiful Losers" she immediately adopted/adapted the passage as lyrics to "God is Alive, Magic is Afoot",  which became a minor hit for both artists.  That the same words could be prose, verse and song gave the world a new definition of poetry, just as Buffy's rendition redefined prayer:

Lyrics:

God is alive; Magic is afoot
God is alive; Magic is afoot
God is afoot; Magic is alive
Alive is afoot.....
Magic never died.

God never sickened;
Many poor men lied
Many sick men lied
Magic never weakened
Magic never hid
Magic always ruled
God is afoot
God never died.

Songwriter Buffy Sainte Marie

God was ruler
Though his funeral lengthened
Though his mourners thickened
Magic never fled
Though his shrouds were hoisted
The naked God did live
Though his words were twisted
The naked Magic thrived
Though his death was published
Round and round the world
The heart did not believe

Many hurt men wondered
Many struck men bled
Magic never faltered
Magic always led.
Many stones were rolled
But God would not lie down
Many wild men lied
Many fat men listened
Though they offered stones
Magic still was fed
Though they locked their coffers
God was always served.

Magic is afoot. God rules.
Alive is afoot. Alive is in command.
Many weak men hungered
Many strong men thrived
Though they boasted solitude
God was at their side
Nor the dreamer in his cell
Nor the captain on the hill
Magic is alive
Though his death was pardoned
Round and round the world
The heart did not believe.

Though laws were carved in marble
They could not shelter men
Though altars built in parliaments
They could not order men
Police arrested Magic
And Magic went with them,
For Magic loves the hungry.

But Magic would not tarry
It moves from arm to arm
It would not stay with them
Magic is afoot
It cannot come to harm
It rests in an empty palm
It spawns in an empty mind
But Magic is no instrument
Magic is the end.

Many men drove Magic
But Magic stayed behind
Many strong men lied
They only passed through Magic
And out the other side
Many weak men lied
They came to God in secret
And though they left him nourished
They would not say who healed
Though mountains danced before them
They said that God was dead
Though his shrouds were hoisted
The naked God did live

This I mean to whisper to my mind
This I mean to laugh with in my mind
This I mean my mind to serve 'til
Service is but Magic
Moving through the world
And mind itself is Magic
Coursing through the flesh
And flesh itself is Magic
Dancing on a clock
And time itself the magic length of God

     It is easy to imagine that, in the next four years, "Democracy is Coming to the U.S.A." could become an anthem.  In any event, Leonard Cohen will be remembered as the Shakespeare of our time.

Lyrics:

"It's coming through a hole in the air,
From those nights in Tiananmen Square.
It's coming from the feel
That this ain't exactly real,
Or it's real, but it ain't exactly there.
From the wars against disorder,
From the sirens night and day,
From the fires of the homeless,
From the ashes of the gay:
Democracy is coming to the U.S.A.
It's coming through a crack in the wall
On a visionary flood of alcohol
From the staggering account
Of the Sermon on the Mount
Which I don't pretend to understand at all.
It's coming from the silence
On the dock of the bay,
From the brave, the bold, the battered
Heart of Chevrolet
Democracy is coming to the U.S.A.

It's coming from the sorrow in the street,
The holy places where the races meet
From the homicidal bitchin'
That goes down in every kitchen
To determine who will serve and who will eat.
From the wells of disappointment
Where the women kneel to pray
For the grace of God in the desert here
And the desert far away:
Democracy is coming to the U.S.A.

Sail on, sail on
O mighty Ship of State!
To the Shores of Need
Past the Reefs of Greed
Through the Squalls of Hate
Sail on, sail on, sail on, sail on.

It's coming to America first,
The cradle of the best and of the worst.
It's here they got the range
And the machinery for change
And it's here they got the spiritual thirst.
It's here the family's broken
And it's here the lonely say
That the heart has got to open
In a fundamental way:
Democracy is coming to the U.S.A.

It's coming from the women and the men.
O baby, we'll be making love again.
We'll be going down so deep
The river's going to weep,
And the mountain's going to shout Amen!
It's coming like the tidal flood
Beneath the lunar sway,
Imperial, mysterious,
In amorous array
Democracy is coming to the U.S.A.

Sail on, sail on

I'm sentimental, if you know what I mean
I love the country but I can't stand the scene.
And I'm neither left or right
I'm just staying home tonight,
Getting lost in that hopeless little screen.
But I'm stubborn as those garbage bags
That Time cannot decay,
I'm junk but I'm still holding up
This little wild bouquet
Democracy is coming to the U.S.A."

