Travelin’ home with Dr. Hook and his Medicine Show
Well, Stanley McChrystal didn’t actually make the cover of Rolling Stone this week, surrendering that high honor to one Lady Gaga. But back in 1972, when this song hit the charts, McChrystal was 18 and by all accounts a party animal. So I’d say that the odds are pretty good that at one point or another, he had roared out its familiar refrain.
Little did he know the twists that life would take.
The song — a classic of the genre mocking the rock-star life — was written by the amazingly versatile Shel Silverstein, who also wrote this and this and this as well as classic children’s books such as this and this (one of my own kids’ favorites.)
And no, there’s nothing political in the title of that last one.
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146 comments Add your comment
TaxPayer
June 25th, 2010
10:29 pm
Mitch,
Have a beer, get laid, get a life.
josef nix
June 25th, 2010
10:34 pm
RW…
You leave me alone! Me and my boy have been in the wine! Jus’ spell it mutha…
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KXsyXjZPvGU&feature=related
Granny Godzilla
June 25th, 2010
10:38 pm
josef
i’ll never be able to thank you enough. i had never heard that.
my pop showed me halley last time.
he can still navigate by the stars, and i navigate by my pop.
thank you
josef nix
June 25th, 2010
10:41 pm
Mitch
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8pa1QvSD440
josef nix
June 25th, 2010
10:43 pm
GG
Glad you liked it! First time I heard it, it really did strike home…I lived in Jackson growing up and I got to see it with my own Little Princess who was three at the time…
RW-(the original)
June 25th, 2010
10:44 pm
WTF! Let me try this again.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-2wutEzjy_E
Hillbilly Deluxe
June 25th, 2010
11:01 pm
I can’t believe there’s anybody who hasn’t heard of Shel Silverstein.
The rain went around me again, so still dry here. Oh well, tomorrow is another day.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7XaYXEPfGFs
Hillbilly Deluxe
June 25th, 2010
11:06 pm
Big Z has another meltdown.
http://chicago.cubs.mlb.com/news/wrap.jsp?ymd=20100625&content_id=11567252&vkey=wrapup2005&fext=.jsp&team=away&gid=2010_06_25_chnmlb_chamlb_1
godless heathen
June 25th, 2010
11:14 pm
There is a recent Shel Silverstein tribute album out called Twistable Turnable Man. Good stuff.
josef nix
June 25th, 2010
11:26 pm
sorry I didn’t get to spend a lot of time here tonight. but I DID get to spend some time with my boy talking music and sharing sadness for home…
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pSRDwZtKcjc
Scout
June 25th, 2010
11:35 pm
Normal:
That was funny …………… but when I was in we had “barracks” with about 20 double racks (bunkbeds for you civilians) down each side of the squad bay. That double room stuff is Horse S**t and goes nowhere toward building fire-team, squad or platoon unity!
Plus the “heads” (bathrooms) were open showers and no stalls for the commodes ………. just lined up against the wall. Why you say? Because it was much easier to swab (mop) and clean each morning …….. which was done without fail (except Sunday) !
@@
June 25th, 2010
11:35 pm
Heeyyyyy, where is all the music????
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tEYFGKbS3XQ
Looks like Obama was odd man out at the G20.
Double dip, anyone?
Scout
June 25th, 2010
11:37 pm
Bumper Sticker:
“Illegal Immigration is Detroying America – Look What it Did to the White House”
RW-(the original)
June 25th, 2010
11:40 pm
Hillbilly D,
Apparently the Cub GM came down with an indefinite suspension of the Z-man. Carlos might want to switch to football and see if the Raiders are interested.
Scout
June 25th, 2010
11:44 pm
To my Vet friends:
If you stay with it to the end you’ll be glad you did. Pass it on ……………..
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0gfnmDGk0KM
Scout
June 26th, 2010
12:07 am
THE BACKLASH IS COMING !
