Where Have All the Average People Gone?

Every once in a while, I come across a song that I feel is particularly good for me. It might make me laugh, help me see more clearly, or just get me to relax. I often get the urge to share these songs with someone, though usually don’t. Today, though, I decided I’d send a music recommendation to anyone who is interested. This one is an ‘oldie but a goodie,’ which I assume many people these days aren’t familiar with.

Roger Miller’s rendition of ‘Where Have All the Average People Gone?‘ is one of those songs that helps me see more clearly. It seems like people are increasingly tempted to hold extreme views about others, whereas in reality the truth is usually something much less extreme. I think it’s important to understand this and remember it when interacting with each other.

If you take something else from this song and want to share your thoughts, or would like to recommend another song, please do!

Wild Words

For a long time, I’ve wanted to write a song that might get someone thinking about wildlife conservation. I haven’t known quite how to go about it, and perhaps still don’t. But I’ve written and recorded a song (see below) that was, at the very least, at lot of fun to write which is about wildlife and words.

At little about how the song came to be: my PhD advisor and I, at the end of one of our weekly meetings, got on the subject of how many phrases there are that are based on wildlife. ‘Thin as a rail,’ ‘wolfed it down,’ ‘weasel your way out of,’ etc. A couple weeks later, I was entering data and listening to a Carl Sagan lecture. I was struck by how much effort Carl, as a scientist, put into communicating his science to non-scientists. About important things like avoiding nuclear winter, promoting scientific literacy, climate change, etc. That got me thinking about how I believe wildlife conservation is important, too, and worth talking about outside of classrooms, academic journals, and fundraising campaigns.

And I was so inspired that I grabbed my guitar and wrote the song that you’ll find below, even though I’d only meant to strum a few chords and imagine making a difference. Though at the time I was a little ashamed of spending an afternoon that way when I meant to be working, I now like to think that it was an afternoon well-spent.

I’d be happy as a clam if this song gets stuck in even one person’s head for a bit.

Been

It is fall again! Which probably got me thinking about change and memories. Kind of like watching colorful leaves blow away, friendship can be bittersweet. Anyway, that’s how I was feeling when I wrote and recorded another song that I thought I’d share:

4th Of July Songs

This year as I considered beautiful Independence Day songs, the first two that came to mind were Ray Charles’ rendition of America the Beautiful and Woody Guthrie’s This Land is Your Land. The former is special to me because of Ray’s unique emotion and authentic style of singing, whereas the latter I appreciate mainly because of the simple but powerful words. I’d be interested in learning, as a comment, what your favorite 4th of July song is, if you have one.

For the last few years, I’ve also thought about John Prine’s The Great Compromise during 4th of July celebrations. While at first it may seem that he is singing about an estranged woman, to me the song is clearly about John’s country, the U.S.A. The love, uncertainty, outrage, and sadness that he feels when considering his relationship with his country is, I think, truly patriotic. And while it is not the type of song that is likely to be played at family gatherings as fireworks crackle and kids run around with sparklers, I think you might get something out of considering what John was saying in that song.

For me, ‘The Great Compromise’ serves as a reminder that the best way to love something that you are a part of isn’t to pretend that it is, or was, simply and purely great, but rather to identify the good and bad and then to do what you need to do to make things better.

Traveling Songs

I wrote and recorded a song about traveling, which I’ve shared below. If you’d like to give the song a listen without further reading, go for it! The following text is just a little background about the song.

The lyrics came to me, nearly all during the same session, after I completed a summer mostly on the road for field research, just after I got back home after another week-long (but vacation-related) road trip. I’ve been recently listening, and re-listening, to many songs by Townes Van Zandt, a songwriting folk musician who lived from 1944 to 1997. Though some of his songs were performed by quite famous people, like Willie Nelson (who sang Van Zandt’s ‘Pancho and Lefty’), Van Zandt himself seemingly didn’t attract a particularly large audience despite regularly performing, at mostly small venues, nearly to the end of his relatively short life. I feel lucky that I heard his name mentioned, in an interview, by another one of my favorite musicians (Devendra Banhart).

Van Zandt produced, without question, many of the most impactful, thought- and feeling- provoking songs that I’ve heard. There is a sincerity about his way of communicating that, to me at least, is endearing. And his songs often tell poignant stories, including those that are funny and/or sad, which I appreciate.

