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Monday, April 16, 2007

The Rules of the Road Have Been Lodged






Yesterday was a perfect day for a drive. It was sunny & about 50 degrees at 1:00 pm when I headed east towards Auburn Hills for the Piston's game. I hadn't been to a Pistons game since I was in high school when I went with Lindsey Evans, Bill Garlick & Susan Rosa as the Pistons played the Phoenix Suns. This was back when the Piston's had Grant Hill as there star & the Suns had Charles Barkeley. Last night the Piston's played the Philadelphia 76ers. Before the game, I honestly couldn't name one of their players. The Pistons had already clinched home court advantage throughout the playoffs & they didn't have much to play for, & it showed. The starters only played for about 15-20 minutes of the game & they got beat handily by Philadelphia's band of no-names. Oh well. I got to see the Pistons with one of my best pals, Ryan. We met before the game at Hoops & had dinner & a couple of drinks before the game & talked about just about everything. He's a good friend.

Even though the game wasn't anything to write home about, we still had a good time. As often is the case in life, the journey was just as exciting as the destination. Prior to the trip, I downloaded & burned almost all of the shows from Bob Dylan's latest European Tour. It was fun to turn the radio up as high as it would go & roll down the windows.

Five Favorite Songs of the Day

It's Alright Ma (I'm Only Bleeding)-Bob Dylan, Amsterdam 2007

Bob finally remembered the fire & venom that can be found in these lyrics, & his singing matches them for the first time in years. This is quite possibly the best version of the song since the excellent solo acoustic versions from 1965.




It's Alright, Ma (I'm Only Bleeding)



Darkness at the break of noon
Shadows even the silver spoon
The handmade blade, the child's balloon
Eclipses both the sun and moon
To understand you know too soon
There is no sense in trying.

Pointed threats, they bluff with scorn
Suicide remarks are torn
From the fool's gold mouthpiece
The hollow horn plays wasted words
Proves to warn
That he not busy being born
Is busy dying.

Temptation's page flies out the door
You follow, find yourself at war
Watch waterfalls of pity roar
You feel to moan but unlike before
You discover
That you'd just be
One more person crying.

So don't fear if you hear
A foreign sound to your ear
It's alright, Ma, I'm only sighing.

As some warn victory, some downfall
Private reasons great or small
Can be seen in the eyes of those that call
To make all that should be killed to crawl
While others say don't hate nothing at all
Except hatred.

Disillusioned words like bullets bark
As human gods aim for their mark
Made everything from toy guns that spark
To flesh-colored Christs that glow in the dark
It's easy to see without looking too far
That not much
Is really sacred.

While preachers preach of evil fates
Teachers teach that knowledge waits
Can lead to hundred-dollar plates
Goodness hides behind its gates
But even the president of the United States
Sometimes must have
To stand naked.

An' though the rules of the road have been lodged
It's only people's games that you got to dodge
And it's alright, Ma, I can make it.

Advertising signs that con you
Into thinking you're the one
That can do what's never been done
That can win what's never been won
Meantime life outside goes on
All around you.

You lose yourself, you reappear
You suddenly find you got nothing to fear
Alone you stand with nobody near
When a trembling distant voice, unclear
Startles your sleeping ears to hear
That somebody thinks
They really found you.

A question in your nerves is lit
Yet you know there is no answer fit to satisfy
Insure you not to quit
To keep it in your mind and not fergit
That it is not he or she or them or it
That you belong to.

Although the masters make the rules
For the wise men and the fools
I got nothing, Ma, to live up to.

For them that must obey authority
That they do not respect in any degree
Who despise their jobs, their destinies
Speak jealously of them that are free
Cultivate their flowers to be
Nothing more than something
They invest in.

While some on principles baptized
To strict party platform ties
Social clubs in drag disguise
Outsiders they can freely criticize
Tell nothing except who to idolize
And then say God bless him.

While one who sings with his tongue on fire
Gargles in the rat race choir
Bent out of shape from society's pliers
Cares not to come up any higher
But rather get you down in the hole
That he's in.

But I mean no harm nor put fault
On anyone that lives in a vault
But it's alright, Ma, if I can't please him.

Old lady judges watch people in pairs
Limited in sex, they dare
To push fake morals, insult and stare
While money doesn't talk, it swears
Obscenity, who really cares
Propaganda, all is phony.

While them that defend what they cannot see
With a killer's pride, security
It blows the minds most bitterly
For them that think death's honesty
Won't fall upon them naturally
Life sometimes
Must get lonely.

My eyes collide head-on with stuffed graveyards
False gods, I scuff
At pettiness which plays so rough
Walk upside-down inside handcuffs
Kick my legs to crash it off
Say okay, I have had enough
What else can you show me?

And if my thought-dreams could be seen
They'd probably put my head in a guillotine
But it's alright, Ma, it's life, and life only.


Copyright © 1965; renewed 1993 Special Rider Music


This Wheel's on Fire- Bob Dylan, Brussels 2007

Ain't Talkin'-Bob Dylan, Hamburg, 2007

Man in the Long Black Coat-Copenhagen, 2007

Simple Twist of Fate-Munster, 2007

Happy Monday, friends!

andrew

8 comments:

Pam said...

Glad you had a good time and made it home safe and sound. The lyrics to the song you blogged today had the endings of the lines cut off. It was fun trying to guess what the end words were.

Dan Van said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Dan Van said...

I have always enjoyed the album "Bring it All Back Home" I quote the title daily. I like the fun and witty first half of the album when you compare it to the latter half. Mr. Tambourine Man, It's All Over Now Baby Blue and my favorite It's Alright Ma (I'm Only Bleeding) are great live.

Anonymous said...

Hi Andrew. So I was talking to Dan and was like, "How are Andrew and Christie?" He told me I should read the blog and I'd know they are madly in love.

I just got done skimming the last few posts, and learned a few things. Firstly, it was reconfirmed that the two of you are perfect together. Congrats that things are going well.

Second, I was shocked to see that you listed a country song: Stupid Boy. I was once mocked once for suggesting picking up an album from this very genre. Glad to see Christie has rubbed off.

Finally, I learned that Christie is 7 days older than me. Happy Belated. This leads me to remember how mad you were when you found out I was a minor at your dart tournament....ironic. Take care, and I'll stop by the store sometime this summer when I'm wedding planning. Maybe we can all do dinner or something?

andrew! said...

I don't remember being mad at finding out you were a minor, maybe just shocked. Stupid Boy was merely a nod to Christie on her birthday, although it is one of the more tolerable songs from that genre. Please stop by!

Christie said...

Hey Jill!! Happy Belated Birthday to you too! You were a minor when you were at the dart tournament, as in under 21? I didnt know that. Anyways, when are you going to start your own blog? I would love to hear all the wedding details! And when your in town give us a call, dinner would be great!

Mrs. Patterson said...

I agree with your Mom, it was fun to fill in the blanks of some powerful lyrics.

andrew! said...

Christie, that was a dart tournament of a few years ago. There's video of it, somewhere.

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Grand Haven, Michigan
the sun shines on a dog's ass every now & then...