Song of the Day

Song of the Day (127): It’s My Life – The Animals

This song helped me love the Animals, making them perhaps my favorite British Invasion band. Is there any stronger declaration of independence than this song: It’s my lifeAnd I’ll do what I wantIt’s my mindAnd I’ll think what I want You’re a teenager, fighting every force that you think is trying to corral you (parents, […]

Song of the Day (126): The Highwayman – Phil Ochs

Phil Ochs sang a litany of biting political songs, but this is a beautiful ballad that reflected the breadth and complexity of the man. He took a poem by Alfred Noyes, created a tune and turned it into a memorable ballad. It is a deeply romantic song of the rebel highwayman battling the King’s army […]

Song of the Day (125): Livin’ in America – Black 47

Larry Kirwan wrote and sings this song with insight and conviction of the late 20th Century Irish immigrant experience. What fun, what energy. Lots of talk of migrants in America, noble talk from some, vilification from others. Reality and the truth are often hard to find. It has never been easy for immigrants with each […]

Song of the Day (124): Gimme Some Truth – John Lennon

Here’s the angry John Lennon flailing against the political establishment. Growing up in a Republican, Irish Catholic, middle class family, when I heard this song in high school (a long with Dylan), it lit my brain on fire. It let me see what I saw and let me know that rage and rebellion were valid […]

Song of the Day (123): Last Dance – Neil Young

Neil Young hit it big when he released Harvest in 1972, an album full of lush, acoustic songs that included several hits. He later said that the album took him to the middle of eh road, but life was more interesting in the ditch, so he headed for eh ditch. During the tour to support […]

Song of the Day (122): Midnight Train to Georgia – Gladys Knight and the Pips

Wouldn’t you like to be a Pip swaying and singing behind the mighty Gladys Knight? #Songoftheday #spreadinghappiness #gladysknight #thepips #midnighttrain #soulmusic YouTube: https://youtu.be/A0F9lh8TiSM?si=5gFCpacX5iTNfPqu Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/track/7MF7QAodbGzNYav5ZfIhAY?si=d19ab045be214484

Song of the Day (121): The Ballad of Paul and Sheila – Mason Jennings

We’re coming to the end of what may be the ugliest election I’ve experienced in my now seven decades. It does not have to be that way and was not always that way. Read Whitman’s tributes to Lincoln, Robert Frost who wrote “Dedication” for JFK, Maya Angelou and then Miller Williams (father of Lucinda Willaims) […]

Song of the Day (120): Love at the Five and Dime – Nanci Griffith

Nanci Griffith could write these gentle story songs that came close but never fell into the trap of sentimentality. Her tale of Rita and Eddie captures the sweetness of courtship as well as the hardships that will come in any life. The song and their relationship is fragile, yet somehow resilient and lasting. I included […]

Song of the Day (119): I am Not Okay – Jelly Roll

It is such a simple notion: I am not okay, not everything is good, life can be hard and at the same time, it will be alright. Not money, not fame, not power, not even love can keep us from experiencing the occasional darkness. Dostoevsky had it right, “The really great men must, I think, […]