tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3774690407548657707.post1345470370802492925..comments2023-10-24T11:11:49.568+01:00Comments on There Are Places I Remember: Songs About Places: AmericaGeoffhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10966328708258079467noreply@blogger.comBlogger13125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3774690407548657707.post-64243982094582405342010-06-30T20:58:18.816+01:002010-06-30T20:58:18.816+01:00Thanks for the link, Laura-some great songs there....Thanks for the link, Laura-some great songs there. Ironic that Reagan misunderstood Born in the USA and used it as an election campaign song!I didnt know Billy Bragg was influenced by Phil Ochs but I am not surprised-there quite a lot in common between them. Heres a youtube video of him singing 3 of his songs, with Julie Felix<br /><br />http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=3858870894871776557#Geoffhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10966328708258079467noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3774690407548657707.post-73415592801772382842010-06-30T17:41:36.533+01:002010-06-30T17:41:36.533+01:00Oh good! I'm glad you see the song "Have ...Oh good! I'm glad you see the song "Have a Good Time" as ironic, and I do find hope in Billy Bragg (who apparently takes inspiration from Woody Guthrie and Phil Ochs). I loved Bragg's "Bush War Blues". And he was particularly important to me during the 80s (terrible decade). Along with Nena's "99 Red Balloons", "Behind the Wall" by Tracy Chapman and in fact many of the songs at this site, which I just unearthed to send to you: http://www.inthe80s.com/protest.shtml.Laurahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10190486337916706104noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3774690407548657707.post-13417348990677579222010-06-27T23:04:17.805+01:002010-06-27T23:04:17.805+01:00Its possible to see that song as ironic, or at lea...Its possible to see that song as ironic, or at least tongue-in cheek, I think, Laura. It was originally written for the Warren Beatty film, Shampoo, but never used. Do you know Billy Bragg-his songs might give you hopes back!Geoffhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10966328708258079467noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3774690407548657707.post-11891568797480209812010-06-27T07:16:36.844+01:002010-06-27T07:16:36.844+01:00This song always makes me incredibly sad, and so I...This song always makes me incredibly sad, and so I'm glad you wrote about it. Because it reminds me of an era that died - an era that had included Paul Simon. By the 70s he was writing "Have a Good Time" which blesses God for the US of A, for the "goods we were given" and our "standard of livin." The song's new motto was "Let's all have a good time." Hopes really does end in disillusionment, the world we all hoped for - and marched and rallied for is still out of reach - and the era of searching is over, we're just having a good time.Laurahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10190486337916706104noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3774690407548657707.post-74413360465643055842010-06-27T07:15:51.652+01:002010-06-27T07:15:51.652+01:00I saw you too Quentin!I saw you too Quentin!Chrishttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08001197762338085430noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3774690407548657707.post-85504005997171509422010-06-27T07:14:09.492+01:002010-06-27T07:14:09.492+01:00This comment has been removed by the author.Chrishttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08001197762338085430noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3774690407548657707.post-62098230587085720462010-06-24T22:23:36.441+01:002010-06-24T22:23:36.441+01:00Yep, Quentin, I could see you!Yep, Quentin, I could see you!Geoffhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10966328708258079467noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3774690407548657707.post-2150087629254452522010-06-23T00:05:13.469+01:002010-06-23T00:05:13.469+01:00I often wonder if the song is a foreshadowing of h...I often wonder if the song is a foreshadowing of his walk across America, which he explained in an interview: "Somewhere around '84, I left my New York apartment, cut across Central Park, and went past my alma mater Columbia University, across the George Washington Bridge and I was in New Jersey. Most of the time I was alone with my Sony Walkman and my notebook in my pocket... Over forty more excursions, about three a year, taking about twelve years, I crossed the entire United States." Maybe after singing the song he really did "walk off to look for America." I sort of imagine him having the same unbidden thoughts as you Geoff, as he walked - and lyrics from the song came into his head....Chrishttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08001197762338085430noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3774690407548657707.post-56370604482756876692010-06-22T23:33:59.399+01:002010-06-22T23:33:59.399+01:00Sorry - bottom left.Sorry - bottom left.Quentinnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3774690407548657707.post-63771799174708730012010-06-22T23:33:17.971+01:002010-06-22T23:33:17.971+01:00Ps, you can actually see me in yellow on the botto...Ps, you can actually see me in yellow on the bottom right of the screen at 00.17 in this video of the concert that shows "America"....!<br />http://www.dailymotion.com/video/x13xot_simon-garfunkel-america_musicQuentinnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3774690407548657707.post-68120968853225323482010-06-22T23:28:59.705+01:002010-06-22T23:28:59.705+01:00Geoff I was at the concert in Central Park in 1981...Geoff I was at the concert in Central Park in 1981, when they reunited, and they sang "America" quite early in the evening. David Brown did an incredible guitar solo during the song. I remember that it seemed to the group of 6 people I was with that there was something new in the song after John Lennon's death a few months earlier. That night the song seemed to include John, who came to "look for America" and then was "gone."Quentinnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3774690407548657707.post-38593165162691033652010-06-22T16:53:48.562+01:002010-06-22T16:53:48.562+01:00Hey-thank you! That's a lovely commentHey-thank you! That's a lovely commentGeoffhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10966328708258079467noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3774690407548657707.post-86150640454966457522010-06-22T10:09:56.850+01:002010-06-22T10:09:56.850+01:00Geoff, I can't tell you how much I've come...Geoff, I can't tell you how much I've come to look forward to your column - I check in several times a day to see if you have written another. THANK YOU, and thank you for this latest too, which I'm about to read over mid-morning coffee!J.J.noreply@blogger.com