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Shel Silverstein

CIVIL WAR SONG

One brother wore blue,
One brother wore gray,
One brother went,
One brother stayed,
One brother's here,
One brother's there,
Oh, where shall I fight,
Oh, what shall I wear?

I'm gonna wear my tight blue pants
And my gray sport jacket
And stay at home with the girls.
Now, now, now,
I don't want to get to Gettysburg,
No, no, no, no,
I got a protest sign
And a bottle of wine
And my baby and I are gonna
Go, go, go, go.
Now, Grant and Lee
Don't mean nothin' to me
And fightin's nothin' but a bore.
I'll wear my tight blue pants
And my gray sport jacket
And to hell with the Civil War.

Now is the time for your loving, dear,

And the time for your company

Now when the light of reason fails

And fires burn on the sea

Now in this age of confusion

I have need for your company.



It's once I was free to go roaming in

The wind of the springtime mind

It's once the clouds I sailed upon

Were sweet as lilac wine

So why are the breezes of summer, dear

Enlaced with a grim design?

Ah, edgar. Thanks for that Civil War song and thanks for rescuing this drowning thread. <smile>I never hear about the Civil War that I don't think of "Horseman in the Sky," by Ambrose Bierce. The military mindset is different, I guess.

dys, yours is a welcome song as well, cowboy. I had my mind on what is must be like to be really hungry when I read that news about Darfur. I recall that sensation once in my life, and that was right after hurricane Frances. It makes one tune in a little more to what those starving people in Sudan are experiencing.

This stanza hits home:

It's once I was free to go roaming in

The wind of the springtime mind

It's once the clouds I sailed upon

Were sweet as lilac wine

So why are the breezes of summer, dear

Enlaced with a grim design?

Well, here's a song from Aretha to both of you:


.
Rescue me
Oh take me in your arms
Rescue me
I want your tender charms
'Coz I'm lonely and I'm blue
I need you and your love too

Come on and rescue me
Come on baby and rescue me
Come on baby and rescue me
'Coz I need you, by my side
Can't you see that I'm lonely
Rescue me

Come on and take my heart
Take your love and conquer every part
'Coz I'm lonely and I'm blue
I need you and your love too

Come on and rescue me
Come on baby and rescue me
Come on baby and rescue me
'Coz I need you by my side
Can't you see that I'm lonely

Rescue me
Oh take me in your arms
Rescue me
I want your tender charms
'Coz I'm lonely and I'm blue
I need you and your love too
Come on and rescue me
Come on baby, take me baby, hold me baby, love me baby
Can't you see that I need you baby
Can't you see that I'm lonely
Rescue me

Come on and take my hand
Come on baby and be my man
Cuz I love you cuz I want you
Can't you see that I'm lonely?
take me baby
love me baby
need me baby
Can't you see that I'm lonely?

rescue me, rescue me.......

WA2K Birthday Photo Gallery:

Happy 81st to B. B. King; 79th to Peter Falk; 84th to Lauren Bacall and 72nd to George Chakiris.

Wow! Raggedy. I didn't think you were gonna make it, PA. Best pictures ever, Gal. Ah, B.B., Peter, Lauren and George. This has been a strange day. I am looking at a book by Laurel Bacall right now called "By Myself".

Strange things happen in this world, no? Regardless of what folks think of that song, the chord changes are really nice on piano.

From Mr. King:


Bb King
» Watch Yourself

Yes, people are talkin' all over town
They say you don't love me
You gonna put me down
You better watch yourself baby
You better watch yourself
You better watch yourself woman
'Cause I got my eyes on you
Now you tell me what's the matter
What you gonna do
First you say you love me
Now you say we're through
You better watch yourself baby
Watch yourself
You better watch yourself woman
'Cause I got my eyes on you
I gave you my money
Everything too
A big fat house
Now baby what you gonna do
You better watch yourself
You better watch yourself
You better watch yourself woman
'Cause I got my eyes on you
Now you're gonna leave me
Leave me here to cry
Now you know I love you
You're my whole heart's desire
You better watch yourself baby
You better watch yourself
You better watch yourself woman
'Cause I got my eyes on you
Yes!
Yes, yes baby!
Yes, yes baby!
Yes, yes baby!
Yes, yes baby!
You better watch yourself woman
You better watch yourself
You better watch yourself baby
'Cause I got my eyes on you

It's that synchronicity kicking in again, Letty. I read that book many years ago.

I was going to post this picture which must be the sequel:

Yes, it's weird, Raggedy. Some days we have these strange moments. When I thought about the Civil War, it led me to recall my dad who was in the First World War. I remember hearing my mom sing "Rescue the Perishing" and confusing it with Black Jack Pershing. I didn't realize that until I taught all the wars in school. I used the music to teach the history, but I am the one who learned.

