WHEN in the course of human Events, it becomes necessary….
Boomer Love Songs: “It Makes No Difference” by The Band… with variations
byVanderleunonSeptember 22, 2021
Robertson:“I wrote this song specifically for Rick to sing and when we first started discovering the possibilities, it kept expanding to more levels of emotion. What Garth and I could add to finalize the statement of this song was purely instinctual.”
Rick Danko as a man in full… long before his long decline.
Another, for the sad soul solace of Danko’s voice, and the long amazing guitar coda complete with the Band’s secret weapon, Garth Hudson on sax.
Speaking of soul, here’s a cover by the king of Rock and Soul himself.
It Makes No Difference: Illustrated in case you don’t get the point.
And finally a fine cover by Morning Jacket with a huge vocal boost by the deep contralto of Brittany Howard.
And if you don’t know the lyrics by now, here’s a cheat sheet.
It makes no difference where I turn
I can’t get over you and the flame still burns
It makes no difference, night or day
The shadow never seems to fade away
And the sun don’t shine anymore
And the rains fall down on my door
Now there’s no love
As true as the love
That dies untold
But the clouds never hung so low before
It makes no difference how far I go
Like a scar, the hurt will always show
And it makes no difference who I meet
They’re just a face in the crowd on a dead-end street
And the sun don’t shine anymore
And the rains fall down on my door
These old love letters
Well, I just can’t keep
‘Cause, like the gambler says
“Read ’em and weep”
And the dawn don’t rescue me no more
Without your love I’m nothing at all
Like an empty hall, it’s a lonely fall
Since you’ve gone it’s a losing battle
Stampeding cattle, they rattle the walls
And the sun don’t shine anymore
And the rains fall down on my door
Well, I love you so much
And it’s all I can do
Just to keep myself from telling you
That I never felt so alone before
This song so inspired me that I bought a guitar when I was forty years old and leaned how to play it. I also found I could sing. Thirteen years later it stuck home when I lost my twenty-eight year old daughter was taken by a drunk driver. When I sing it now, all the memories come rushing back because it makes me feel like I never been so alone , before.
Dan PattersonSeptember 23, 2021, 3:03 AM
Blessings Jim.
VanderleunSeptember 23, 2021, 9:04 AM
God bless and keep you and bring you back to her.
azlibertarianSeptember 23, 2021, 9:28 AM
Every now and then I hear someone at work complaining about how bad things are….”This stupid company can’t do anything right”, “Why are we doing [X]; we should be doing [Y]”.
And then I hear about someone, like you, who carries a real burden in life, and I am very thankful for the blessings in my mine. I could, I’d give you some.
Bear Claw Chris LappSeptember 23, 2021, 11:55 AM
Jim I shed a tear and said a prayer for you and your family.
The only solace I get when thinking of lost immediate family members at younger age due to cancer is to know they are in a better place and you and I are stuck here. AZ those and Jim’s experience are exactly as you said.
Some of you may have seen the video of the guy who lost his legs that works in the tire shop. Yeah it brings me back to earth how small I am and have been. I am better at giving thanks for my blessings but not enough.
Prayers and Blessings be upon all of us.
Lovely song, never heard it before thank you Gerard.
Dan PattersonSeptember 23, 2021, 3:16 AM
There is a tell in The Last Waltz when Danko is on screen, but unless you’ve seen it in your mirror you might not get it.
Levon Helm mentions both Manuel and Danko in a candid remark in I Ain’t In It For My Health, and there is some sad bitter in his message, like he too saw it coming.
I tell myself pretty much daily “Ah shit, lighten up. Do the best you can, say thank you and I’m sorry and mean it”. I don’t want to see it coming again.
never found it anything other than ploddingly mundane- “I spent a year there one side.” any slower it would play backwards.
an acquaintance opened for some assemblage of them (one?) years ago, told me afterwards it was something he always wanted to do but the final impression was “nice guys, but heroin addicts”.
The Last Waltz, in 1976,I was a E3 in the Navy, on convalescent orders after a serious bout with Hep A, while in Lakehurst NJ. I worked at something called Special Services at NAS / Shipyard Alameda Ca. My job was passing out pots and pans to families reporting to Alameda, with their house hold goods having not arrived yet.