"The trouble with democracy is what the word actually means - normal people think it's from the Greek, 'demos kratos', meaning the voice of the people, a system where people's opinions count for something, but the freaks in power think it's from 'demos krateos' - the people are cretins - and treat everyone accordingly." - Garry Andrews

Links:

Day 1 (The Inauguration) - "Hands" - Jewel

Day 2 (The Million Woman March) - "Testimony" by Ferron, sung by Marcelle Davies Lashley

Day 3 - "Ruins" - by Cat Stevens
 
Day 4 - "Eve of Destruction" (1964) - by P. F. Sloan performed by Barry McGuire

Day 5 - "Hypersensive Jester" - by Denny Guy

Day 6 - "Teresa" - by John Stewart

Day 7 - "Black Boys on Mopeds" by Sinéad O'Connor

Day 8 - "Burn, Baby, Burn" - by Bruce Cockburn

Day 9 - "Black Day in July" - by Gordon Lightfoot

Day 10 - "Democracy is Coming" - Leonard Cohen

Song for Day 9 of a 4 Year Funeral

Day 9 - "Black Day in July" - Gordon Lightfoot

      The Detroit riot began when police tried to arrest 82 Afro-American bar patrons gathered to celebrate the return of local Vietnam veterans.  It began in the early hours of Sunday, July 23rd, 1967 and lasted for five days, resulting in 43 deaths, 1189 injuries and 7,200 arrests.

Lyrics:

Black day in July
Motor city madness has touched the countryside
And through the smoke and cinders
You can hear it far and wide
The doors are quickly bolted
And the children locked inside

Black day in July
Black day in July
And the soul of Motor City is bared across the land
As the book of law and order is taken in the hands
Of the sons of the fathers who were carried to this land

Black day in July
Black day in July
In the streets of Motor City is a deadly silent sound
And the body of a dead youth lies stretched upon the ground
Upon the filthy pavement
No reason can be found

Black day in July
Black day in July
Motor City madness has touched the countryside
And the people rise in anger
And the streets begin to fill
And there's gunfire from the rooftops
And the blood begins to spill

Black day in July

In the mansion of the governor
There's nothing that is known for sure
The telephone is ringing
And the pendulum is swinging
And they wonder how it happened
And they really know the reason
And it wasn't just the temperature
And it wasn't just the season

Black day in July
Black day in July
Motor City's burning and the flames are running wild
They reflect upon the waters of the river and the lake
And everyone is listening
And everyone's awake

Black day in July
Black day in July
The printing press is turning
And the news is quickly flashed
And you read your morning paper
And you sip your cup of tea
And you wonder just in passing
Is it him or is it me

Black day in July

In the office of the President
The deed is done the troops are sent
There's really not much choice you see
It looks to us like anarchy
And then the tanks go rolling in
To patch things up as best they can
There is no time to hesitate
The speech is made the dues can wait

Black day in July
Black day in July
The streets of Motor City now are quiet and serene
But the shapes of gutted buildings
Strike terror to the heart
And you say how did it happen
And you say how did it start
Why can't we all be brothers
Why can't we live in peace
But the hands of the have-nots
Keep falling out of reach

Black day in July
Black day in July
Motor city madness has touched the countryside
And through the smoke and cinders
You can hear it far and wide
The doors are quickly bolted
And the children locked inside

Songwriter Gordon Lightfoot in 2015

      Gordon Lightfoot  released "Black Day in July" as a single but its stay on the Top 40 didn't last long;  radio stations quickly removed the tune from their playlists due to its content.  He did not include it on an album until "Did She Mention My Name?" in 1968.  Even today, American music fans are far less familiar than anyone else with this international hit.

     Those living below the 49th know Lightfoot from his more romantic titles:   "Early Morning Rain"  (1965), "If You Could Read My Mind" (1970), "Sundown" (1974), "Carefree Highway" (1974), "Rainy Day People" (1975), and "The Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald" (1976), etc.  The latter is remarkable because of its use of amphibrachs (i.e. de-DUM-de rhythms) throughout and because some of his fans consider it the lesser of his two marine time disaster ballads, next to "Yarmouth Castle" (original 1969 version here).  You be the judge.

      Lightfoot's epic anthem, "Canadian Railway Trilogy" (1967), was commissioned by the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation.

Lyrics:

There was a time in this fair land when the railroad did not run
When the wild majestic mountains stood alone against the sun
Long before the white man and long before the wheel
When the green dark forest was too silent to be real

But time has no beginnings and hist'ry has no bounds
As to this verdant country they came from all around
They sailed upon her waterways and they walked the forests tall
Built the mines the mills and the factories for the good of us all

And when the young man's fancy was turnin' to the spring
The railroad men grew restless for to hear the hammers ring
Their minds were overflowing with the visions of their day
And many a fortune lost and won and many a debt to pay

For they looked in the future and what did they see
They saw an iron road runnin' from sea to the sea
Bringin' the goods to a young growin' land
All up through the seaports and into their hands

Look away said they across this mighty land
From the eastern shore to the western strand
Bring in the workers and bring up the rails
We gotta lay down the tracks and tear up the trails
Open 'er heart let the life blood flow
Gotta get on our way 'cause we're movin' too slow

