Left of the Dial

Happy Birthday to U.S.

Big thanks to George and Tom and Ben and John and all the rest for the present. Sorry if we haven't treated it as well as we should. We'll try harder.  

Yes It Is

The Promised Land

So last night the fambly had itself an apple pie, in honor of this great nation of ours and its nutty experiment with democracy. Oh sure, there’ve been some stumbles along the way, a few of 'em not inconsiderable, but I like to think that after a couple hunnert years, we’re still doing okay.

The excitement over the election plumb wore out The Boy, so I put him to bed and was just checking email when the phone rang. And it turned out to be understandably reluctant Left o’ the Dialian Matthew, actually outside the front door, holding a bottle of fine agave-based spirits and a lime. “I’ve come to drink to America,” said he.

And so we did, left and right, red and blue, saved and heretic, tall and short, coifed and thinning, thin and thickening. And it was good.

And awaiting me this morning was an email from my first bloggety friend, Professor Steve the Llama, as far to the right as I am to the left, congratulating me on my candidate winning, and asking if I was going to be listening to “The Promised Land” on a loop today.

I was not. But I was more than happy to take his fine suggestion and run this here piece.

‘Cuz I ain’t a boy, but I do believe in a promised land. And I feel like we took one big step closer to it yesterday.

Long Walk Home

One of the greatest songs of this young century so far. 

Long Walk Home

Last night I stood at your doorstep
Trying to figure out what went wrong
You just slipped somethin' into my palm 
Then you were gone
I could smell the same deep green of summer
Above me the same night sky was glowin'
In the distance I could see the town where I was born

It's gonna be a long walk home
Hey, pretty darling, don't wait up for me 
Gonna be a long walk home
A long walk home

In town I passed Sal's grocery
The barbershop on South Street
I looked into their faces 
They were all rank strangers to me
The veterans' hall high up on the hill 
Stood silent and alone
The diner was shuttered and boarded 
With a sign that just said "gone"

It's gonna be a long walk home
Hey, pretty darling, don't wait up for me 
Gonna be a long walk home
Hey, pretty darling, don't wait up for me 
Gonna be a long walk home 
It's gonna be a long walk home

Here everybody has a neighbor
Everybody has a friend
Everybody has a reason to begin again

My father said "Son, we're lucky in this town
It's a beautiful place to be born
It just wraps its arms around you
Nobody crowds you, nobody goes it alone
You know, that flag flying over the courthouse
Means certain things are set in stone
Who we are, what we'll do and what we won't."

Its gonna be a long walk home
Hey, pretty darling, don't wait up for me 
Gonna be a long walk home
Hey, pretty darling, don't wait up for me 
Gonna be a long walk home 
It's gonna be a long walk home

Its gonna be a long walk home
Hey, pretty darling, don't wait up for me 
Gonna be a long walk home
Hey, pretty darling, don't wait up for me 
Gonna be a long walk home 
It's gonna be a long walk home

It's gonna be a long walk home