We also ran the golf course, Tickettron and navy rentals up in Lake Tahoe. I was given two free tickets to a concert on Thanksgiving Day, Nov 1976, these were courtesy tickets. Something called “The Last Waltz”at “Winterland” I’d been to Winterland many time previous to shows, Winterland was one of my favorite venues on the west coast. It was just what I thought Rock and Roll should look and sound like.
Anyway The the food served that day was not so good, but the day was Magic. I was recovering from serious Hep A, so I could not drink, which sucked.
My friend Jon over on WRSA, share our love of music, he sends me a lot of period correct Dead, The Band, etc etc. he’s a musician himself, I’ve had the honor of hearing his music, fantastic, it is.
I was at the LW, and the food —T’giving Dinner with all the trimmings— was catered (for maybe two thousand people?) by Narsai David (who’s still with on this planet): proprietor of the long-gone, semi-upscale and inventive “Narsai’s Restaurant” in that little municipal enclave just uphill from Berserkeley. And it was eminently edible! Then the word went out that Bob Dylan (!) had just brought in a great load of fresh Pacific salmon (before the fish-farming era), and anybody who still hungry should come back into the chow for that too. You can be sure that I did.
Listened a second and now third time, simply awesome. These guys were amazing, believe I’ve got everything they ever did. Just dug out the Last Waltz double CD for my ride to Reno, only to remember the new truck didn’t come with a CD player, which sucks have hundreds of CDs
ChrisSeptember 25, 2021, 5:23 AM
That isn’t Robertson playing lead guitar on that video, must be after the rift that happened between him and rest of guys after him screwing them for rights to songs. Rick’s widow has nothing. Love the song, love the Band, not a big fan of Robbie.
ChrisSeptember 25, 2021, 5:23 AM
That isn’t Robertson playing lead guitar on that video, must be after the rift that happened between him and rest of guys after him screwing them for rights to songs. Rick’s widow has nothing. Love the song, love the Band, not a big fan of Robbie.
Real World Address for Donations, Mash Notes and Hate Mail
Gerard Van der Leun
1692 MANGROVE AVE
APT 379
Chico, Ca 95926
Green Pants Interior by Klahn
Who Am I? by Carl Sandburg
My head knocks against the stars.
My feet are on the hilltops.
My finger-tips are in the valleys and shores of universal life.
Down in the sounding foam of primal things I reach my hands and play with pebbles of destiny.
I have been to hell and back many times.
I know all about heaven, for I have talked with God.
I dabble in the blood and guts of the terrible.
I know the passionate seizure of beauty
And the marvelous rebellion of man at all signs reading “Keep Off.”
My name is Truth and I am the most elusive captive in the universe.
Duty, Beauty, Liberty, Country, Honor, Family, Faith — Plus a few simple easy to follow rules for guys
Men saw the stars at the edge of the sea
They thought great thoughts about liberty
Poets wrote down words that did fit
Writers wrote books
Thinkers thought about it
Take it where you find it
Can’t leave it alone
You will find a purpose
To carry it on
Mainly when you find it
Your heart will be strong
About it
Many’s the road I have walked upon
Many’s the hour between dusk and dawn
Many’s the time
Many’s the mile
I see it all now
Through the eyes of a child
Take it where you find it
Can’t leave it alone
You will find a purpose
To carry it on
Mainly when you find it
Your heart will be strong
About it
[Chorus]
Lost dreams and found dreams
In America
In America
In America
Lost dreams and found dreams
In America
In America
In America
And close your eyes
Leave it all for a while
Leave the world
And your worries behind
You will build on whatever is real
And wake up each day
To a new waking dream
Take it where you find it
Can’t leave it alone
You will find a purpose
To carry it on
Mainly when you find it
Your heart will be strong
About it
[Chorus]
Change, change come over
Change come over
Talkin’ about a change
Change, change
Change come over, now
Change, change, change come over
I’m gonna walk down the street
Until I see
My shining light
I’m gonna walk down the street
Until I see
My shining light
I’m gonna walk down the street
Until I see
My shining light
I’m gonna walk down the street
Until I see
My shining light
I see my light
See my light
See my shining light
I see my light
See my light
See my shining light
Gerard Van der Leun
Comments on this entry are closed.