Bring in the workers and bring up the rails
We're gonna lay down the tracks and tear up the trails
Open 'er heart let the life blood flow
Gotta get on our way 'cause we're movin' too slow
Get on our way 'cause we're movin' too slow

Behind the blue Rockies the sun is declinin'
The stars, they come stealin' at the close of the day
Across the wide prairie our loved ones lie sleeping
Beyond the dark oceans in a place far away

We are the navvies who work upon the railway
Swingin' our hammers in the bright blazin' sun
Livin' on stew and drinkin' bad whiskey
Bendin' our old backs 'til the long days are done

We are the navvies who work upon the railway
Swingin' our hammers in the bright blazin' sun
Layin' down track and buildin' the bridges
Bendin' our old backs 'til the railroad is done

So over the mountains and over the plains
Into the muskeg and into the rain
Up the St. Lawrence all the way to Gaspe
Swingin' our hammers and drawin' our pay
Drivin' 'em in and tyin' 'em down
Away to the bunkhouse and into the town
A dollar a day and a place for my head
A drink to the livin' and a toast to the dead

Oh the song of the future has been sung
All the battles have been won
O'er the mountain tops we stand
All the world at our command
We have opened up the soil
With our teardrops and our toil

For there was a time in this fair land when the railroad did not run
When the wild majestic mountains stood alone against the sun
Long before the white man and long before the wheel
When the green dark forest was too silent to be real
When the green dark forest was too silent to be real
And many are the dead men too silent to be real

Links:

Day 1 (The Inauguration) - "Hands" - Jewel

Day 2 (The Million Woman March) - "Testimony" by Ferron, sung by Marcelle Davies Lashley

Day 3 - "Ruins" - by Cat Stevens
 
Day 4 - "Eve of Destruction" (1964) - by P. F. Sloan performed by Barry McGuire

Day 5 - "Hypersensive Jester" - by Denny Guy

Day 6 - "Teresa" - by John Stewart

Day 7 - "Black Boys on Mopeds" by Sinéad O'Connor

Day 8 - "Burn, Baby, Burn" - by Bruce Cockburn

Day 9 - "Black Day in July" - by Gordon Lightfoot

Day 10 - "Democracy is Coming" - Leonard Cohen

Song for Day 8 of a 4 Year Funeral

Day 8  - "Burn, Baby, Burn" - by Bruce Cockburn

     Some may be more familiar with Bruce Cockburn's other hits. among them:  "Lovers in a Dangerous Time", which was covered by the Barenaked Ladies, "Wondering Where the Lions Are", Tokyo , and, among his fellow Christians, "All the Diamonds".  A few hours on YouTube exploring Cockburn's work  should be enough to confirm his place among the world's greatest guitarist songwriters--especially political ones.

     "Burn", from Cockburn's 1975 album "Joy Will Find a Way", has become an anthem among progressives.  It was played on DailyKos discussion fora to celebrate wins by Democratic candidate Bernie Sanders.  For obvious reasons, "Burn" did not enjoy a long stay on U.S. radio, as it did elsewhere, but at least its exit wasn't as abrupt as tomorrow's protest song, by another Canadian folkie.

Lyrics:


Look away across the bay
Yankee gunboat come this way
Uncle Sam gonna save the day
Come tomorrow we all gonna pay...
And it's burn baby burn
When am I going to get my turn?
Something dead under the bed
Local diplomats hang their heads
Never mind what the government said
They're either lying or they've been misled...
And it's burn baby burn
When am I going to get my turn?
Phillipines was yesterday
Santiago and Greece today
How would they ever make the late news pay
If they didn't have the CIA?
And it's burn baby burn
When am I going to get my turn
Here it comes, the loaded gun
"Must keep the Commies on the run"
You'd buy or bury everyone
For liberty and life
And just plain fun
And it's burn baby burn
When am I going to get my turn?

Links:

Day 1 (The Inauguration) - "Hands" - Jewel

Day 2 (The Million Woman March) - "Testimony" by Ferron, sung by Marcelle Davies Lashley

Day 3 - "Ruins" - by Cat Stevens
 
Day 4 - "Eve of Destruction" (1964) - by P. F. Sloan performed by Barry McGuire

Day 5 - "Hypersensive Jester" - by Denny Guy

Day 6 - "Teresa" - by John Stewart

Day 7 - "Black Boys on Mopeds" by Sinéad O'Connor

Day 8 - "Burn, Baby, Burn" - by Bruce Cockburn

Day 9 - "Black Day in July" - by Gordon Lightfoot

Day 10 - "Democracy is Coming" - Leonard Cohen

Song for Day 7 of a 4 Year Funeral

Day 7 - "Black Boys on Mopeds" by Sinéad O'Connor

     The death of 21 year old Colin Roach  in 1983 sparked outrage and an inquiry in Britain, remaining a cause célèbre for years afterwards.  In March, 1990, Sinéad O'Connor's second album "I Do Not Want What I Haven't Got"  was released, including "Black Boys on Mopeds", the equally haunting "Three Babies", and the hits "Nothing Compares 2 U" and "Feel So Different".