Another reason, I think, that Van Zandt’s music has resonated so much with me is that his lyrics often focus on being on the road as a traveling musician. Though not as a musician, I have been on the road a lot in the last ten or so years. For wildlife-related projects and/or graduate school, I’ve worked in 11 U.S. states. During several summers (including this one), I’ve spent months living out of my vehicle and/or out of a tent to be close to the wildlife that I’ve studied. This has caused me to on hundreds of occasions be a stranger in a new place, usually in little towns where I’m easily noticed, getting to know it for a short while before moving on. Van Zandt’s lyrics often describe a love for the road that is mixed with sadness about leaving loved ones behind. I relate to that. Here is one of his travel-focused songs (‘Snowin’ on Raton’; I also recommend the interview in that video).

When I wrote ‘Traveling Song,’ I drew not only from my own experiences but also from what I’ve learned from, and imagined about, people like Van Zandt. People who, it seems to me, spent their life traveling to pursue beauty and freedom that, to some degree, harmed themselves and others.

Dog Music Video – The Wall

We rescued a dog (Bernie) from the shelter this year and had some fun making a music video featuring him. The music is my rendition of Johnny Cash’s ‘The Wall,’ but I think the best part is the video footage that relates to the lyrics. Bernie’s ‘mom’ helped a lot with putting the video together. I hope that you enjoy!

Singing For Prisoners

Johnny Cash (1932-2003) has been one of my favorite musicians for most of my years. His distinctive voice, acoustic guitar melodies, and authentic lyrical stories are what have kept me re-listening to and discovering his music for my entire adult life. Only recently, though, have I given much thought to what is perhaps the most remarkable thing about him as far as I’m concerned. Which is that he sang for prisoners.

He performed at prisons for prisoners several times, with perhaps his most famous performance being at Folsom Prison in 1968 when he recorded the ‘Live at Folsom Prison‘ album. The way he talks to the audience mid-song, I think, is special, as are lyrics of songs like ‘The Wall.’ Though I don’t know Cash’s reasons for performing at Folsom or other prisons, and am sure that he was trying to help his own career, I also get the definite impression that he was trying to do something kind for the prisoners. To make them feel better.

Many people, I think, would sneer or scoff at attempts to make prisoners who may have murdered or raped other people feel better. The term ‘deserves to rot in prison’ comes to mind. So, why might have Cash, in some instances at least, disagreed and thought prisoners deserved kindness?

Maybe his song ‘Man in Black,’ in which he describes why he wears black, answers that question: “I wear it for the prisoner who has long paid for his crime, but is there because he’s a victim of the time.”

Cash’s actions and words exemplify his understanding of a really hard thing to admit, which I remember adamantly denying. Namely, that people are foremost products of their environment. For good or for bad. Like a fire or a flood (or a rainbow), people don’t create themselves. Similar to non-human natural phenomena, people sometimes do need to be contained or avoided to maintain safety. I admit that.

However, I think that it is important to see that spending the energy to hate a person (like a prisoner who ‘deserves to rot’) is as fruitless as spending energy hating a flood. It does no good. That bad has happened and we have to move forward. Like the energy that could be spent creating a wetland to stop floods, singing to prisoners could create a glow in them that also might keep them from burning the world at their first opportunity. I think Johnny knew that. He also seemed to see that there are prisoners everywhere, few behind bars. So, upon seeing that too, let’s sing however we can.

A song: ‘Donkeys, Elephants, and Caribou’

I made it my goal for today to write a song about doing a better job of conserving our natural heritage. The song that I came up with is called ‘Donkeys, Elephants, and Caribou.’ The lyrics are below the link to me playing the song, so that you can read along (or read only) if you’d like.

Donkeys, Elephants, and Caribou

Paul wakes up and makes his eggs,

he says: ‘here we go again.’

The old engine fires, moves his tires

to the place that hollows his years.

By the forest-bordered river he drives

where there’s so many memories

that for a moment he forgets

the radio’s conspiracies.

 

With hair done and makeup on,

Winona walks through the park.

The girls will be indignant today,

the news never disappoints.

But, for a moment, the gossip-world erodes.

