I want to begin today's blog bit by saying that I'm in love with 'Saturday's Child'. Also, I wanna say that "I'm the young generation and I've got something to say".
Whew! What a relief to get that off my chest.
OK, onward and upward...
FUN FACT: It wasn't until just now, putting together this installment of 'TSOML' (inspired by Robin, Girl Wonder of 'Your Daily Dose') that I realized how significant Country music has been in my life.
You'll recall that in an earlier installment I said that 'HOME ON THE RANGE' by The Sons Of The Pioneers is the first song I can recall really connecting with.
Well, here's an oldie but a goodie:
My Pa was a real character. He was a handsome, manly man's man who knew his bourbon and loved sports, but he also had as wacky a sense of humor as you will ever find anywhere.
When I was in 5th & 6th grade, my Pa would occasionally wake me up for school by suddenly playing Roger Miller's 'YOU CAN'T ROLLER SKATE IN A BUFFALO HERD' cranked up to 11.
Well, you can't awaken a kid out of a sound sleep with 'You Can't Roller Skate In A Buffalo Herd' and expect that kid to grow up "normal". I think Country music is what made me crazy...
'YOU CAN'T ROLLER SKATE IN A BUFFALO HERD' - ROGER MILLER
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fYeW0yVRY2s
I was so painfully shy when I was young that, in a sense, I was always an "Outsider". I was an Outsider because I was such an "Insider". (You followin' this, Low I.Q.ers? ...Hey, don't blame me! That's what Mr. Know-It-All called you. I'm just quoting Bullwinkle.)
I didn't really begin to fully find myself until I got out of prison (aka "high school"). But by 1978, I was beginning to realize that STMcC was crazy, and that was OK because I was learning to love Saturday's Child.
In 2012, my blog buddy Gypsy Julie Fedderson challenged me to answer her 11 questions in a blog bit. (Gypsy Julie! Where are you? Come back,
4: What is the song that most defines your personality?
This was my answer:
Oh, now THAT’S easy – a piece of pie (‘cause I like pie better’n cake).
In
late 1978, when I was 18 or 19 years old, I heard my first Waylon
Jennings song. It was played on my Rock ‘N’ Roll radio station of choice
– KMET, "The Mighty Met" – in Los Angeles. [*Yeah, a "Country Outlaw"
tune played on a Rock station. Back in my day, they played a far greater
variety of music on Pop stations than they do today.] I immediately recognized the song as a personal anthem and within days I bought my first of plenty o' Waylon albums.
.
.
I
have changed a great deal over the decades since then, but I still
can’t think of any other song that better defines my personality. My
personal anthem remains...
'I'VE ALWAYS BEEN CRAZY' - WAYLON JENNINGS
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eYRtU270yf4
I've always been crazy and the trouble that it's put me through
Been busted for things that I did, and I didn't do
I can't say I'm proud of all of the things that I've done
But I can say I've never intentionally hurt anyone
I've always been different with one foot over the line
Winding up somewhere one step ahead or behind
It ain't been so easy but I guess I shouldn't complain
I've always been crazy but it's kept me from going insane
Beautiful lady, are you sure that you understand
The chances you're taking loving a free-living man?
Are you really sure you really want what you see?
Be careful of something that's just what you want it to be
I've always been crazy but it's kept me from going insane
Nobody knows if it's something to bless or to blame
So far I ain't found a rhyme or a reason to change
I've always been crazy but it's kept me from going insane
Hearing Waylon's song for the first time, I thought: So it's not just me!
I still don't think of myself as a Country music fan in general. I like a lot of songs by a few performers, and a few songs by a couple of performers, and that's about it.
I loves me the "Country Outlaws" (Waylon, Bocephus, and some Willie Nelson), plus Roy Rogers & The Sons Of The Pioneers, Brenda Lee, Roger Miller, and Jim Stafford. I dig some stuffs by Kathy Mattea, early Dwight Yoakam, and a smattering of Country songs here and there. (56 years ago today, Johnny Horton's 'The Battle Of New Orleans' was at the top o' the chart. I still love that song!)
A lot of people complain about the "twang" in Country. Unless it's overdone or it's some New Jersey boy trying to sound like he's from Arkansas, I don't mind the twang at all.
Hell, the "twang" is like the vinegar-y taste in jalapeno peppers!
It's what puts the vinegaroon ("whip-tailed scorpion - mean as hell") into the Country tune!
My heroes have always been cowboys, and I have always owned a cowboy hat. Not the same one. Some I outgrew, some I gave away, and some I lost, like this very expensive Stetson...