Talking about wars Letty may a submit the following song for your consideration. "Can you hear Australia's heroes marching?" It is a national war memorial song and a tribute to the ANZAC spirit, mateship, courage, and sacrifice.

CAN YOU HEAR AUSTRALIA'S HEROES MARCHING?
Can you hear Australia's heroes marching?
Can you hear them as they march into eternity?
There will never be a greater love
There just couldn't be a greater sacrifice
There just couldn't be

Can you hear Australia's heroes marching?
The ones who fought and gave their all

Can you hear Australia's heroes marching?
Can you hear them as they march into eternity?
There will never be a greater love
There just couldn't be a greater sacrifice
There just couldn't be

Can you hear Australia's heroes marching?
They're marching once again
Across our great land

Can you hear Australia's heroes marching?
Can you hear them as they march into eternity?
There will never be a greater love
There just couldn't be a greater sacrifice
There just couldn't be

Can you hear Australia's heroes marching?

A March In The Ranks, Hard-prest



A MARCH in the ranks hard-prest, and the road unknown;
A route through a heavy wood, with muffled steps in the darkness;
Our army foil'd with loss severe, and the sullen remnant retreating;
Till after midnight glimmer upon us, the lights of a dim-lighted
building;
We come to an open space in the woods, and halt by the dim-lighted
building;
'Tis a large old church at the crossing roads--'tis now an impromptu
hospital;
--Entering but for a minute, I see a sight beyond all the pictures
and poems ever made:
Shadows of deepest, deepest black, just lit by moving candles and
lamps,
And by one great pitchy torch, stationary, with wild red flame, and
clouds of smoke;
By these, crowds, groups of forms, vaguely I see, on the floor, some
in the pews laid down; 10
At my feet more distinctly, a soldier, a mere lad, in danger of
bleeding to death, (he is shot in the abdomen;)
I staunch the blood temporarily, (the youngster's face is white as a
lily;)
Then before I depart I sweep my eyes o'er the scene, fain to absorb
it all;
Faces, varieties, postures beyond description, most in obscurity,
some of them dead;
Surgeons operating, attendants holding lights, the smell of ether,
the odor of blood;
The crowd, O the crowd of the bloody forms of soldiers--the yard
outside also fill'd;
Some on the bare ground, some on planks or stretchers, some in the
death-spasm sweating;
An occasional scream or cry, the doctor's shouted orders or calls;
The glisten of the little steel instruments catching the glint of the
torches;
These I resume as I chant--I see again the forms, I smell the
odor; 20
Then hear outside the orders given, Fall in, my men, Fall in;
But first I bend to the dying lad--his eyes open--a half-smile gives
he me;
Then the eyes close, calmly close, and I speed forth to the darkness,
Resuming, marching, ever in darkness marching, on in the ranks,
The unknown road still marching.

Walt Whitman

Dutchy, bless your dear down under heart. <smile>I love that marching song, buddy. Thank you, my friend.

I think we all may be caught up in past wars, folks, because of the one we are experiencing now. It is my firm belief that the Executive branch of our government in the U.S has too much power.

"When a politician's back is against the wall, we all go to war."

JOHN BROWN

Words and Music by Bob Dylan

John Brown went off to war to fight on a foreign shore.
His mama sure was proud of him!
He stood straight and tall in his uniform and all.
His mama's face broke out all in a grin.

"Oh son, you look so fine, I'm glad you're a son of mine,
You make me proud to know you hold a gun.
Do what the captain says, lots of medals you will get,
And we'll put them on the wall when you come home."

As that old train pulled out, John's ma began to shout,
Tellin' ev'ryone in the neighborhood:
"That's my son that's about to go, he's a soldier now, you know."
She made well sure her neighbors understood.

She got a letter once in a while and her face broke into a smile
As she showed them to the people from next door.
And she bragged about her son with his uniform and gun,
And these things you called a good old-fashioned war.

Oh! Good old-fashioned war!

Then the letters ceased to come, for a long time they did not come.
They ceased to come for about ten months or more.
Then a letter finally came saying, "Go down and meet the train.
Your son's a-coming home from the war."

She smiled and went right down, she looked everywhere around
But she could not see her soldier son in sight.
But as all the people passed, she saw her son at last,
When she did she could hardly believe her eyes.

Oh his face was all shot up and his hand was all blown off
And he wore a metal brace around his waist.
He whispered kind of slow, in a voice she did not know,
While she couldn't even recognize his face!

