Timeless

By Mark W. Danielson

Timeless.  A word as endless and enduring as the word itself.  This word is reserved for items with appropriate merit.  Few of mankind’s creations are worthy of such recognition.

Recently, my wife and I stumbled onto a couple of CD’s that pay homage to musicians who made songs timeless.  The first was an Everly Brothers tribute performed by Billie Joe Armstrong and Norah Jones, appropriately titled Billie Joe and Norah, Foreverly. Ask any musician that sings harmony and they will no doubt say the Everly Brothers influenced them.  But Norah and Billie Joe went beyond this.  They felt they needed to do this album, just as an author’s burning desire to pen a story.  Over a period of nine New York City days, these two musicians fashioned one of the greatest tribute albums I’ve had the pleasure of hearing, their voices blending as easily as the Brothers Everly.

The second surprise was Bruce Springsteen’s tribute to Pete Seeger, titled Bruce Springsteen, We Shall Overcome – The Seeger Sessions.  As with our previous experience, it was a fluke hearing about this album.  Most likely it came as a mention after Pete Seeger’s passing.  This album is a totally fun mix of Seeger’s tunes performed in Dixieland and New Orleans styles.  The band Springsteen assembled for this album included some of the best musicians in the United States.  Remarkably, everything was cut in three LIVE sessions from 1997, 2005, and 2006. The fact there were NO REHEARSALS makes this album even more amazing.  The clarity and energy of their work permeates in every song.

Don’t be mistaken.  As much as I love both albums, my intent is not to do CD reviews, but rather use them as examples that authors should strive to create abiding pieces that will inspire readers in the way Pete Seeger and The Everly Brothers inspired musicians.  Timeless works can read over and again without anyone tiring of them.  It matters not that one may be so familiar with the piece that they can recite its content without reading them.  If history is any indicator, few authors will ever be recognized for timeless work while they are alive.  Nevertheless, that should never stop someone from putting their best work forward through carefully chosen words. 

 

Where Have All The Flowers Gone?

By Mark W. Danielson

Before I begin, please take a moment to read Pete Seeger’s lyrics to Where Have All The Flowers Gone: 

Where have all the flowers gone, long time passing?

Where have all the flowers gone, long time ago?

Where have all the flowers gone? Young girls pick them, every one.

When will they ever learn?  When will they ever learn?

Where have all the young girls gone, long time passing?

Where have all the young girls gone, long time ago?

Where have all the young girls gone? Gone to young men, every one.

When will they ever learn?  When will they ever learn?

Where have all the young men gone, long time passing?

Where have all the young men gone, long time ago?

Where have all the young men gone?  Gone for soldiers, every one.

When will they ever learn?  When will they ever learn?

And where have all the soldiers gone, long time passing?

Where have all the soldiers gone, a long long time ago?

Where have all the soldiers gone?  Gone to graveyards, every one.

When will they ever learn? When will they ever learn?

Where have all the graveyards gone, long time passing?

Where have all the graveyards gone, long time ago?

Where have all the graveyards gone?  Gone to flowers, every one.

When will they ever learn? When will they ever learn?

Seeger wrote this song at a time when the nation was on the brink of civil war.  As the US continued to throw everything it had against the North Vietnamese, anti-war protests occurred throughout the country.  Seeger’s song has been recorded numerous times by artists including The Kingston Trio, Peter Paul and Mary, and Joan Baez.  It is as timely today as it was in the 60s and 70s, and in spite of suffering staggering physical and economic losses in Vietnam, we continue to play the role of the word’s police.  The first question one might ask is why?  The bigger question is why do we allow it when we cannot take care of our own? 

Never once have I considered myself an activist, but I do believe every citizen has an obligation to express their views.   As such, I express mine frequently.  For anyone to think we are saving the world by bribing countries that hate us is ludicrous.  To believe the billions of dollars we send overseas is aiding the population rather than supplying our enemies is absurd.  At some point we must come to terms with the fact that we cannot save the world.

