Song for Day 82 - "Dreamers on the Rise" by John Stewart

Day 82 - "Dreamers on the Rise" by John Stewart

     "Dreamers on the Rise" from "Revenge of the Budgie" (1983) demonstrates yet again John Stewart's utter mastery of the campaign song genre (in case "The Last Campaign", "Survivors",  "Clack, Clack" and "The Last Hurrah" didn't remove any doubt).

     "Dreamers on the Rise" is a poignant view of another loss.  It is dedicated to us, and the memory of those with us in spirit.

 Lyrics for "Dreamers on the Rise":

Bobby, Buffy and John campaigning in 1968.

Ah, once
We were dreamers on the rise
We were the sun
Where the sun never shines
And we were gold
Where the night bird only flies
Oh, that's a long time you know
For that kind of wind to blow
A long time ago
We were dreamers on the rise

And twice
We said we'd begin again
And we made a vow
That we'd remain as friends
And fallen down
We said we shall rise again
Ah, that's a long time you know
For that kind of wind to blow
A long time ago
We were dreamers on the mend
A long time ago
We were dreamers on the mend

And if three
Wishes came into my life
I'd say one
Was to gaze into your eyes
And I'd say two
Would be turning back our lives
And three's a long way to go
For that kind of wind to blow
A long time ago
We were dreamers on the rise
A long time ago
We were dreamers on the rise
A long time ago
We were dreamers on the rise

Resistance Song for Day 35 - "Irresistible Targets" by John Stewart

Day 35 - "Irresistible Targets" by John Stewart

Singer Buffy Ford Stewart and Songwriter John Stewart.

     On Day 33 we heard Phil Ochs in "Love Me, I'm a Liberal" mention those who remain with us only in spirit:  Medgar Evers, JFK, Malcolm X,  and singer Pete Seeger.  Two years later we lost RFK and Martin Luther King.  It wasn't until Obama in 2012 that Democrats had another nominee win more than 50% of the vote.  Our problem is in finding candidates that both centrists and progressives will support.

     John Stewart tells a story about working with Bobby Kennedy on the last whistlestop campaign, scant days before the assassination.  John had only recently met Buffy Ford, who would be the love of his life, his co-star, and mother to his children.  We see her here with an eye patch, the result of a 1996 operation to cure her cancer (the cost of which brought John out of retirement).  In 2008, at 66, John died of a stroke on Buffy's birthday.

     In 1968 the Stewarts shared the last car of the train with Bobby and Ethel.  A cynic might say it was an old school political precursor of the bait-and-switch:  John and Buffy would sing songs to attract crowds and then Bobby would give a speech.  As they pulled out of one station a boy on a bike followed them, pedaling furiously to keep pace.  Bobby leaned over the railing and, when the lad managed to catch up, gave him some sound advice:  "Never run for President!"

Lyrics:

Shoot out the moon in a midnight sky.
Shoot out the sun in a blackbird's eye.
Shoot out a dream and don't say why.
So it's up to you and I
To beat our arms against the sky
And keep it flying.

Maria had a store on the boulevard.
For the barrio boys she worked real hard.
When the bullets fly in East LA
A bullet took her out today, out today.

Chorus:

Are they shooting down the Angels, yeah?
You can bet your life they are.
They're irresistible targets
They're irresistible targets
They're irresistible targets
For any shooting star

1968 it has that ring
Of RFK - Martin Luther King
Where a dream went down
On a hotel floor
Dreams are what we're living for, living for.

(Repeat Chorus)

Shoot out the moon in a midnight sky.
Shoot out the sun in a blackbird's eye.
Shoot out a dream and don't say why.
So it's up to you and I
To beat our arms against the sky
And to keep it flying.
Keep it flying.