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Sun 16 Oct, 2016 01:39 pm
Arlo Guthrie
October 16, 2016 - Washington, MA - The Farm
With all the craziness around the election, the climate disasters of hurricanes, floods, wars, and whatever anyone feels like adding - It's easy to become overwhelmed. My dad used to say that the worst thing that could happen to anyone was to isolate themselves from everyone else and hide from the storms of change. He wanted to be injected into the life blood of humanity and help where he could.
So, after having taken some time off myself and feeling pretty restored, I'm getting ready to get back on the road. In less than a week from now we'll begin traveling across the country to some big towns as well as some nook and cranny places. I hope our songs and stories and the time we share with the folks who can show up will be helpful. It's always nice to feel restored by the great spirit of the folks we've been visiting for decades. I know that's a two-way street.
Whatever your thoughts are, whatever side of any fence you may find yourself, know that this world will go on, and the ebb and flow of change are not always easy, but it is what it is. We can count on each other - really. Don't give up, don't lose faith - Keep on truckin'
Good old Arlo... a chip off the old block. I've been a fan for nearly 50 years and of his dad before that.
As a Brit, I always think of Arlo and his dad, and Country Joe McDonald as examples of the very best of Americans. By an odd coincidence, today I was browsing Country Joe's Facebook page and I came across a link to an article about how Woody Guthrie got in a dispute with Fred Trump (Donald's father). Woody signed the lease of a Brooklyn apartment owned by Fred, who was profiteering hugely from Federal loans for housing projects, and imposing a 'color line' to keep blacks out of projects in 'white' areas.
http://qz.com/600001/woody-guthrie-really-did-not-like-donald-trumps-racist-dad/
From a song by Woody:
Quote:I suppose
Old Man Trump knows
Just how much
Racial Hate
he stirred up
In the bloodpot of human hearts
When he drawed
That color line
Here at his
Eighteen hundred family project ....
In both cases, like father, like son.
Country Joe's FB page is
https://www.facebook.com/joe.mcdonald.5011
Guthrie reworked his signature Dust Bowl ballad “I Ain’t Got No Home” into a blistering broadside against his landlord:
Quote:Beach Haven ain't my home!
I just cain't pay this rent!
My money's down the drain!
And my soul is badly bent!
Beach Haven looks like heaven
Where no black ones come to roam!
No, no, no! Old Man Trump!
Old Beach Haven ain't my home!
@contrex,
Thanks for all that. I have to check out what Country Joe is up to these days.
@contrex,
Marvelous post, thank you.