.
Yeah, that wasn't the first cowboy hat I lost during a Tottering Night. When the drinks go "up to eleven", I tend to pick up rocks and lose my hat.
Well, I'm off (in more ways than one). I'm gonna buy me a dog 'cause I need a friend now. And then I'm gonna go to my favorite Reno lounge to celebrate having a new "best friend". ...I hope I don't lose my Stetson.
~ Stephen T. McCarthy
My previous blog bits pertaining to 'The Soundtrack Of My Life' (TSOML) can be found by clicking the links below:
TSOML #1 - Prelude To An Introduction
TSOML #2- Introduction
TSOML #3 - 1959
TSOML #4 - 1967TSOML #1 - Prelude To An Introduction
TSOML #2- Introduction
TSOML #3 - 1959
TSOML #5 - 1974
For more TSOML participants, visit the blog of GIRL WONDER ('Your Daily Dose') by clicking HERE.
'Yeah, I'm sure that I understand...'
ReplyDeleteCrazy or not, you are a good man and a special person. enjoy this day to the fullest.
Somehow, I bet YOU COULD rollers skate in a buffalo herd. Ha, ha, ha!
FAE ~
DeleteYeah, I'm "special" alright. Ha!
Am I "good"?
Well, I wear a brown cowboy hat because I'm not good enough to wear a white one, and not bad enough to wear a black one. And a grey cowboy hat would just blend in too much with my hair and make me look like I need a haircut sumpin' awful.
I tried roller skating in a buffalo herd once, just to prove Roger Miller and my Pa wrong. When I got out of traction and released from the hosipital, I realized I should have tried it sober, rather than on a Tottering Night.
Thanks for everything, my friend. (Everything except the card and gift, that is. I didn't get those. But I got your attention, and that's "the next best thing", according to Warren Zevon.)
~ D-FensDogG
'Loyal American Underground'
POSTSCRIPT:
The sound of this clicking keyboard is hurting my head!
Oh I get what you mean because I was a square peg. Or an outsider but those days are gone but not forgotten and they are a part of me always. I have an inner motto that is it is good to be insane because that keeps me sane. I don't really care what people think of me...or I may but that still doesn't stop me:) What kind of doggie are you getting? A rescue doggie?? Now since I don't know a lot...are you related to Senator McCarthy??
ReplyDeleteBIRGIT ~
DeleteMy inner motto is this: “I won't be wronged. I won't be insulted. I won't be laid a-hand on. I don't do these things to other people, and I require the same from them.”
I'm not really getting a dog. (That was a reference to a track on 'The Monkees' album. So was 'Saturday's Child'.) I could use a Rescue Doggie though. Ha!
I'm Senator Joe McCarthy's brother.
Well, yes and no. He did have a brother named Stephen T. McCarthy, but I ain't him. Although I am the Senator's brother-in-arms, sharing a disgust of traitorous Communism in our midst (starting with the president and working down through the Senate, the House, the man on the street, and even below that, to Andrew Leon, etc.)
I believe we should let the Constitution and our Conscience be our guides.
~ Stephen
Are you referring to Father Majesky with the beard? Is your inner motto a John Wayne quote?
DeleteYer 2 for 2, JUDGE AL.
Delete~ D-FensDogG
AL, ha, ha, ha!
DeleteI see, I see:) Oh I used one of the songs from BOTB for my card inspiration. Hope that is all aok
DeleteYou don't have to post this comment, but I can't help but chime in on the last bit. The part where you're talking about Commie's "starting with the president and working down through the Senate, the House, the man on the street, and even below that, to Andrew Leon, etc.)
DeleteAndrew Leon-hahahahaha. Ya, he's a card carrying liberal commie PC social justice warrior arsemonkey. I suspect he's the offspring of an unholy union between a Sasquatch and the Hildabeast. And it had to have happened on a moonless night as if the Sasquatch had gotten a good look a Hillary, it wouldn't have fucked her :0)
Hokey-Smoke, ANNE! "You been reading my mail?"
DeleteNext time I get in a debate with a "card-carrying liberal commie PC social justice warrior arsemonkey", I'm calling you in to take over for me when I need to break for lunch. Ha!
~ D-FensDogG
That particular arsemonkey is probably lurking and we'll both wind up being written about on his blog :0)
DeleteANNE O' ~
DeleteI kinda doubt he's lurking here, and even if he is, I'm sure he won't post anything about me. He knows I am MORE THAN WILLING to mix it up with him ANYTIME. And the last time we did, he got more than he bargained for.