Headline: “Gallup: Conservative Numbers Head Toward Record Year”
Friday, 25 Jun 2010
“Conservatives in the United States are on track to record their highest annual statistics in the Gallup poll’s 18-year history of measuring conservative/liberal ideologies.
That nugget emerges from the results of a USA Today/Gallup analysis of eight surveys taken between January and June, which noted that 42 percent of Americans describe themselves as either very conservative or conservative. That’s up from the 40 percent figure recorded for all of 2009 and trounces the 20 percent who call themselves liberal or very liberal.
The conservative wave is resulting in part from increasing conservatism among independents, the analysis noted.”
Rightwing Troll
June 26th, 2010
6:27 am
yep… AND THEN THERE WILL BE A BACKLASH AGAINST THE BACKLASH… SO WHICH BACKLASH ARE YOU HERALDING??? THE BACKLASH THAT GIVES YOUR SIDE THE POWER IT CRAVES? OR THE BACKLASH THAT WILL RESULT FROM YOUR SIDE REGAINING POWER (with not one eeny weeny lesson learned from the past)???
stands for decibels
June 26th, 2010
6:59 am
I can’t believe there’s anybody who hasn’t heard of Shel Silverstein.
Well I had, but only (I’m a tad embarrassed to admit) as the author of The Giving Tree.
stands for decibels
June 26th, 2010
7:05 am
AND THEN THERE WILL BE A BACKLASH AGAINST THE BACKLASH…
Yeah, but Scout’s backlash is extree-profound-like.
As for self-IDing as “conservative,” I’ve covered that often enough in here. Suffice to say that the term “liberal” was never, ever, a unifying term for an American ideological spectrum the way the term “conservative” is. Moreover, the left-of-centers never attacked that term the way right-of-centers have gone after their opposite.
and since this is a music thread, consider this ditty:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KOXOkqVORxw
stands for decibels
June 26th, 2010
7:14 am
Someone say something about a “backlash”?
Arizona immigration law motivating youths to embrace community activism
Daniel Rodríguez was up at 5 a.m. one day in May, preparing to speak at a news conference on Arizona’s new immigration law.
The event would draw national media coverage because it featured undocumented youths arrested earlier that week while protesting at Sen. John McCain’s Tucson office.
After the conference, Rodríguez, who wasn’t one of those arrested, spent much of the day at the Arizona Capitol. He participated in an immigration rally, directed a poster-making session and arranged for live band entertainment. That evening, he met with volunteers to discuss future protest strategies. His day ended around 11 p.m.
The 24-year-old Rodríguez is part of a growing grass-roots movement of young Latino adults and high-school students who spend much of their spare time advocating for immigration reform that includes a form of amnesty. Rodríguez has a personal stake in fighting the nation’s toughest immigration law, which goes into effect July 29: He was brought to the United States as a child and is an illegal immigrant.
But there are many other youths standing beside him at protests in the Phoenix area who are U.S. citizens.
Older community activists compare what is happening now in Arizona to the civil-rights movement of the 1950s and 1960s.
“If there’s any positive to be gained in Arizona . . . it is the fact it has created a whole new generation of leaders,” said Danny Ortega, a Phoenix attorney and community leader.
out to put in a few miles before the heat’s extra-beastly. later.
TaxPayer
June 26th, 2010
7:17 am
What does the term “conservative” mean to our blogging Republicans such as Scout.
Rightwing Troll
June 26th, 2010
7:25 am
What happens after this BACKLASH? Or does the “conservatives” collective wet dream end with the regaining of power? What will be different? How will THE BACKLASH lead us as a country out of the wilderness after the mess of the last 10 years? What fresh ideas are there from THE BACKLASH? Or will it be more tax cuts, corporate welfare, and ending legalized abortion?
WHAT WILL THE BACKLASH CHANGE???? CONVINCE ME AND I”LL BE PART OF THE BACKLASH…
The party of “hell no” and “do as I say, not as I do” better start asking themselves these questions or thier BACKLASH will be as short lived as Obama’s BACKLASH.