     One of many turning points in 2016 was the confrontation between the eventual Democratic nominee and Black Lives Matter advocate, Ashley Williams  in Charleston, South Carolina on 2016-02-24.

Lyrics:

Margareth Thatcher on TV
Shocked by the deaths that took place in Beijing
It seems strange that she should be offended
The same orders are given by her
I've said this before now
You said I was childish and you'll say it now
Remember what I told you
If they hated me they will hate you
England's not the mythical land of Madame George and roses
It's the home of police who kill black boys on mopeds
And I love my boy and that's why I'm leaving
I don't want him to be aware that there's
Any such thing as grieving
Young mother down at Smithfield
Five a.m., looking for food for her kids
In her arms she holds three cold babies
And the first word that they learned was please
These are dangerous days
To say…

Links:

Day 1 (The Inauguration) - "Hands" - Jewel

Day 2 (The Million Woman March) - "Testimony" by Ferron, sung by Marcelle Davies Lashley

Day 3 - "Ruins" - by Cat Stevens
 
Day 4 - "Eve of Destruction" (1964) - by P. F. Sloan performed by Barry McGuire

Day 5 - "Hypersensive Jester" - by Denny Guy

Day 6 - "Teresa" - by John Stewart

Day 7 - "Black Boys on Mopeds" by Sinéad O'Connor

Day 8 - "Burn, Baby, Burn" - by Bruce Cockburn

Day 9 - "Black Day in July" - by Gordon Lightfoot

Day 10 - "Democracy is Coming" - Leonard Cohen

Songs for Day 6 of a 4 Year Funeral

Day 6 - "Teresa" - by John Stewart

John Stewart

     2016 saw Progressives face a moral dilemma that we hope to avoid in 2020, one related to exclusivity versus the "Big Tent" approach.

     John Stewart was involved in a related but separate issue when he hoped to display a painting of Mother Teresa in a show put on by an art institute.  The sponsor asked him to withdraw his painting rather than provoke a reaction on religious and ethical grounds.  Stewart was bitterly disappointed that "the powers that be" wouldn't permit him to honor the nun strictly for her humanitarian contributions.  "Politic correctness" won out over authorial intent, leaving the songwriter bitter.

      It's a powerful song, though not much of a video.

Lyrics:

Teresa fell without a whimper
Higher artists make no sound
In the Omega Hills of the New Awareness
They made me take The Mother down

They were only pictures of the promise
A higher soul never rests
Who serves the poorest of the poor
She is the best of all the best
She had no place among the drummers
Amidst the stream of eager hearts
I'm just glad it's not the second coming
Paint on canvas was not art

Teresa fell without a whimper
Higher artists make no sound
In the Omega Hills of the New Awareness
They made me take The Mother down
They made me take The Mother down

In the scheme of things, it doesn't matter
Crying children, there's a sound
Hungry people in Culcutta
Would never take The Mother down

Teresa fell without a whimper
Higher artists make no sound
In the Omega Hills of the New Awareness
They made me take The Mother down
They made me take The Mother down

Teresa fell without a whimper
Higher artists make no sound
In the Omega Hills of the New Awareness
They made me take The Mother down
They made me take The Mother down

They made me take The Mother down
They made me take The Mother down

     On an unrelated musical note, "Looking Back, Johanna" from the same album is hauntingly gorgeous.

Links:

Day 1 (The Inauguration) - "Hands" - Jewel

Day 2 (The Million Woman March) - "Testimony" by Ferron, sung by Marcelle Davies Lashley

Day 3 - "Ruins" - by Cat Stevens
 
Day 4 - "Eve of Destruction" (1964) - by P. F. Sloan performed by Barry McGuire

Day 5 - "Hypersensive Jester" - by Denny Guy

Day 6 - "Teresa" - by John Stewart

Day 7 - "Black Boys on Mopeds" by Sinéad O'Connor

Day 8 - "Burn, Baby, Burn" - by Bruce Cockburn

Day 9 - "Black Day in July" - by Gordon Lightfoot

Day 10 - "Democracy is Coming" - Leonard Cohen

A Song for Day 5 of a 4 Year Funeral

Day 5 - "Hypersensitive Jester" - by Denny Guy

     If there is a better moniker for Trump than "Hypersensitive Jester" we haven't heard it.  (For that matter, "Tinkertoy Town" seems entirely appropriate for Washington.)

     Bill Maher Highlights Extent Of Opioid Abuse In Donald Trump-Voting States:  "Did you know that of the 14 states with the highest number of painkiller prescriptions per person, they all went for Trump?"