Oh! Lord! Not even recognize his face.

"Oh tell me, my darling son, pray tell me what they done.
How is it you come to be this way?"
He tried his best to talk but his mouth could hardly move
And the mother had to turn her face away.

"Don't you remember, Ma, when I went off to war
You thought it was the best thing I could do?
I was on the battleground, you were home . . . acting proud.
You wasn't there standing in my shoes."

"Oh, and I thought when I was there, God, what am I doing here?
I'm a-tryin' to kill somebody or die tryin'.
But the thing that scared me most was when my enemy came close
And I saw that his face looked just like mine."

Oh! Lord! Just like mine!

"And I couldn't help but think, through the thunder rolling and stink,
That I was just a puppet in a play.
And through the roar and smoke, this string is finally broke,
And a cannon ball blew my eyes away."

As he turned away to walk, his Ma was still in shock
At seein' the metal brace that helped him stand.
But as he turned to go, he called his mother close
And he dropped his medals down into her hand.

some brown related weirdness from mr. zappa



Bobby Brown Goes Down
Frank Zappa

Hey there, people, I'm Bobby Brown
They say I'm the cutest boy in town
My car is fast, my teeth is shiney
I tell all the girls they can kiss my heinie
Here I am at a famous school
I'm dressin' sharp and I'm actin' cool
I got a cheerleader here wants to help with my paper
I'll let her do all the work 'n' maybe later I'll rape her

Oh God I am the American dream
I do not think I'm too extreme
An' I'm a handsome sonofabitch
I'm gonna get a good job 'n' be real rich
Get a good, get a good, get a good, get a good job...

Women's Liberation
Came creepin' all across the nation
I tell you people, I was not ready
When I f**ked this dyke by the name of Freddie
She made a little speech then,
Aw, she tried to make me say when
She had my balls in a vice, but she left my dick
I guess it's still hooked on, but now it shoots too quick

Oh God I am the American dream,
But now I smell like Vaseline
An' I'm a miserable sonofabitch
Am I a boy or a lady...I don't know which
I wonder...wonder...wonder...wonder...

So I went out 'n' bought me a leisure suit
I jingle my change, but I'm still kinda cute
Got a job doin' radio promo
An' none of the jocks can even tell I'm a homo
Eventually me 'n' a friend
Sorta drifted along into S&M
I can take about an hour on the tower of power
'Long as I gets a little golden shower

Oh God I am the American Dream
With a spindle up my butt till it makes me scream
An' I'll do anything to get ahead
I lay awake nights saying "Thank you Fred"
Oh God, Oh God, I'm so fantastic!
Thanks to Freddie, I'm a sexual spastic
And my name is Bobby Brown
Watch me now, I'm going down

And my name is Bobby Brown
Watch me now, I'm going down
And my name is Bobby Brown
Watch me now, I'm going down
And my name is Bobby Brown
Watch me now, I'm going down

I knew you'd be surprised...

"and he dropped his medals down into her hand." No more need be said of that one, edgar.

dj, you just roused me out of my torpor. You and Frank and Bobby and Johnny. Somehow, folks, I don't think they mesh well. You just upstaged Bio Bob, Canada.

It's time all good Letty's were in bed,(and bad ones as well) so I shall say goodnight to Australia, Texas, Canada, Pennsylvania, and go to sleep with a big smile and.....

A big kiss.

From Letty with love.

Goodnight and sweet dreams, Letty, sorry I missed you. Sometimes I go for weeks without posting on a2k until I find myself missing my favorite people, so here is the wanderer back for music and comaraderie.

So, after thinking aobut Monty Python, here's Eric Idle...
Always Look on the Bright Side of Life:

words and music by Eric Idle

Some things in life are bad
They can really make you mad
Other things just make you swear and curse.
When you're chewing on life's gristle
Don't grumble, give a whistle
And this'll help things turn out for the best...

And...always look on the bright side of life...
Always look on the light side of life...

If life seems jolly rotten
There's something you've forgotten
And that's to laugh and smile and dance and sing.
When you're feeling in the dumps
Don't be silly chumps
Just purse your lips and whistle - that's the thing.

And...always look on the bright side of life...
Always look on the light side of life...

For life is quite absurd
And death's the final word
You must always face the curtain with a bow.
Forget about your sin - give the audience a grin
Enjoy it - it's your last chance anyhow.

So always look on the bright side of death
Just before you draw your terminal breath

Life's a piece of ****
When you look at it
Life's a laugh and death's a joke, it's true.
You'll see it's all a show
Keep 'em laughing as you go
Just remember that the last laugh is on you.