TaxPayer
June 26th, 2010
7:33 am
Nearly two months after the governor requested—and the Department of Defense approved the use of 6,000 Louisiana National Guard troops—only a fraction—1,053—have actually been deployed by Jindal to fight the spill.
Doesn’t Jindal care about cleaning up this mess! What is taking him so long to DO something! Something other than photo ops, that is.
Rightwing Troll
June 26th, 2010
7:39 am
Seriously. Jindal needs to deploy whatever resources he can and build whatever berms he wants and ask for forgiveness later. Not stand around and use this as an opportunity to speechify… This is Jindals spill now. Why is Jindal destroying the gulf???
(I used “conservative” thought patterns to reach my conclusion)
Rightwing Troll
June 26th, 2010
7:39 am
heh.. I created an oxymoron… “conservative” thought patterns…
Rightwing Troll
June 26th, 2010
7:41 am
and the BACKLASH rolls on…
What were those impeachable offenses again??? If memory serves (and I know it does) there were three of them to be exact?
Did anybody ever look up seepage?
Normals
June 26th, 2010
7:47 am
Morning all…,talking about daughters with Soothsayer and SoCo…
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-QT8J_-pAtA&feature=related
Normals
June 26th, 2010
7:48 am
“conservative” thought patterns…
Flatliners…
SOUTHERN ATL
June 26th, 2010
7:59 am
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IwuO2dfqrF4
Del
June 26th, 2010
8:13 am
TaxPayer,
To me conservatism means the preservation of traditional American values. It means Keeping God in our country and recognizing that his word is the foundation of our laws and social values. It means taking responsibility and accountability. It means recognition of America’s greatness and taking pride in our greatness. It means recognizing that the federal governments first and most important priority is protecting the security of this Republic and it’s people. It means many other things to me as well but it can once again be summed up in the word traditionalism.
Normals
June 26th, 2010
8:15 am
…in the spirit of equal time…
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P8xNif53P38
Normal
June 26th, 2010
8:16 am
I wonder what is Normals? How’d that “s” get there?
Rightwing Troll
June 26th, 2010
8:17 am
I see what the BACKLASH means… It means we will LASH BACK to the 1950’s…
No big surprises there.
Rightwing Troll
June 26th, 2010
8:18 am
I think that s” was BACKLASHED in there…
jt
June 26th, 2010
8:28 am
From the “we’re just here to help” department————————
The IRS issued the guidance today to help spill victims sort through the law’s complexities. The agency has posted tax information for oil spill victims on its website and plans to hold forums in seven Gulf Coast cities on July 17 to help victims with tax troubles or questions.
“As residents of the region cope with the evolving situation, I want to assure them that the IRS will be doing everything it can to provide tax help to those who need it,” IRS Commissioner Doug Shulman said. “We encourage anyone who has an issue with the IRS to contact us and explain their hardship, and we will work with them to find a solution.”
jt
June 26th, 2010
8:31 am
For Spill victims, don’t forget your previous five years worth of filing too.
AmVet
June 26th, 2010
8:45 am
SOUTHERN ATL, I’m one of a minority who never really cared much for his music. And IMHO, I found him greatly over rated, but most of course didn’t. AND, that song is sweet.
Yep, last night was pretty much a musical bust. The lunatic fringers just wouldn’t put a sock in in it. As if they don’t have six and three quarters days every week to proffer their viewpoints on matters political.
Speaking of which, this woman would fit in nicely with the masters of misinformation here:
“Well, we all know that the majority of the people that are coming to Arizona and trespassing are now becoming drug mules,” Brewer said. “They’re coming across our borders in huge numbers. The drug cartels have taken control of the immigration.
“So they are criminals. They’re breaking the law when they are trespassing and they’re criminals when they pack the marijuana and the drugs on their backs.”
When pressed, Brewer explained that many are simply coming to the United States to look for work but “are accosted, and they become subjects of the drug cartels.”
