MLK Day
Jan/17/2005 06:18 PM Filed in: Favorite
Entries
What follows
is an absolutely true MLK Day story...
"So, how was school today, Maria?"
"Fine, Daddy."
"What did you learn today, sweetie?"
"We learned about Mar....Martin....Martin Luther..."
"Martin Luther King?"
"Yes! We learned about Martin Luther King."
"What did you learn about Martin Luther King, sweetie?"
"Well....there was this woman. And she got on the bus.......
And she sat down....she sat down on the front of the bus....."
"Yes, that's right, sweetie."
"And when the bus stopped, they ARRESTED HER!"
"Yes...yes, they did, sweetie. But what did Martin Luther King do?"
"Well, he led the protests."
"Yes, that's right, sweetie."
"You see, there were these signs....on the water fountains. And they said 'WHITES ONLY.'"
"Yes, it's sad, but that's true. Back in those days, there were those kind of signs."
"And...and...there were signs on the restaurants that said "WHITE ONLY."
"Yes, yes there were."
"And even on the schools! There were schools where they said "WHITE ONLY."
"Yes, yes, it's hard to believe, sweetie. But that's true."
"But Martin Luther King......he died....."
"Yes, he did, sweetie."
"Somebody SHOT him."
"Yes, they did. But you know, sweet pea, he did a really great thing. He made life better for all of
us. And sometimes, it's important to do the right thing...even if it's hard or painful."
"Yes! Because.....well, because if he didn't do those protests, then Mommy.....well, Mommy couldn't live with us!!"
"Well, I've never thought of it that way, Maria. But you may be right about that...."
"And if Mommy couldn't live with us.....then I.....then I......then I would be CANCELLED!"
"Oh no, sweetie! Nobody as beautiful as you could ever be cancelled."
--------------------------------------------------
Every year at time time, I whip out my favorite MLK song, from the great songwriter, Don Henry. I re-learn the chords again, and if I have gig that week, it's in the set.
It's called "Beautiful Fool."
The song haunted me for years. I first heard it on KERA, back when they actually played music
during an hour when anyone was listening. It was one of those "stop the car, pull over, and listen" moments for me. And after the song was over, all I caught was that the guy's name was "Henry." (This was back before cell phones, and so I couldn't call right in to find out what it was....)
I searched for that song for years, every single time I was in a record store. I had only heard it
once, but the gist of it had stayed with me all that time. Finally, a couple of years ago, I stumbled on a Steve Seskind CD, which had the cut on it, and finally the mystery was solved. It was as amazing a song ten years after the first time I heard it....
Interestingingly, when Erik Balkey was here the other day, he told a similar tale of being haunted by the song. He talked of a show he went to in the early 90s where David Wilcox, Don Henry, and The Billy's were the bill for the night. (What a show!!)
Before Erik left, I played it, and we both sang.
It's an amazing song, and I hope you will come to love it as much as I do.
You can hear Steve Seskin's version here.
Here's to all the "beautiful fools"still out there....
BEAUTIFUL FOOL
by Don Henry
"Martin Luther, who did you think that you were
Appointed by some higher up?
Merely mortal, your plans were unaffordable
No one wants to pay for love
Oh, you beautiful fool, swimming upstream,
kicking up waves
Dreams weren't meant to come true
That's why they call 'em dreams
Oh, you beautiful fool
Walter Cronkite pre-empted Disney one night
And all us kids were so upset
We thought that you were a trouble instigator
Marching through our TV set
Oh, you beautiful fool, swimming upstream,
kicking up waves
Dreams weren't meant to come true
That's why they call 'em dreams
Oh, you beautiful fool
To fight a fight without a fist
All human instinct puzzles this
How dare you question our existence
Mahatma Gandhi, Jesus Christ,
history repeats itself so nice
Consistently we are resistant to love
I saw you on the black and white
With blacks and whites applauding you
I saw you on another time
without a sign of life in you
Oh, you beautiful fool, swimming upstream,
kicking up waves
Dreams weren't meant to come true
That's why they call 'em dreams
Oh, you beautiful fool
Oh, you beautiful fool"
- Don Henry
"So, how was school today, Maria?"
