Image: Our Savior Lutheran Church I suppose that most of us who attended Sunday School or Hebrew School as children at some point wondered who actually wrote the books that were compiled into what we refer to as The Bible. I do not remember much about what we were taught but have a vague recollection that we were taught that Moses wrote the Old Testament, that the disciples, Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John wrote the Gospels, and the Apostle Paul wrote the Epistles. It was pretty simple. Image: Amazon There were many Bible-story books and some pretty good stories. None of the chronology or geography came into the picture, however. It seems that the adults did not think it was important or more likely that they had no idea about these things. If you start asking too many questions, Sunday School teachers get very nervous. I suppose I was an adult when I first seriously asked myself who actually wrote these books and how they were put togethe...
James McMurtry's music can be clearly seen as a part of the tradition of Jerry Jeff Walker, Ray Wylie Hubbard, and Billy Joe Shaver but he brings a subtle literary quality to his music that makes it unique. And that's the only subtle thing about him. Lights of Cheyenne by James McMurtry Look off down the highway at the glittering lights Like windshield glass on the shoulder tonight As the diesels come grinding on up from the plains All bunched up like pearls on a string And I guess time don't mean nothin', Not nothin' at all And out on the horizon, the broken stars fall Old broken stars they fall down on the land And get mixed together with the lights of Cheyenne Well I've been up all night and I'm down on my back Workin' the counter to take up the slack 'Cause the money tree's light and the whiskey stream's low You ain't worked a week since July You say the gravel pit's hiring...
There is a tradition among Irish and Scottish people to remember, commemorate, and lament the times that the young men of a nation have been sent to fight and die to settle the disputes of old men. The tragedy is that no one really wins in war and the young men and the people who love them pay the price, sometimes for a cause they do not understand. Of course, these songs have been sung by all cultures since wars began. It seems that the Scots and Irish have developed this tradition into a recognizable art form. Irish and Scottish immigrants brought these traditions to America and other British possessions including Australia, influencing the folk music of every country settled. One of the best is by Scottish-Australian Eric Bogle, writing about the slaughter of troops by Turkey in the Gallopoli Peninsula in 1915. Here are several versions of "And the Band Played Waltzing Matilda." "Then a big Turkish shell knocked me arse over head And w...
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