T.J. Bonner of the National Border Patrol Council told CNN that Brewer’s claims were “clearly not the case.” Bonner said that some undocumented immigrants caught by border patrol agents have drugs on them, and that they sometimes blame pressure from the drug cartels.
But, he said, those claims have little credibility because drug smugglers are typically transporting much larger quantities of drugs. And besides, he said, if what Brewer said were true, there would be many more prosecutions for drug smuggling.
And I absolutely loved this comment about the goofy governor: Brewer’s comments, Bonner said, don’t “comport with reality — that’s the nicest way to put it.”
You doing a heckuva job, Jannie…
SOUTHERN ATL
June 26th, 2010
9:02 am
Normal that was cool but nobody says it better than James Brown….
…and AmVet……Been very busy lately trying to get my daughter ready for college. I took her to registration/orientation a couple of weeks ago. I never recalled a law when I was in college called the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act of 1974 (FERPA). If parents are going to foot most of the expenses, why would an 18 year old have these kinds of rights? This did not go over well with me! Anyway, hope you like this artist a little bit better….
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NJ2pmtlcohk&feature=related
Normal
June 26th, 2010
9:12 am
Rightwing Troll
June 26th, 2010
8:18 am
AmVet
June 26th, 2010
9:15 am
Del, great synopsis.
To me conservatism means the preservation of traditional American values. I completely agree and have written before that the rub is trying to keep the *best* of our traditional values, not the *worst* of them – intolerance, ignorance and backwards looking factionalism. As this hijacked GOP and misnamed movement has much too often tried to do.
It means Keeping God in our country.. And out of public schools, and to an excessive extent, out of our state houses and our White House. I like your kind of Christianity – reserved, respectful and non-braggadocio. The zealots here and elsewhere are doing more to drive people, especially young ones, away from it than us agnostics, atheists and believers of other isms could ever do.
…and recognizing that his word is the foundation of our laws and social values. Foundation is a good word, and I won’t disagree. But in the post-Renaissance, enlightened societies put more value on MAN’s laws and not God’s. (Don’t shoot the messenger.)
It means taking responsibility and accountability. Without some examples or clarification, this is just a throw away phrase to me.
It means recognition of America’s greatness and taking pride in our greatness. Without a doubt and forever. And also being brave enough to acknowledge our mistakes and failures.
It means recognizing that the federal governments first and most important priority is protecting the security of this Republic and it’s people. True. NOT chosen wars and modern day Crusades though. “Life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness”
It means many other things to me as well but it can once again be summed up in the word traditionalism.
A really great starting point and the first honest effort I’ve ever seen here at a discourse, that is much more difficult than the endless bumper stickers and slogans used a s a crutch.
AmVet
June 26th, 2010
9:20 am
Normal, same title, different song. Killer lyrics and a rocker….
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lzTqt5Sx-a4
SOUTHERN ATL,
LOL!
Another artist I found much less interesting than most my age and background! But again, you choose a song of his that is for me, not reflective of that feeling! And the video is heartbreaking…
OK, gotta get my act together and get some stuff done this morning.
Back at y’all later…
Scout
June 26th, 2010
10:16 am
The BACKLASH that will spell the end of cancerous liberalism !
Ooo Rah !
RW-(the original)
June 26th, 2010
10:27 am
Speaking of Jan Brewer
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bzDlN7VLmXQ&feature=player_embedded
Scout
June 26th, 2010
10:32 am
THIS BACKLASH (10 million viewers and growing !!)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jeYscnFpEyA
Scout
June 26th, 2010
10:37 am
RW-(the original) :
That was outstanding ! It’s hard to believe what our country now calls leadership ……….. we have got to take it back !
SOUTHERN ATL
June 26th, 2010
1:23 pm
AmVet no hard feelings…this was NOT something reflective of you…This morning I was listening to the radio and heard that yesterday was the one year anniversary of MJ’s death…Just wanted to post that song because it was one of my favorites…forgive me…