      The rescue of today's tune from obscurity is a story in itself.  The creator of the video reports:

      "I bought this album, 'Introducing Denny Guy' (1972) for 25 cents in a bargain bin 40 years ago, knowing nothing about it or the songwriter. "Hypersensitive Jester"  earwormed around in my skull all that time, so I cyber-tracked Denny Guy down to his boat out on the Pacific. He gave me a clean sound file and permission to create and post this video."

Lyrics:

He's a hypersensitive jester
with his axe of a magical brown,
and the name of the game
was filling the vein
with the junk of a Tinkertoy town.

Now stuff runs thicker than water--
at least, that's what he's told--
and the clouds in his mind
are the sign of the times
of the times that make young men old.

He'll chance romance, he'll enhance you.
Then he'll ask you:  "Roll up your sleeve."
Give a kiss to your arm
with his patented charm
to put men to your suffering and greed.

But a kiss, it doesn't last for a lifetime
and besides, it's not always around
but the hypersensitive jester
can be found in the Tinkertoy town.

Links:

Day 1 (The Inauguration) - "Hands" - Jewel

Day 2 (The Million Woman March) - "Testimony" by Ferron, sung by Marcelle Davies Lashley

Day 3 - "Ruins" - by Cat Stevens
 
Day 4 - "Eve of Destruction" (1964) - by P. F. Sloan performed by Barry McGuire

Day 5 - "Hypersensive Jester" - by Denny Guy

Day 6 - "Teresa" - by John Stewart

Day 7 - "Black Boys on Mopeds" by Sinéad O'Connor

Day 8 - "Burn, Baby, Burn" - by Bruce Cockburn

Day 9 - "Black Day in July" - by Gordon Lightfoot

Day 10 - "Democracy is Coming" - Leonard Cohen

A Song for Day 4 of a 4 Year Funeral

     

P.F. Sloan (1945-2015)

     P.F. Sloan wrote “Eve of Destruction” between 1964 and 1965.  It was covered by the Turtles, Billy Idol, the Byrds, and the Pogues, among others, but the best known version of it was Barry McGuire’s (with P.F. Sloan on guitar), a chart topper in 1965.

 From Wikipedia:  "The vocal track was thrown on as a rough mix and was not intended to be the final version, but a copy of the recording "leaked" out to a DJ, who began playing it. The song was an instant hit and as a result the more polished vocal track that was at first envisioned was never recorded.
McGuire's single hit #1 on the US Billboard Hot 100 and #3 on the UK Singles Chart in September 1965."

With no pacifist option on November 8th, 2016, we brace ourselves for four more years of conflict with:

"Eve of Destruction" (1964) - by P. F. Sloan performed by Barry McGuire

Lyrics:

The eastern world it is explodin',
violence flarin', bullets loadin',
you're old enough to kill but not for votin',
you don't believe in war, what's that gun you're totin',
and even the Jordan river has bodies floatin',
but you tell me over and over and over again my friend,
ah, you don't believe we're on the eve of destruction.

Don't you understand, what I'm trying to say?
Can't you see the fear that I'm feeling today?
If the button is pushed, there's no running away,
There'll be no one to save with the world in a grave,
take a look around you, boy, it's bound to scare you, boy,
but you tell me over and over and over again my friend,
ah, you don't believe we're on the eve of destruction.

Yeah, my blood's so mad, feels like coagulatin',
I'm sittin' here, just contemplatin',
I can't twist the truth, it knows no regulation,
handful of Senators don't pass legislation,
and marches alone can't bring integration,
when human respect is disintegratin',
this whole crazy world is just too frustratin',
and you tell me over and over and over again my friend,
ah, you don't believe we're on the eve of destruction.

Think of all the hate there is in Red China!
Then take a look around to Selma, Alabama!
Ah, you may leave here, for four days in space,
but when your return, it's the same old place,
the poundin' of the drums, the pride and disgrace,
you can bury your dead, but don't leave a trace,
hate your next-door-neighbour, but don't forget to say grace,
and you tell me over and over and over and over again my friend,
ah, you don't believe we're on the eve of destruction.

Links:

Day 1 (The Inauguration) - "Hands" - Jewel

Day 2 (The Million Woman March) - "Testimony" by Ferron, sung by Marcelle Davies Lashley

Day 3 - "Ruins" - by Cat Stevens

Day 4 - "Eve of Destruction" (1964) - by P. F. Sloan performed by Barry McGuire

Day 5 - "Hypersensive Jester" - by Denny Guy

Day 6 - "Teresa" - by John Stewart1

Day 7 - "Black Boys on Mopeds" by Sinéad O'Connor

Day 8 - "Burn, Baby, Burn" - by Bruce Cockburn

Day 9 - "Black Day in July" - by Gordon Lightfoot

Day 10 - "Democracy is Coming" - Leonard Cohen

A Song for Day 3 of a 4 Year Funeral

     As Kellyanne Conway teaches us about "alternative facts" (WTF?) we peer over the edge of the abyss and see:

"Ruins" - by Cat Stevens

Lyrics:

It's so quiet in the ruins walking though the old town
Stones crumbling under my feet I see smoke for miles around
Oh it's enough to make you weep, all that remains of the main street
Up in the park on Sunday, dogs chasing and the children played
Old man with his head down, can't see nothing more around, no
But he remembers how it used to be, back in the old days,
So nice to see you coming back in this town again
It's nice to see a friendly face come peeping through having tea
In the afternoon, so nice to see you coming back in this town again
Ah but it's all changed winter turned on a man
Came down on day when no-one was looking and it
Stole away the land, people running scared, losing hands
Dodging shadows of falling sand, buildings standing like empty shells
And nobody...helping no-one else
Young child with his hands high, ain't able to see no reason why, no
But he remembers how it used to be, back in the old days,
So nice to see you coming back in this town again
It's nice to see a friendly face come peeping through
You'd better know what you're going through now
You came back here to find your home is a black horizon
That you don't recognize, evil destruction has taken everything
You'd better walk on the side while you're still walking
Just keep on walking on down the street keep your distance
From the people you meet.
Oh Lord and you'd better watch your eyes
'Cause if smoke gets in them, baby you won't rise again.
Where's it leading to freedom at what cost
People needing more and more and it's all getting lost
I want back, I want back
Back to the time when the earth was green
And there was no high walls and the sea was clean
Don't stop that sun to shine, it's not yours or mine, no.

The songwriter as a child.

Video Quotes:

"If the radiance of a thousand suns
were to burst at once into the sky
they would be like the splendor of The Mighty One:
'I am become Death,
The Destroyer of Worlds.'" - Bhagavad-Gita

Christmas Tsunami 2004
"Starfish
on treetops." - E.G.

"Our technology has exceeded our humanity." - Albert Einstein

"I don't know what weapons
World War III will be fought with
bbut World War IV
will be fought
with sticks and stones." - Albert Einstein

"Those aren't clouds on the horizon,
they're the shadows of the angel's wings."  - John Stewart

"Every footfall a dirge beat
every footstep a gravesite
on this planet made sacred
by forgotten sorrow." - E.G.

Links:

Day 1 (The Inauguration) - "Hands" - Jewel

Day 2 (The Million Woman March) - "Testimony" by Ferron, sung by Marcelle Davies Lashley

Day 3 - "Ruins" - by Cat Stevens

Day 4 - "Eve of Destruction" (1964) - by P. F. Sloan performed by Barry McGuire

Day 5 - "Hypersensive Jester" - by Denny Guy

Day 6 - "Teresa" - by John Stewart 

Day 7 - "Black Boys on Mopeds" by Sinéad O'Connor

Day 8 - "Burn, Baby, Burn" - by Bruce Cockburn

Day 9 - "Black Day in July" - by Gordon Lightfoot

Day 10 - "Democracy is Coming" - Leonard Cohen

A Song for Day 2 of a 4 Year Funeral

     On the day of the Million Woman march, were hear Marcelle Davies Lashley sing Ferron's "Testimony":

There's godlike
And warlike
And strong
Like only some show
And there's sad like
And madlike
And had
Like we know
But by my life be I spirit
And by my heart be I woman
And by my eyes be I open
And by my hands be I whole

They say slowly
Brings the least shock
But no matter how slow I walk
There are traces
Empty spaces
And doors and doors of locks
But by my life be I spirit
And by my heart be I woman
And by my eyes be I open
And by my hands be I whole

You young ones
You're the next ones
And I hope you choose it well
Though you try hard
You may fall prey
To the jaded jewel
But by your lives be you spirit
And by your hearts be you women
And by your eyes be you open
And by your hands be you whole

Listen, there are waters
Hidden from us
In the maze we find them still
We'll take you to them
You take your young ones
May they take their own in turn
But by our lives be we spirit
And by our hearts be we women
And by our eyes be we open
And by our hands be we whole

      This is the author's original version:

Links:

Day 1 (The Inauguration) - "Hands" - Jewel

Day 2 (The Million Woman March) - "Testimony" by Ferron, sung by Marcelle Davies Lashley

Day 3 - "Ruins" - by Cat Stevens
 
Day 4 - "Eve of Destruction" (1964) - by P. F. Sloan performed by Barry McGuire

Day 5 - "Hypersensive Jester" - by Denny Guy

Day 6 - "Teresa" - by John Stewart

Day 7 - "Black Boys on Mopeds" by Sinéad O'Connor

Day 8 - "Burn, Baby, Burn" - by Bruce Cockburn

Day 9 - "Black Day in July" - by Gordon Lightfoot

Day 10 - "Democracy is Coming" - Leonard Cohen

Song for Day 1 of a 4 Year Funeral

     As we look back fondly and peer ahead apprehensively:

"Hands" by Jewel

If I could tell the world just one thing
It would be that we're all ok
And not to worry because worry is wasteful
And useless in times like these
I will not be made useless
I won't be idled with despair
I will gather myself around my faith
For light does the darkness most fear

My hands are small, I know,
But they're not yours they are my own
But they're not yours they are my own
And I am never broken

Poverty stole your golden shoes
But it didn't steal your laughter
And heartache came to visit me
But i knew it wasn't ever after

We will fight, not out of spite
For someone must stand up for what's right
Cause where there's a man who has no voice
There ours shall go singing

My hands are small, I know,
But they're not yours they are my own
But they're… 

Links:

Day 1 (The Inauguration) - "Hands" - Jewel

Day 2 (The Million Woman March) - "Testimony" by Ferron, sung by Marcelle Davies Lashley

Day 3 - "Ruins" - by Cat Stevens
 
Day 4 - "Eve of Destruction" (1964) - by P. F. Sloan performed by Barry McGuire

Day 5 - "Hypersensive Jester" - by Denny Guy

Day 6 - "Teresa" - by John Stewart

Day 7 - "Black Boys on Mopeds" by Sinéad O'Connor

Day 8 - "Burn, Baby, Burn" - by Bruce Cockburn

Day 9 - "Black Day in July" - by Gordon Lightfoot

Day 10 - "Democracy is Coming" - Leonard Cohen

Trump? Greatest President Of Our Time?

     We hope we're wrong, but there is a real chance of Democrats being beaten at their own game before 2020 due to their "incrementalism", or lack of it, between 2008 and 2016.  In politics, as in history, standing still is losing ground.

     Just to be clear, yes, we're talking about the babbling billionaire enfant terrible businessman occupying 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue.  The same billionaire who garnered half the union vote nation-wide and won among $0-$50,000 earners* in the key states by outflanking his Democratic opponent on the left.  Don't be surprised to see him follow the same path to glory during his first term, aided by a helpless Democratic Party.

A little background:

        In 2004 the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation poll voted Tommy Douglas "The Greatest Canadian" ever based almost entirely on him bringing single payer health care to his nation.  (Who knew people would be so fond of someone who rescues their lives and life savings whenever illness strikes?  Go figure!)  What is more, Tommy and his party, the CCF/NDP ("Canadian Commonwealth Party", later the "New Democratic Party"), managed this without ever holding power federally!

Saskatchewan Premium Tommy Douglas

     In every conceivable way, Donald Trump is the polar opposite of the honest, modest, altruistic Canadian hero.  Indeed, it pains us to mention the two names in the same article, let alone the same sentence.  In any case, should anyone want to test the stereotype of Canadians being cool and polite, have them insult Tommy Douglas [or go to a hockey game, I suppose] north of the 49th parallel.  (Have them top up their dental insurance first, though.)

      If The Donald can bring universal public health care ("UPHC") to Americans, as he has promised to do on more than one occasion, Americans will remember him as a saint.  True as they were, recent comments about Trump by Democrats in attempting to get elected would get them committed in 2056.  Health care will not be a mere right, as Bernie Sanders declares it, it will be a sacred one.  Note that there are no individual politicians, let alone political parties, advocating a return to private insurance in Canada [or any other developed nation]. 

Socialized Medicine?

      Why would Donald want to bring "socialized medicine" to American shores?

      Well, for starters, it's already being offered to the poor, the elderly, the military and government representatives (e.g. the judiciary, Congress, the White House, et cetera).  Trump surrogates will argue:  "Why should medical treatment be made available to everyone except those who pay for it?  What is 'socialist' about getting what we paid for with our hard earned dollars?  This is the opposite of 'socialism'.  This is America!"  Blah, blah, blah.  R[e]ince, spin, repeat.

      American enterprises, including his own, on foreign soil will have made abundantly clear to Trump the financial benefits of UPHC to a business.  For example, when Detroit was paying ~$6000 per employee for health care insurance, the same members of the same union making the same automobiles in Oshawa were paying ~$800.  Is it any wonder why there are more "American" cars manufactured in Ontario than Michigan?  Level the UPHC playing field by instituting it in the United States and those jobs could, in theory at least, be repatriated.

      The challenge will be to get all the other businesses on board while health care insurances scream like stuck pigs.  This leads us to a darker reason for Republicans to relegate private insurance--most notably the mandated private insurance we call "Obamacare"--to the dustbin of history.  Health insurance and Trump's subsequent target, Big Pharma (which will no longer be "politically protected"), are heavy contributors to both parties.  However, with unions disappearing and, we assume, Hillary retiring, the Democratic Party will rely more and more on these contributions.  Even if the reduction in income were to affect Republicans more in dollar terms, it would end the Democratic Party (which out-earned the GOP by 2-to-1 in 2016) as a financial threat.  Worse yet, what Democrat would dare to oppose universal "TrumpCare", even though it might be, in effect, their party's death warrant?  If Trump can't convince enough Republicans to pass the legislation he's not the con man salesman we think he is.

