Yes, yes, I know. But as Neo says, “They’re a bunch of old Commies, but I still have a soft spot for ’em.”
140
How do I know my youth is all spent?
My get up and go has got up and went
In spite of it all, I’m able to grin
When I think of the places my get up has been
Old age is golden, I think I’ve heard said
But sometimes I wonder as I crawl into bed
My ears in a drawer, my teeth in a cup
My eyes on the table until I wake up
As sleep dims my vision, I say to myself
Is there anything else I should lay on the shelf?
But nations are warring and business is vexed
So I’ll stick around to see what happens next
(chorus)
When I was younger, my slippers were red
I could kick up my heels right over my head
When I was older my slippers were blue
But still I could dance the whole night thru
Now I am old, my slippers are black
I huff to the store and I puff my way back
But never you laugh, I don’t mind at all
I’d rather be huffing than not puff at all
(chorus)
I get up each morning and dust off my wits
Open the paper and read the obits
If I’m not there, I know I’m not dead
So I eat a good breakfast and go back to bed
Gerard Van der Leun
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The thing that’s so stomach-turning about old lefties is their unending self-congratulation in the face of their fantasized oppression. Look at the comment stream on a Peter, Paul and Mary utube sometime.
Even when I first encountered them in the ’60s there was something creepy about all that.
Sorry, Gerard, but Im pleased to inform you they are the best kind of commies; They are all dead!
Now, if we could be so fortunate as to see the rest of their fellow travelers, their legacy of follow on generations follow them all swiftly to the grave…. I can dream, can’t I?
I can’t even listen to Willie anymore, he’s gone so far left.
One glimpse of Pete Seeger’s pedantic, commie mug was all it ever took for me to refuse to listen to him. And then I caught a glimpse of him with the red-slut Joan Baez and I doubled down on my full rejection of that breed, almost to the point that I wouldn’t listen to Dylan. I eventually gave in to Dylan but I never bought a single album.
I won’t comment on Peter, Paul and Mary because Robb nailed that bunch but I’ll add that their creepiness will likely live on, uncontested, even after the 2nd Coming.
With the exclusion of these three and anyone who quoted Allen Ginsberg, the rest of the folkies were essentially harmless wags and I appreciate the movement for inspiring Joni Mitchell and Gordon Lightfoot.
Neo: “Don’t do it. I’m telling you, don’t do it,”
Me: “But its a funny song and it is, after all, true.”
Neo: “Doesn’t matter. They’re a bunch of old commies and your readers will hate them.”
Me: “I hate them too, but it is a funny song.”
Neo: “Sigh. You’ll see.”
“… and anyone who quoted Allen Ginsberg…”
Hey, I not only KNEW Allen Ginsberg, I ripped off his poem Howl right here…
The Complete “Growl”
Now I thought I had been a place or two and met some folks, but I plainly can’t hold a candle to our patron… casual allusions to Hunter T and Allen G within the span of a few days! Inquiring minds desire more info!
Pretty sure, way back before, I was at a party in NYC with Dylan (Bob, not Thomas) but I don’t remember much about it & I’m quite sure he doesn’t either.
The song; not the Weavers at there best and their best was always second best.
I too have a soft spot for the Weavers even they were raging pinkos. They were blacklisted
by the HUAC back in the day, so McCarthy was not the villain in their case. I saw a video
of a reunion concert the Weavers did back in the early eighties. True to form, they were
singing songs of praise to Daniel Ortega, the communist dictator, but they played some
great folk songs. Peter, Paul, and Mary (also reds) basically copied their style, but PP&M
were nowhere as harmonious as the Weavers. It is a crying shame that so many entertainers
were leftists.
The Dixie Chicks made the mistake of opening their traps and this became what is now
called the Dixie Chicks effect. The basketball legend Michael Jordan was asked why he
had not condemned President Trump. His response was “Conservatives buy my shoes
too.” Denzel Wahington and Michael Cain have never discussed their political leanings
because they know that doing so may alienate half of their fan base. Robert DeNiro did
not get the message.
The Weavers version of The Lion Sleeps Tonight beats the Token hands down!
Pete Seeger was a commie for sure but without him, my elementary school teacher would never have taught me a cornucopia of folk songs from America’s history. Pete popularized Oh Susanna, Froggie Went A Courtin, and Erie Canal, which are all firmly woven into my soul today. My mom would sing You Are My Sunshine to me as a kid, completing a chain back to her mother.
Kids today don’t have anything, literally no connection to their pasts. I mention Stephen Foster to them I might as well be Chinese.
So I give Pete that much credit and thank him kindly.