"Fine, Daddy."
"What did you learn today, sweetie?"
"We learned about Mar....Martin....Martin Luther..."
"Martin Luther King?"
"Yes! We learned about Martin Luther King."
"What did you learn about Martin Luther King, sweetie?"
"Well....there was this woman. And she got on the bus.......
And she sat down....she sat down on the front of the bus....."
"Yes, that's right, sweetie."
"And when the bus stopped, they ARRESTED HER!"
"Yes...yes, they did, sweetie. But what did Martin Luther King do?"
"Well, he led the protests."
"Yes, that's right, sweetie."
"You see, there were these signs....on the water fountains. And they said 'WHITES ONLY.'"
"Yes, it's sad, but that's true. Back in those days, there were those kind of signs."
"And...and...there were signs on the restaurants that said "WHITE ONLY."
"Yes, yes there were."
"And even on the schools! There were schools where they said "WHITE ONLY."
"Yes, yes, it's hard to believe, sweetie. But that's true."
"But Martin Luther King......he died....."
"Yes, he did, sweetie."
"Somebody SHOT him."
"Yes, they did. But you know, sweet pea, he did a really great thing. He made life better for all of
us. And sometimes, it's important to do the right thing...even if it's hard or painful."
"Yes! Because.....well, because if he didn't do those protests, then Mommy.....well, Mommy couldn't live with us!!"
"Well, I've never thought of it that way, Maria. But you may be right about that...."
"And if Mommy couldn't live with us.....then I.....then I......then I would be CANCELLED!"
"Oh no, sweetie! Nobody as beautiful as you could ever be cancelled."
--------------------------------------------------
Every year at time time, I whip out my favorite MLK song, from the great songwriter, Don Henry. I re-learn the chords again, and if I have gig that week, it's in the set.
It's called "Beautiful Fool."
The song haunted me for years. I first heard it on KERA, back when they actually played music
during an hour when anyone was listening. It was one of those "stop the car, pull over, and listen" moments for me. And after the song was over, all I caught was that the guy's name was "Henry." (This was back before cell phones, and so I couldn't call right in to find out what it was....)
I searched for that song for years, every single time I was in a record store. I had only heard it
once, but the gist of it had stayed with me all that time. Finally, a couple of years ago, I stumbled on a Steve Seskind CD, which had the cut on it, and finally the mystery was solved. It was as amazing a song ten years after the first time I heard it....
Interestingingly, when Erik Balkey was here the other day, he told a similar tale of being haunted by the song. He talked of a show he went to in the early 90s where David Wilcox, Don Henry, and The Billy's were the bill for the night. (What a show!!)
Before Erik left, I played it, and we both sang.
It's an amazing song, and I hope you will come to love it as much as I do.
You can hear Steve Seskin's version here.
Here's to all the "beautiful fools"still out there....
BEAUTIFUL FOOL
by Don Henry
"Martin Luther, who did you think that you were
Appointed by some higher up?
Merely mortal, your plans were unaffordable
No one wants to pay for love
Oh, you beautiful fool, swimming upstream,
kicking up waves
Dreams weren't meant to come true
That's why they call 'em dreams
Oh, you beautiful fool
Walter Cronkite pre-empted Disney one night
And all us kids were so upset
We thought that you were a trouble instigator
Marching through our TV set
Oh, you beautiful fool, swimming upstream,
kicking up waves
Dreams weren't meant to come true
That's why they call 'em dreams
Oh, you beautiful fool
To fight a fight without a fist
All human instinct puzzles this
How dare you question our existence
Mahatma Gandhi, Jesus Christ,
history repeats itself so nice
Consistently we are resistant to love
I saw you on the black and white
With blacks and whites applauding you
I saw you on another time
without a sign of life in you
Oh, you beautiful fool, swimming upstream,
kicking up waves
Dreams weren't meant to come true
That's why they call 'em dreams
Oh, you beautiful fool
Oh, you beautiful fool"
- Don Henry
--30--
Erik Balkey
Jan/13/2005 06:25 PM Filed in: Balcony
People
Got to hang
with Erik Balkey a little bit on
Friday. Great to see him and catch up. He came
over and we caught lunch at Cindy's, and then came
back home and traded a few songs here. He's
playing in and around Dallas several times during
this next week, so be sure and go catch him if you
can...