And always look on the bright side of life...
Always look on the right side of life...
(Come on guys, cheer up!)
Always look on the bright side of life...
Always look on the bright side of life...
(Worse things happen at sea, you know.)
Always look on the bright side of life...
(I mean - what have you got to lose?)
(You know, you come from nothing - you're going back to nothing.
What have you lost? Nothing!)
Always look on the right side of life...

Roddy McDowall
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Roderick Andrew Anthony Jude McDowall (September 17, 1928-October 3, 1998) was a British actor.


Early life

McDowall was born in London in Herne Hill to a Scottish father, Thomas Andrew McDowall, and an Irish mother, Winifred. Both his parents were enthusiastic about the theatre. He also had a sister, Virginia.

McDowall made his first film appearance at the age of ten. It was as "Huw" in How Green Was My Valley (1941) that he made his name, and he appeared in many other films as a child actor, including The White Cliffs of Dover (1944) and Lassie Come Home (1943) where he co-starred (in what would be one of many occasions) opposite lifelong friend Elizabeth Taylor.

Career

McDowall was one of the few child actors to continue his career successfully into adulthood, but it was usually in character roles, notably in four of the five original Planet of the Apes movies (1968 - 1973) and the TV series that followed. Other film appearances included Cleopatra (1963), It! (1966), The Poseidon Adventure (1972), Dirty Mary, Crazy Larry (1974), Class of 1984 (1982), Fright Night (1985) and Overboard (1987). He also appeared on stage and was a frequent guest star on television, appearing on such series as the original Twilight Zone, The Carol Burnett Show, Fantasy Island and Quantum Leap.

He played a character villain, "The Bookworm", in the camp 1960s TV series Batman and had an acclaimed recurring role as The Mad Hatter in Batman: The Animated Series. His final acting role in animation, if indeed not overall was for an episode of Godzilla: The Series in the episode "Dreadloch".

During the 1990s, McDowall became active in film preservation and was active in the preserving of Cleopatra (1963), (in which he co-starred) which had been severely cut by 20th Century Fox studio head Darryl F. Zanuck after skyrocketing production costs.

McDowall served for several years in various capacities on the Board of Governors of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, the organization that presents the Oscar. He was Chairman of the Actor's Branch for five terms. He was elected President of the Academy Foundation the year he died.

Private life

In 1974, the FBI raided the home of McDowall and seized the actor's collection of films and television series. His collection consisted of 160 16 mm prints and over 10,000 videocassettes (this was before the era of VCRs and VHS tapes). McDowall had bought Errol Flynn's home movies and the prints of his directorial debut Tam Lin (1970) starring Ava Gardner, and transferred them all to tape for longer-lasting archival storage.

McDowall was forthcoming about some of the individuals he had dealt with on the black market: Rock Hudson, Dick Martin, and Mel Torme were some of the celebrities that were interested in his creations. No charges were pressed against McDowall.

He also received recognition as a photographer and published five books of photographs, one being of his celebrity friends such as Elizabeth Taylor and Judy Garland.

He died in Studio City, California from lung cancer at the age of 70, the guardian of many secrets (nefarious and otherwise) that Hollywood holds. One of his last public appearances was when he accompanied the then-88 year old actress, Luise Rainer, the earliest awardee of a Best Actress Oscar who attended that year's telecast, which featured all the living previous Oscar winners who were willing and able to attend (more than 70 did).

Anne Bancroft
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Anne Bancroft (September 17, 1931 - June 6, 2005) was an iconic Academy Award, Tony Award, and Emmy Award-winning American actress.

Early life

Bancroft was born Anna Maria Louisa Italiano in The Bronx, New York to Michael and Mildred Italiano, both children of Italian immigrants.

Bancroft attended the American Academy of Dramatic Arts, the Actors Studio, and the American Film Institute's Directing Workshop for Women at UCLA.

After appearing in a number of live television dramas under the name "Anne Marno", she was told to change her surname for her film debut in Don't Bother to Knock in 1952, and she chose the surname "Bancroft" because she felt it was "elegant".

Career

Bancroft was a contract player in the early days of her career just as the studio contract system was ending. She left Hollywood and returned to New York due to the quality of roles she was being offered.

In 1958 she appeared opposite Henry Fonda in the Broadway production of Two for the Seesaw, for which she won a Tony Award, and another in 1960 for The Miracle Worker. She took the latter role back to Hollywood, and won the Academy Award for Best Actress in 1962.

A highly acclaimed television special, "Annie: the Women in the Life of a Man" won her an Emmy award for her clowning,singing and acting. Bancroft is one of a very select few entertainers to win an Oscar, an Emmy and a Tony award.