     It is difficult enough to parse Trumps utterances into English, let alone policy.  Nevertheless, his first instinct might have been, ironically, a two-tiered Mexican system. 

     "We're going to have insurance for everybody," Trump told The Washington Post. "There was a philosophy in some circles that if you can't pay for it, you don't get it. That's not going to happen with us."

     He has never objected to premium health insurance as an alternative for the wealthy.  We bear in mind that he is, by nature, neither flexible nor intellectual.  As such, he seems to favor the exact opposite of the status quo, an approach confusing to the point of being oxymoronic:  a private option to a single payer system which isn't a single-payer system:

     “It’ll be another plan. But they’ll be beautifully covered. I don’t want single-payer. What I do want is to be able to take care of people,” he said Saturday.

      Inevitably, the numbers (e.g. 58% favor UPHC) are moving him closer to a de facto single payer system with a GOP spin and Trumpian bafflegab.  To wit, the Republican plan will certainly not fund abortion or birth control.  These will have to be paid by the patient or through donations to an organization like Planned Parenthood.  Thus, not "single payer". 

     Semantics.


Footnotes:

* Vote change from 2012 to 2016  <$50,000/yr

State    Democratic   Republican  Trump Margin
         Gain/Loss    Gain/Loss    of Victory

Florida   -259,041      23,567       112,911
Iowa      -106,043     -42,883       147,314
Wisconsin -209,687      57,768        22,748
Michigan   -84,635     193,933        10,704
Penn.     -234,801     289,970        42,292
Ohio      -416,496     -81,313       446.841
          --------     -------       -------
Totals: -1,310,703     441,043       782,810

How to Lose to Donald Trump

     Democrats have a natural 3-point advantage in both members (29%-26%) and leaners (45%-42%).  As we saw in 2016, losing to a candidate as repugnant as Orange Julius Caesar requires considerable effort, skill and organization.  The following instructions must be followed to the letter;  one misstep, no matter how inconsequential it may seem, could result in victory.

1.  Begin with a "sympathetic" DNC.

      People are idiots;  don't worry about them spotting the thumb on the scale. If we see Tom Perez  emerge as the DNC Chair we'll know the plan is in place.  In fact, as long as it isn't Keith Ellison or Jehmu Greene, the executive should be able to work around the leader.  (Tangentially, get ready for the ride of your life in the unlikely event that Greene is chosen.)

2.  Reduce the number and visibility of primary debates.

      It is essential to limit the exposure of your candidates so as to cede the maximum number of news cycles to Agent Orange.

3.  Be sure to generate outrage at your voting booths.

      If you can't effect actual vote rigging be sure to create its appearance.  At the very least, make certain the exit polls never match the vote totals.

It's not enough to flush our chances.
We must royal flush them.

4.  It's not enough to ignore your base demographics.  You must attack them.

      Female celebrities who don't vote along strict gender lines must be vilified.  The poor must be denied a federally mandated minimum wage.  Students must, in no uncertain terms, be denied free tuition in state universities.  Environmentalists must see your candidate endorse fracking.  Standing Rock activists must be explicitly snubbed, as must the 58% of Americans (81% of Democrats) who support universal public health care over private insurance.  Unions must be alienated with free trade deals and misrepresentations of your opponent's positions on bailouts.

5.  Select a nominee with historic net negatives who is a terrible campaigner.

      You won't be lucky enough to find another one who has blown a 30 point lead in 2008, doubling that feat in 2016, but there are many clumsy, overrated contenders out there.

6.  Present that nominee as a victim.

     Nothing spells "strength" and inspires confidence more than constant whinging about one's religion, race, gender or status.  Don't worry about trivializing these very serious issues for political gain.

7.  Make xenophobia a central theme of your campaign.

      What works better for Democrats than 1950s style McCarthyism and paranoia?

8.  Target the government you hope to run:  civil servants, bureaucrats, security personnel, etc.

     This succeeded for TeaBaggers.  Why shouldn't it work for Democrats?  Same thing, right?

9. Don't campaign in key/swing states.

     Really, WTF was that schedule about?

10. Use endorsements to divide the party.

     Get virtually every Senate and House member to endorse your candidate from the get go, year in and year out, then express surprise when you lose all of Congress and 66 gubernatorial races.  For good measure, divide Planned Parenthood in the same manner so that 53% of [white] women will vote against your candidate.

     While it isn't essential, associating with "flamboyant" figures (e.g. David Brock, Henry Kissinger, Red Don himself, etc.) raises the candidate's visibility.  There's no such thing as bad publicity, right? 

     Assuming Hillary retires from losing presidential races, there are currently only two candidates who can save Democrats from the White House in 2020.  The first is Vermin Supreme.  The other is:

New Jersey Senator Cory Booker

     Never let it be said that you didn't do your part!