As a young fox pounces on a leaf,

Winona feels a warm glow

that she hasn’t felt in weeks.

 

But Evelyn the politician says:

Pauls shouldn’t trust Winonas,

because donkeys and elephants don’t mix.

And demonizing and dividing she knows,

gets herself far more votes.

And people become so dizzied that they

fail to see the beauty that she sells to

get profiteers to give her money.

 

The Evelyns of the world will do whatever they can

to change the image that in the mirror they see

But they’re just reflections of Paul, Winona, you, and me.

And their charisma is often meant just to deceive.

Don’t listen when they say to disagree, without thinking.

 

So, let’s prove the politicians wrong.

Let’s tell them loud and clear

that there’s something about which we all agree.

Whether we’re ‘R’s’ ‘D’s,’ or ‘L’s’,

We won’t sleep under your spell.

We demand our natural heritage to be protected,

Or you won’t be elected

Or you won’t be re-elected

Or you won’t be elected.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Super Bowl Song

I haven’t been a regular watcher of NFL football in a long time, but yesterday I decided to imagine a song about a fish’s journey to accept life in his new (not-Super) bowl. I had fun co-writing the song.

If you’d like, check it out here:

 

Secret Admirer, Let Me See

My recollection is that the notion of ‘secret admirer’ is often associated with Valentine’s day. Though it seems like a lot of letters to fit on a little heart, I vaguely recall that the words ‘secret admirer’, or something like that, used to be written on some of the candy hearts (or maybe the box holding them?) that I was given when a kid. I understand why sometimes admiration has to be secret in human society, but I know that being a secret admirer and/or secretly admired can be a rather sad situation to be in. And that thought is why I decided to make this post tonight (past my bed time!), just before Valentine’s Day. It seems like secret admiring could at least subconsciously be in some minds due to V-day, and thus now might be an opportune time to share one of my creations. Regardless, I’m sharing!

Just over a month ago, I wrote a very short song called ‘Let Me See’ that is somewhat related to this idea of secret admiration (see link below – skip straight to the lil’ ditty if you are tired of reading!). I’m a writer first and foremost, though, so I can’t really justify in my mind uploading a song without also producing some words for someone to read. That said, I do consider my songs primarily word endeavors rather than musical endeavors… Anyways, I hope that you enjoy the written and/or non-written (via the song) words below:

Sometimes lyrics bubble up from an unidentifiable place in my mind for no apparent reason, especially when I am strumming. And the lyrics of this song seem to fall into that rather mysterious category. I often begin songs with the words ‘I don’t know,’ because that is my general stance (even though I love to understand as much as I can). That old habit of beginning strumming sessions with something like ‘I don’t know’ is my explanation for why the first words of the song are what they are. Where the ‘No I don’t really, really, know…what you want from me’ came from, I’m unsure. Maybe Alice the basset hound was pawing me in the face after I had just let her back in from being outside. Probably not, though. I think that she was probably up in my bed. Subconscious echoes, I suppose, explain most of what I do, including thoughts and lyrics. It was late, and I wasn’t tired enough to sleep. I know that the entire second half of this recording is the result of me improvising in regard to words during an uninterrupted stretch of composition while strumming, which is my absolute favorite way to ‘sing.’ It is always cool when the result of such ‘flowing’ is something that I can admire in retrospect.

I find it interesting how I can now decide to upload a song of me singing without a second thought, even though I know anyone could listen (though the vast majority won’t, even of those who receive a notification that I wrote a post). And I know that some of those who listen might criticize me secretly, or openly, for a variety of reasons. Less than 5 years ago I’d be mortified at the thought of such criticism. But the possibility of entering someone else’s consciousness in a positive way far outweighs the risks so far as I’m concerned.

And that risk/reward equation was also, I’m sure, somewhere in my mind when I wrote this song, which includes advice against secret admiring (when possible!) that I will try to follow myself.

I hope that the vibes in this song might contribute at least a tiny part to the larger, complex processes (the innumerable things read, heard, seen, felt, etc.) that ultimately cause one of you out there to attain a liberating moment, after which you might feel something like I do when thinking about my old fears. Glad that you ‘sang’ (metaphorically, or literally) even though you may once have been terrified just at the thought of negative reception. And the memories of being terrified might make the feeling of freedom more sweet.