April 25, 1916, was the climax of the Gallipoli Campaign in which troops from Great Britain, Australia, and New Zealand attempted to land from the sea and drive the Ottoman Turks off the Gallipoli Peninsula in what is now Turkiye. The landing was a disaster and ultimately cost Winston Churchill his job as First Lord of the Admiralty. ANZAC (Australian and New Zealand Army Corps) casualties on the first day numbered around  2,000 men  killed or wounded. Eric Bogle, a Scottish transplant to Australia wrote this song in 1971 commemorating and lamenting the sacrifices suffered by the men and their families of Australian and New Zealand soldiers. "Waltzing Matilda" is Aussie slang for the pack and bedroll a "swagman" (bushman, vagabond, rover) carries with him as he wanders from "Murray's green basin the dusty outback."  The song became an unofficial anthem of the ANZAC forces in World War I.

It is fun to analyze the songs of Steve Earle.  His knowledge of history, his sense of justice, his beliefs about right and wrong, and his compassion for human weakness make his songs speak with a voice that is in many ways transcendent.  His lyrics can be five-year-old simple or tenured-professor complex.  That is what makes him the songwriter that he is. "Pilgrim" is a song with extremely simple, rote lyrics.  Steve included it in the album, Mountain, which he recorded with the renowned bluegrass group, the Del McCoury Band.  The album is dedicated to Bill Monroe, a bluegrass pioneer, who died in 1996.  The songs are all bluegrass flavored and "Pilgrim" evokes gospel and spiritual music.  Tempo is 4/4, about 72 beats per minute. I am just a pilgrim on this road, boys I am just a pilgrim on this road, boys I am just a pilgrim on this road, boys This ain't never been my home Sometimes the road was rocky along the way, boys Sometimes the road was rocky ...

I suppose I have spent most of my lifetime in questioning, contemplation, prayer, doubt, skepticism, and anger, and the last two years or so in careful and fairly deep study trying to find some sense, some rhyme, some reason, in how it is determined who lives, who dies, who suffers, who has joy, who triumphs, who loses. This has led me to conclude, with sad resignation, that we will never understand and that there is no rhyme...no reason. This is my little tribute to our nephew, Kenny Gay, who was blameless, yet was destined to spend his short life in fear, in pain, and in loneliness. Here is Kenny on our back porch where he spent many happy hours with our son, Tyler (standing), his best buddy, and Mason and other friends. Here is Kenny at the beach with his sister, his mom who went on before, and his beloved niece.   This is Kenny at a family birthday party with his sister and niece. I give my personal appreciation and gratitude to Kenny, who, among all my friends who said th...

I tend to spend a good amount of time listening to songwriters' work and concentrating on the sophisticated use of the eloquent English language.  It is easy sometimes to forget that some of the most effective lyrics use the most basic language.

Steve Earle has written a number of songs about the effects of war.  Remarkably, he wrote The Mercenary Song" when he was 19 years old.  Here is Steve in Guy and Susanna Clark's kitchen on Christmas Eve, 1975.

Once in a while, I try to air out my analytical chops on song lyrics.  An English degree has to be worth something, however little.   "Dixieland"  by Steve Earle ( Steve Earle  & The Del McCoury Band. Released in May 1999 on Grapevine (catalog no. CDGPS256) I am Kilrain and I'm a fightin' man And I come from County Clare And the Brits would hang me for a Fenian So I took my leave of there And I crossed the ocean in the Arrianne The vilest tub afloat And the captain's brother was a railroad man And he met us the boat So I joined up with the 20th Maine Like I said my friend I'm a fighting man And we're marchin' south in the pouring rain And we're all goin' down to Dixieland I am Kilrain of the 20th Maine And we fight for Chamberlain 'Cause he stood right with us when the Johnnies came Like a banshee on the wind When the smoke cleared out of Gettysburg Many a mother wept For many a good boy died there, sure And...

JUST IN CASE you were planning to buy this "book," don't.  It is available free as a pdf. file.  

This CNN article states that "a majority of Americans approve of the Trump indictment." Does it occur to anyone that it makes no difference who approves or disapproves?  This is the whole problem.     CNN-   "Sixty percent of Americans approve of the indictment of former President Donald Trump , according to a new CNN Poll conducted by SSRS following the news that a New York grand jury voted to charge him in connection with hush money payments made to adult film actress Stormy Daniels. About three-quarters of Americans say politics played at least some role in the decision to indict Trump, including 52% who said it played a major role. https://www.cnn.com/2023/04/03/politics/cnn-poll-trump-indictment/index.html

 On Saturday, I posted the first part of David Olney's The Stone, a musical account of the events leading to the execution of Yeshua bin Joseph and his subsequent resurrection on the following Sunday.  I intended to post each song individually, but YouTube did not want to cooperate so here is a link to the whole album on Youtube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f-d5L93QHcA&list=PLgEy8Q519zDylGXwByBu272FHIv9rEDgP