Erik's a hardworking, hard-travelling songwriter, whose become a good friend these last couple of years. I first met him on the internet, when we both had pages on the old "mp3.com." I think I met him in the real world a couple of years ago, when he was a Wildflower and Kerrville finalist.
Since then, we catch up at Kerrville about once a year. So, it was nice to get the chance to see him inbetween those times. He's writing a lot of great new songs that he shared with me.
Erik's a hardworking, hard-travelling songwriter, whose become a good friend these last couple of years. I first met him on the internet, when we both had pages on the old "mp3.com." I think I met him in the real world a couple of years ago, when he was a Wildflower and Kerrville finalist.
Since then, we catch up at Kerrville about once a year. So, it was nice to get the chance to see him inbetween those times. He's writing a lot of great new songs that he shared with me.
--30--
What the Bleep....do we know?
Jan/11/2005 06:36 PM Filed in: Angels and
Pins
I saw
"What the Bleep Do we
Know" the other day....last
Friday afternoon, actually. I'd been wanting to
see it for some time, because of my natural
interest in spiritual things. Many of you have
recommended that I see it.
I came away really having enjoyed it, but also with having been troubled by some of the directions the movie went. For example, I have been intrigued by the connection between my favorite kind of theology, Process Theology, and Quantum Physics.
For years, I have been searching for more of a connection between the two, and have been a little disspointed that there's not more out there on the connections. My favorite process thinker is Charles Hartshorne, and outside of a small group of egghead theologians and philosophers, not many people know about him.
I was interested in the ideas of Masaru Emoto, and the "Message from Water." Before I leap off the edge and accept everything about it whole hogg, I'd love to hear than another scientist or two have replicated his thoughts. But, it IS really, really interesting...
I found myself having a visercally negative reaction to the woman "expert" in the field, and at the end of the movie, discovered that she is, in fact, "Ramtha," a New Age-y healer of some reknown.
Somehow, it explained my reaction to her. The one thing she said that REALLY stuck with me was when, in criticizing the "organized religions,"she said that there was great hubris and sin in assuming that God could take human form, or be anthropomorphic. (my word, not her's...)
This was strange critique, it seemed to me, coming from a woman who purports to channel the spirit of a 3500-year-old man. But I guess others didn't see the irony in that.
I'll probably say more on this later...
I came away really having enjoyed it, but also with having been troubled by some of the directions the movie went. For example, I have been intrigued by the connection between my favorite kind of theology, Process Theology, and Quantum Physics.
For years, I have been searching for more of a connection between the two, and have been a little disspointed that there's not more out there on the connections. My favorite process thinker is Charles Hartshorne, and outside of a small group of egghead theologians and philosophers, not many people know about him.
I was interested in the ideas of Masaru Emoto, and the "Message from Water." Before I leap off the edge and accept everything about it whole hogg, I'd love to hear than another scientist or two have replicated his thoughts. But, it IS really, really interesting...
I found myself having a visercally negative reaction to the woman "expert" in the field, and at the end of the movie, discovered that she is, in fact, "Ramtha," a New Age-y healer of some reknown.
Somehow, it explained my reaction to her. The one thing she said that REALLY stuck with me was when, in criticizing the "organized religions,"she said that there was great hubris and sin in assuming that God could take human form, or be anthropomorphic. (my word, not her's...)
This was strange critique, it seemed to me, coming from a woman who purports to channel the spirit of a 3500-year-old man. But I guess others didn't see the irony in that.
I'll probably say more on this later...
--30--
(Read the rest. Click here)