It has been said that those who fail to learn from their mistakes are doomed to repeat them.  Seeger’s song echoes that anthem at the end of every chorus.  In the end, our graveyards are overflowing with soldiers who died because their country sent them off to war.

As a former military man, I can say first-hand it is one thing to defend our country and quite another to occupy foreign soil.  Vietnam should have taught us that while we can invade and destroy, our military might’s influence is limited to turning others against us.  Our “war on terror, now nearly thirteen years in the running, continues to prove that point.  We spend billions on anti-terrorism, and yet we ignore intelligence that is handed to us.  The NSA may have the technology to monitor every phone conversation, but it cannot stop a determined suicide bomber. 

If our country fails, it will be from apathy, not terrorism.  Our short memories are short, our stomachs weak, but those who wish to harm us have neither.  Rather than bring our troops home and concentrate on national defense, we expand our overseas bases, clinging to the belief that we can change the world.  I cannot imagine a more flawed policy.    

Ironically, the unwavering anti-war protestors from Seeger’s heyday are now part of today’s “silent majority.”  Our young people aren’t tuned in about overseas events because we no longer have a draft.  It seems the only way to get their attention is to take away their cell phones.  You know it’s true if you’re smiling.     

I do not support any protest that destroys property or injures anyone.  However, I do believe every citizen should express their opinions to their elected officials.  Encourage them to stop funding the Middle East war and our overseas bases.  Remind them that their priority should be on rebuilding our infrastructure and placing their own citizens first.  For those who have lost loved ones, send them photos of where their soldiers have gone.  When will we ever learn?  When will we ever learn? 

 

                                          BRING THEM HOME ALIVE.

Summer Shorts: 40 Years On

Folk singers Bruce Springsteen and Pete Seeger at Seeger’s 90th birthday celebration in Madison Square Garden.


“Sarge, I'm only eighteen, I got a ruptured spleen/
And I always carry a purse./
I got eyes like a bat, My feet are flat/
My asthma's getting worse …

... I ain't no fool, I'm a-goin' to school/
And I'm a-workin' in a defense plant.”

--- Pete Seeger, “Draft Dodger Rag”
(written by Phil Ochs)

By Pat Browning

Does anyone here remember the Smothers Brothers? I was so clueless I thought they were funny. I didn’t know they were subversives. CBS had conniption fits over their material, and one guest shot they refused to okay was Pete Seeger singing “Draft Dodger Rag.” CBS finally cancelled the show in 1969.

There’s probably nothing wrong with me that a frontal lobotomy wouldn’t cure, but I laugh every time I listen to the YouTube recording of “Draft Dodger Rag.” It’s the song that’s funny, mind you, not the reality behind it. The lyrics remind me of Klinger in the old “M*A*S*H series. Hear it at http://tinyurl.com/lvrshu.

Now it’s 40 years later. The Smothers Brothers are still touring, the longest-lived comedy team in history – 50 years and counting. Pete Seeger just celebrated his 90th birthday and has been touted for a Nobel Peace Prize.

Seeger descends from ancestors who came over on the Mayflower. A lifelong resident of Beacon, New York, he’s been a folksinger, a “left wing” activist and a member of the Communist party. He left the party because he “never liked the idea of belonging to a secret organization.” To some, he was a treasonous rabble-rouser. To some he was a voice for the people. History will judge.

A dedicated environmentalist, Seeger takes part in events to benefit Clearwater sloops -- tall ships that sail as classrooms on the Hudson River. He launched the Clearwater foundation in 1969 to help clean up polluted rivers.

A concert celebrating Seeger’s 90th birthday was held in Madison Square Garden and will be telecast July 30 on some PBS stations. Meantime, you can hear the entire group of performers singing Woody Guthrie’s “This Land Is Our Land” at: http://tinyurl.com/nge488.

Tomorrow: The Viet Nam war in crime fiction.