This song so inspired me that I bought a guitar when I was forty years old and leaned how to play it. I also found I could sing. Thirteen years later it stuck home when I lost my twenty-eight year old daughter was taken by a drunk driver. When I sing it now, all the memories come rushing back because it makes me feel like I never been so alone , before.
Blessings Jim.
God bless and keep you and bring you back to her.
Every now and then I hear someone at work complaining about how bad things are….”This stupid company can’t do anything right”, “Why are we doing [X]; we should be doing [Y]”.
And then I hear about someone, like you, who carries a real burden in life, and I am very thankful for the blessings in my mine. I could, I’d give you some.
Jim I shed a tear and said a prayer for you and your family.
The only solace I get when thinking of lost immediate family members at younger age due to cancer is to know they are in a better place and you and I are stuck here. AZ those and Jim’s experience are exactly as you said.
Some of you may have seen the video of the guy who lost his legs that works in the tire shop. Yeah it brings me back to earth how small I am and have been. I am better at giving thanks for my blessings but not enough.
Prayers and Blessings be upon all of us.
Lovely song, never heard it before thank you Gerard.
There is a tell in The Last Waltz when Danko is on screen, but unless you’ve seen it in your mirror you might not get it.
Levon Helm mentions both Manuel and Danko in a candid remark in I Ain’t In It For My Health, and there is some sad bitter in his message, like he too saw it coming.
I tell myself pretty much daily “Ah shit, lighten up. Do the best you can, say thank you and I’m sorry and mean it”. I don’t want to see it coming again.
Jason Isbell wrote and sings “Danko/Manuel”
https://youtu.be/jdZVcDt5MpU
never found it anything other than ploddingly mundane- “I spent a year there one side.” any slower it would play backwards.
an acquaintance opened for some assemblage of them (one?) years ago, told me afterwards it was something he always wanted to do but the final impression was “nice guys, but heroin addicts”.
so, noddingly mundane.
The Last Waltz, in 1976,I was a E3 in the Navy, on convalescent orders after a serious bout with Hep A, while in Lakehurst NJ. I worked at something called Special Services at NAS / Shipyard Alameda Ca. My job was passing out pots and pans to families reporting to Alameda, with their house hold goods having not arrived yet.
We also ran the golf course, Tickettron and navy rentals up in Lake Tahoe. I was given two free tickets to a concert on Thanksgiving Day, Nov 1976, these were courtesy tickets. Something called “The Last Waltz”at “Winterland” I’d been to Winterland many time previous to shows, Winterland was one of my favorite venues on the west coast. It was just what I thought Rock and Roll should look and sound like.
Anyway The the food served that day was not so good, but the day was Magic. I was recovering from serious Hep A, so I could not drink, which sucked.
My friend Jon over on WRSA, share our love of music, he sends me a lot of period correct Dead, The Band, etc etc. he’s a musician himself, I’ve had the honor of hearing his music, fantastic, it is.
Jon, if your here, god bless, Brother.
Dirk
I was at the LW, and the food —T’giving Dinner with all the trimmings— was catered (for maybe two thousand people?) by Narsai David (who’s still with on this planet): proprietor of the long-gone, semi-upscale and inventive “Narsai’s Restaurant” in that little municipal enclave just uphill from Berserkeley. And it was eminently edible! Then the word went out that Bob Dylan (!) had just brought in a great load of fresh Pacific salmon (before the fish-farming era), and anybody who still hungry should come back into the chow for that too. You can be sure that I did.
Listened a second and now third time, simply awesome. These guys were amazing, believe I’ve got everything they ever did. Just dug out the Last Waltz double CD for my ride to Reno, only to remember the new truck didn’t come with a CD player, which sucks have hundreds of CDs
That isn’t Robertson playing lead guitar on that video, must be after the rift that happened between him and rest of guys after him screwing them for rights to songs. Rick’s widow has nothing. Love the song, love the Band, not a big fan of Robbie.
That isn’t Robertson playing lead guitar on that video, must be after the rift that happened between him and rest of guys after him screwing them for rights to songs. Rick’s widow has nothing. Love the song, love the Band, not a big fan of Robbie.