Other major film roles were in The Pumpkin Eater, 7 Women, and, in what may be her most well-known role, as Mrs. Robinson opposite Dustin Hoffman in the film The Graduate. Although Bancroft is now iconically identified as Mrs. Robinson, she was not the first choice for the role; Patricia Neal (who had concerns owing to her then recent stroke), Doris Day and Jeanne Moreau turned it down. Bancroft was ambivalent about her appearance in The Graduate; she stated in several interviews that the role overshadowed all of her other work. The May-December screen romance between Hoffman and Bancroft depicted the believability of both actors, as the age difference between them was a mere six years.

In 1980, she made her debut as a screenwriter and director in Fatso, in which she starred along with Dom DeLuise. Bancroft was also the original choice to play Joan Crawford in the 1981 movie Mommie Dearest, but backed out at the 11th hour, and was replaced by Faye Dunaway. She was also a front-runner for the role of Aurora Greenway in Terms of Endearment, but declined in order to partake in the remake of To Be or Not to Be (1983).

Marriage and family

From July 1, 1953 to February 13, 1957 she was married to Martin May, but the marriage produced no children.

In 1961, Bancroft met Mel Brooks in a rehearsal for the Perry Como variety show. Brooks bribed a studio employee to find out where she was having dinner so he could meet her again.

They married on August 5, 1964 in New York City Hall and remained married until her death. They had one son, Maximillian, in 1972. They were seen three times on the screen together: once dancing a tango in Brooks's 1976 Silent Movie, in Brooks's 1983 remake of To Be or Not to Be., and in the episode entitled "Opening Night" of the HBO show Curb Your Enthusiasm.

Brooks also produced the 1980 film The Elephant Man, in which Bancroft acted. It has been reported she was the one who encouraged Brooks to turn The Producers into a Broadway musical. She also had a cameo playing herself along with Mel Brooks on an episode of Larry David's HBO series Curb Your Enthusiasm where the couple celebrated the (presumed) demise of The Producers so that they could leave it behind them.



Death

Bancroft died on June 6, 2005 of uterine cancer aged 73 at Mount Sinai Hospital in New York City. Her death came as a surprise to even some of Bancroft's friends; she was intensely private and had not released details of her illness.

Mel Brooks held a memorial service for her some weeks later and advised the guests that if anyone felt like grieving, to "keep it to yourself". Among the attendees was Bancroft's costar in The Miracle Worker, actress Patty Duke. When a reporter asked Duke's opinion of Bancroft, Duke replied that she could not think of enough superlatives.

Bancroft was survived by Brooks, their son, her mother and two sisters. She is interred at the Kensico Cemetery in Vallhalla, New York, near her father, Michael Italiano.

Recently in San Diego , California a Highway Patrolman pulled a car over and told the driver that because he had been wearing his seat belt, he had just won $5,000 in the statewide safety competition.

"What are you going to do with the money?" asked the policeman.

"Well, I guess I'm going to get a driver's license," he answered.

"Oh, don't listen to him," yelled a woman in the passenger seat. "He's a smart ass when he's drunk."

This woke up the guy in the back seat who took one look at the cop and moaned," I knew we wouldn't get far in a stolen car."

At that moment, there was a knock from the trunk and a voice
said, in Spanish, "Are we over the border yet?"

Good morning, WA2K radio listeners and contributors.

My goodness, it is so nice to see Diane back again. That song reminds me of "Look on the Sunny Side of Life" from O Brother Where Art Thou. Hard to believe that Eric Idle has a serious moment. Thanks, gal, and Urs has been on our forum recently as well. Nice to see friends from the past.

And, folks, Bio Bob has once again flown in from his roost in Boston with his usual bio's. Glad it was just the machine, Bob. Incidentally, hawk, we loved your story of the "born to lose" motorist. We always learn something from your wonderful celeb background.

I want to play this for our Panz in hope that he will be back with us soon.
Hank Williams


Hear the lonesome whiperwill
He sounds too blue to fly
The midnight train is whining low
Im so lonesome I could cry

Ive never seen a night so long
When time goes crawling by
The moon just went behind a cloud
To hide its face and cry

Did you ever see a robin weep
When leaves begin to die
That means hes lost the will to live
Im so lonesome I could cry

The silence of a falling star
Lights up a purple sky
And as I wonder where you are
Im so lonesome I could cry,

We'l await our Raggedy's appearance before commenting on the rest of Bob's famous folks.

a sea shanty to celebrate international talk like a pirate day on september 19

the Cardiff Rose