dual personalities

Tag: Steve Earle

September 8, 2020

For so the swallow and the sparrow sings

by chuckofish

You don’t believe
by William Blake

You don’t believe — I won’t attempt to make ye.
You are asleep — I won’t attempt to wake ye.
Sleep on, sleep on, while in your pleasant dreams
Of reason you may drink of life’s clear streams
Reason and Newton, they are quite two things,
For so the swallow and the sparrow sings.
Reason says ‘Miracle’, Newton says ‘Doubt’.
Aye, that’s the way to make all Nature out:
Doubt, doubt, and don’t believe without experiment.
That is the very thing that Jesus meant
When he said: ‘Only believe.’ Believe and try,
Try, try, and never mind the reason why.

Well, I hope you had a good long weekend. Mine was lovely and I feel that I accomplished a little bit too. There’s nothing like a trip to the recycling center to lighten my step.

Today is the birthday of one of my heroes (and a non-relative) Joshua Lawrence Chamberlain (1828-1914). He is best known for his gallantry at the Battle of Gettysburg, for which he was awarded the Medal of Honor. Following the Civil War, he served as Governor of Maine and the President of Bowdoin College. 

We will toast him tonight. I am happy to say that I have been to Gettysburg and was able to cross that excursion off my bucket list several years ago. I hope I can cross something else off my bucket list this year, but chances are looking slim. Year’s end is quickly approaching, after all, and I am starting to think about Christmas. Amazing.

As always, we like to listen to Steve Earle’s fine song about Colonel Chamberlain and Little Round Top on his birthday. We’ll toast Steve too for managing to rhyme “Chamberlain”:

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December 5, 2017

Love is gonna blow my way

by chuckofish

Yesterday was one of those days at work when I was busy from 8:00 am to 4:00 pm and I finally hit the road. No lunch, no break. I was happy that over the weekend daughter #1 had showed me how to sync my phone and use Amazon Prime to play music in my car, so I listened to Steve Earle on the way home.

This song made me happy:

Enjoy your day!

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April 29, 2014

Modern life: one, two you know what to do

by chuckofish

There are many aspects of modern life that drive me crazy and some that genuinely alarm me. But there are a few things that are pretty cool.

When daughter #1 was home and we were lunching at our favorite Cafe Osage, we both pricked up our ears when a certain song was playing in the background. “Who is that?” we both said.

We couldn’t pin it down, so daughter #1 got out her phone and opened some new-fangled app and held up her phone for a moment. “Oh,” she said, checking her phone. “It’s Steve Earle and the Del McCoury band!”

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A few days later, having ordered it on Amazon, it appeared at my door.

Pretty amazing, n’est-ce pas?

Anyway, it is not a new album (1999), but it is a very good one–great songs including a favorite of mine, “Dixieland”. You gotta love a song that a) is about the 20th Maine and Joshua Lawrence Chamberlain and b) works the unmelodic name of Chamberlain into it several times:

I am Kilrain of the 20th Maine and I’d march to hell and back again 
For Colonel Joshua Chamberlain – we’re all goin’ down to Dixieland 

The CD also includes the song “Pilgrim”, which I hope someone sings at my funeral–Steve Earle, Emmylou Harris, GIllian Welch et al would be nice, but not a deal breaker.

I am just a pilgrim on this road, boys 
This ain’t never been my home 
Sometimes the road was rocky ‘long the way, boys 
But I was never travelin’ alone 
We’ll meet again on some bright highway 
Songs to sing and tales to tell 
But I am just a pilgrim on this road, boys 
Until I see you fare thee well 

Ain’t no need to cry for me, boys 
Somewhere down the road you’ll understand 
‘Cause I expect to touch his hand, boys 
Put a word in for you if I can 

Hats off to Steve Earle and modern technology!

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