Twice he's shot his mouth off and then dodged public debates with me when I openly challenged him (about Gun Control and Senator Joe McCarthy).
I'm quite certain he has taunted me for the last time. But he knows where I can be found... if he ever finds the courage.
~ D-FensDogG
>>... But he knows where I can be found... if he ever finds the courage.
DeleteWhich I'm SURE she won't. Not 1 of her 320 pounds has the guts to publicly debate me.
~ D-FensDogG
Whattaya mean high school was prison? Everyone says that's supposed to be the best time of your life!
ReplyDeleteActually, I never understood that reasoning. I hated high school too. I wasn't bullied. I wasn't unpopular. It was just incredibly boring, I had no freedom, and I had no money. To the people that say that high school is the best time of your life, I say you have a really f**king sad adult life then.
That's a fantastic song choice, and not just because I'm partial to Waylon. I think it complements my own choice for this - Still Crazy After All These Years. I mean, sure, I've always been crazy, but I think it's important that people know that that craziness has longevity.
~6B
6-B ~
DeleteHigh school was NOT my cup of IPA-395. However, "today" is so horri-bibble that I'd go back to high school in a heartbeat... if-n I could. (Where's Mr. Peabody when you REALLY need him?!)
I'm "More Crazy After All These Beers".
In late 1975 or very early '76, I bought Paul's LP at a small record shop on the East side of the Santa Monica Mall. (That's the outdoor mall, NOT the indoor structure... which I'm pretty sure didn't even exist then.)
That record shop has been gone for decades, and today I probably couldn't even identify the spot it once occupied.
But that was a great album, and I played it often. I dug the hit songs, but 'Gone At Last' was probably my favorite uptempo number. Nevertheless, I think my favorite track may have been the ballad 'NIGHT GAME'. (I s'pose that makes me a wee bit o' crazy.)
"Longevity"? You kan't kill krazy! Just aks Boris & Natasha. Bullwinkle lives, doesn't he?!
~ D-FensDogG
In all my born days, I never expected to see the lyrics to "I'm Gonna Buy Me a Dog" quoted in the blog-o-sphere. It's a quirky one, for sure. Can "Zor and Zam" be far behind?
ReplyDeleteWaylon got a lot of airplay at one time; wife Jessie, too. But they weren't my records, ha ha.
And Spinal Tap rules at my house!
Is there a pattern here? Are these likes common to the class o' double seven?
>>... Can "Zor and Zam" be far behind?
DeleteThey are far Far, FAR behind!
I HATE the sitar! I don't mind the clarinet or saxophone but I hate the sitar. ($100.00 if you can name what I am referring to here without Google-ing it. I'll even give you a hint: "Lydia".)
DOC CHERDO... I hate to say it but... our Friendship Subscription has been... cancelled.
Anyone who doesn't love Waylon doesn't love Wayne, and anyone who doesn't love Wayne doesn't love... our Constitution.
Nice knowin' ya.
Don't feel bad about being rejected. After all, "some people are just jerks", and I "never was good at working with those who disagreed with me. I don't think my worldview allows for people who draw alternate conclusions. ... I think you weren't "supposed to be poisoned by my opinions, so God moved and the thing's done. Too bad, so sad."
However, as soon as you buy a Waylon album, I will let you back into the Magic Circle Of STMcC Insiders - the In-Crowd with the most cowbell!
~ D-FensDogG
Well, there you have it. Honesty may not be the best policy (where did I say I didn't like him? I just said the records weren't mine).
DeleteIf the phone doesn't ring...it's me. :-)
Can anyone have a crack at that $100.00 challenge?
DeleteAnyone except you.
DeleteOne-hundred dollar bills don't grow on trees, ya know!
~ D-FensDogG
DOC CHERDO ~
DeleteOh, is that YOU not calling? I keep picking up the phone when it doesn't ring and I say "Hello" but all I get is a dial tone.
I don't REALLY think I'm a jerk. That's Scrappy's opinion of me.
Why Can't We Be Friends?
We CAN be! Just as soon as you apologize to Jessi Colter for all the mean things you didn't say about her when you didn't call.
~ D-FensDogG
'Loyal Manager Of The...
"Nineteen Bar Double-Seven" Ranch'
I think a good many U.S. Americans don't give credit to the role country music plays in our culture and the music we all listen to. Until I moved to Tennessee in 1966 I scoffed at what we called "hillbilly music", but then I began to realize how much of the music that I had been enjoying was actually country. Music like Roger Miller, Johnny Cash, and the Statler Brothers. "Battle of New Orleans" was a big favorite of mine when it came out and I also still enjoy it.
