Song of the Day: Folsom Prison Blues by Johnny Cash


Arkansas’s own Johnny Cash would have been 93 years old today so it seems appropriate that his voice should also be featured in our song of the day.  Here is Folsom Prison Blues, a song that Johnny actually sang while performing at the prison for people who very may have shot a man in Reno just to watch him die.

Really, that’s what makes Johnny Cash such an American icon.  On the one hand, he was a religious country boy who wrote songs about his spiritual troubles and his everlasting faith.  On the other, he could make you cheer at the idea of shooting a man in Reno just to watch him die.

That’s talent.

I hear the train a comin’
It’s rolling round the bend
And I ain’t seen the sunshine since I don’t know when
I’m stuck in Folsom prison, and time keeps draggin’ on
But that train keeps a rollin’ on down to San Antone

When I was just a baby my mama told me
“Son, always be a good boy, don’t ever play with guns”
But I shot a man in Reno just to watch him die
When I hear that whistle blowing, I hang my head and cry

I bet there’s rich folks eating in a fancy dining car
They’re probably drinkin’ coffee and smoking big cigars
Well I know I had it coming, I know I can’t be free
But those people keep a movin’
And that’s what tortures me

Well if they freed me from this prison
If that railroad train was mine
I bet I’d move it on a little farther down the line
Far from Folsom prison, that’s where I want to stay
And I’d let that lonesome whistle blow my blues away

Song of the Day: All Things Must Pass by George Harrison


Today’s song of the day comes to us from George Harrison, who would have been 82 on this day.

All Things Must Pass is a song that Harrison originally wrote for the Beatles.  While the song didn’t make it into Abbey Road, it did later serve as the title track for Harrison’s first post-Beatles album.

Sunrise doesn’t last all morning
A cloudburst doesn’t last all day
Seems my love is up
And has left you with no warning
It’s not always gonna be this grey

All things must pass
All things must pass away

Sunset doesn’t last all evening
A mind can blow those clouds away
After all this my love is up
And must be leaving
But it’s not always going
To be this grey

All things must pass
All things must pass away

All things must pass
None of life’s strings can last
So I must be on my way
And face another day

Now the darkness only stays at night time
In the morning it will fade away
Daylight is good
At arriving at the right time
But it’s not always going
To be this grey

All things must pass
All things must pass away
All things must pass
All things must pass away

Lyrics by George Harrison

Song of the Day: Killing Me Softly by Roberta Flack


Roberta Flack, RIP.

Strumming my pain with his fingers
Singing my life with his words
Killing me softly with his song
Killing me softly with his song
Telling my whole life with his words
Killing me softly
With his song

I heard he sang a good song
I heard he had a style
And so I came to see him, to listen for a while
And there he was, this young boy
A stranger to my eyes

Strumming my pain with his fingers
Singing my life with his words
Killing me softly with his song
Killing me softly with his song
Telling my whole life with his words
Killing me softly
With his song

I felt all flushed with fever
Embarrassed by the crowd
I felt he found my letters and read each one out loud
I prayed that he would finish
But he just kept right on

Strumming my pain with his fingers
Singing my life with his words
Killing me softly with his song
Killing me softly with his song
Telling my whole life with his words
Killing me softly
With his song

He sang as if he knew me
In all my dark despair
And then he looked right through me as if I wasn’t there
And he just kept on singing
Singing clear and strong

Strumming my pain with his fingers
Singing my life with his words
Killing me softly with his song
Killing me softly with his song
Telling my whole life with his words
Killing me softly
With his song

Strumming my pain with his fingers
Singing my life with his words
Killing me softly with his song
Killing me softly with his song
Telling my whole life with his words
Killing me

He was strumming my pain
Yeah, he was singing my life
Killing me softly with his song
Killing me softly with his song
Telling my whole life with his words
Killing me softly with his song

Songwriters: Norman Gimbel / Charles Fox

Song of the Day: Once In A Lifetime by Talking Heads


Today’s song of the day, much like our scene that I love for today, is taken from Jonathan Demme’s Stop Making Sense.  Here is Once In A Lifetime, performed by Talking Heads.

And you may find yourself living in a shotgun shack
And you may find yourself in another part of the world
And you may find yourself behind the wheel of a large automobile
And you may find yourself in a beautiful house, with a beautiful wife
And you may ask yourself, “Well, how did I get here?”

Letting the days go by, let the water hold me down
Letting the days go by, water flowing underground
Into the blue again, after the money’s gone
Once in a lifetime, water flowing underground

And you may ask yourself, “How do I work this?”
And you may ask yourself, “Where is that large automobile?”
And you may tell yourself, “This is not my beautiful house”
And you may tell yourself, “This is not my beautiful wife”

Letting the days go by, let the water hold me down
Letting the days go by, water flowing underground
Into the blue again, after the money’s gone
Once in a lifetime, water flowing underground

Same as it ever was, same as it ever was
Same as it ever was, same as it ever was
Same as it ever was, same as it ever was
Same as it ever was, same as it ever was

Water dissolving and water removing
There is water at the bottom of the ocean
Under the water, carry the water
Remove the water from the bottom of the ocean
Water dissolving and water removing

Letting the days go by, let the water hold me down
Letting the days go by, water flowing underground
Into the blue again, into the silent water
Under the rocks and stones, there is water underground

Letting the days go by, let the water hold me down
Leting the days go by, water flowing underground
Into the blue again, after the money’s gone
Once in a lifetime, water flowing underground

You may ask yourself, “What is that beautiful house?”
You may ask yourself, “Where does that highway go to?”
And you may ask yourself, “Am I right, am I wrong?”
And you may say to yourself, “My God, what have I done?”

Letting the days go by, let the water hold me down
Letting the days go by, water flowing underground
Into the blue again, into the silent water
Under the rocks and stones, there is water underground

Letting the days go by, let the water hold me down
Letting the days go by, water flowing underground
Into the blue again, after the money’s gone
Once in a lifetime, water flowing underground

Same as it ever was, same as it ever was
Same as it ever was, look where my hand was
Time isn’t holding up, time isn’t after us
Same as it ever was, same as it ever was
Same as it ever was, same as it ever was
Same as it ever was, same as it ever was (I couldn’t get no rest)
Same as it ever was, hey let’s all twist our thumbs
Here comes the twister

Letting the days go by (same as it ever was, same as it ever was)
Letting the days go by (same as it ever was, same as it ever was)
Once in a lifetime, let the water hold me down
Letting the days go by, water flowing underground

Songwriters: David Byrne / Phoebe Esprit / Tina Weymouth / Jerry Harrison / Christopher Frantz / Brian Peter George Eno / Ronald Amanze

Scenes I Love: The Performance of Life During Wartime from Stop Making Sense


Today’s scene that I love comes from the Jonathan Demme-directed concert film, 1984’s Stop Making Sense.  In this scene, brilliantly directed and edited by Demme, Talking Heads perform Life During Wartime.  I love the energy in this performance.  I’d love to be Tina Weymouth, able to play perfect bass and run in place at the same time.