ReplyDeleteTwang is okay with me and now I have so many friends with that Southern accent that now I like to hear it. Heck, sometimes I even revert to some of that Southern sound though it's hard to take the Yankee accent out of someone who's grown up with it.
Country has some great music to offer and it's been a bigger influence on R&R than a lot of rockers would care to admit. Long live Country Music!
Lee
Tossing It Out
Yep, Rock 'N' Roll basically grew out of Rockabilly, and the "billy" in Rockabilly was Hillbilly... also known as Country-Western.
DeleteCountry and Black Rhythm essentially gave us Rock 'N' Roll. Few people under the age of 45 seem to understand that.
~ D-FensDogG
I can't believe I know You Can't Go Skating in a Buffalo Herd, but I do and I love it. I used to sing that song skipping round the house, it was just so damn happy. That "Brand New Key" (I got a pair of brand new rollerskates, you got a brand new key), made me ridiculously happy for some reason.
ReplyDeleteMy grandfather loved Country music so I heard it a lot growing up. I liked Waylon, Willie and Johnny Cash the most. I also appreciated Hank Williams Sr and Hank Williams Jr. I was mainly raised by my grandparents and that's where I got turned onto Western films and television.
From the bit I've gotten to know of you, I can see why you would identify so strongly with this song. Although I do think you have a sensitive side that expresses itself in your passion for music. People who don't have deep feelings, don't feel deeply about music.
ANNE O' ~
Delete>>... Although I do think you have a sensitive side
Shhhhh!... Whadaya tryin' to do, ruin my carefully cultivated image? [:-)]
I know that song about the brand new key, too.
I love Roger Miller. I've often said that anyone who dislikes Roger Miller and/or 'The Andy Griffith Show' could probably never be a good friend of mine. There's just too much "me" in those thangs.
I went to a Hank Williams, Jr. ("Bocephus") concert once, circa 1994. I think Hank was the only person in the theatre drunker'n I was. Ha!
~ D-FensDogG
Oh man, I love the Andy Griffith Show. When that was on, we'd eat our dinner in the living room to watch it. That was a real treat. And that's one of those shows the Hubby and I have watched over and over again since we've been married. You guys had this show called F-Troop that I liked as well. Did you see that show?
DeleteANNE O' ~
DeleteI grew up with 'TAGS' - something my Pa turned me on to when I was a little tot, and it's still my favorite TV show of all time. (I own every episode of the first 6 seasons on DVD.)
Yep, I remember 'F-Troop'. I haven't seen it since I was a little kid, and back then most (if not all) of the humor was going over my head. Larry Storch was in that, as I recall. And my perception is that it was almost like a live-action version of 'Dudley Do-Right'.
Another show from my childhood that I didn't "get" was 'Green Acres'. It just seemed like a bunch of adults yakking about things I didn't understand.
But several years ago, my Brother and I caught part of a 'Green Acres' festival on TV Land, and we were laughing quite a bit! As a child, I never would have believed anyone who told me that was a funny show.
The TV shows I like so much that I own all or most of the episodes on DVD are:
'The Andy Griffith Show'
'Frasier'
'All In The Family'
'Rocky & Bullwinkle'
'Moonlighting'
I also dig (but don't own) 'Get Smart' and 'Everybody Loves Raymond'.
Someday I'd like to get the first 2 seasons of 'Batman' with Adam West. That was some funny stuffs, but it was all done with ridiculous, straight-laced seriousness (which is actually what made it humorous). Plus,... Julie Newmar as Catwoman. Oh... Me-OWW! [:-)]
~ D-FensDogG
Oh man, Batman is one of my all time favourites. The colours, the campiness of it and the crazy angles they shot it in when there was a villain onstage was great. That one stands the test of time for me.
DeleteGet Smart is also a favourite that I've watched over and over again. Also love Rocky and Bullwinkle. I think all the best cartoons exist on two levels-one for children, the other for adults.
I don't know if you ever watched The Saint or The Persuaders, but those were two stand outs for me.
ANNE O' ~
DeleteI was just re-reading your comment about "Arsemonkey Andrew" and laughing out loud - literally!
Nope, never saw 'The Saint' or 'The Persuaders'.
I was going to link you to my all-time favorite 'GET SMART' sequence, but YouTube has deleted it. Totally genius writing though.
ROCKY & BULLWINKLE contains some of the most brilliant TV writing EVER!!! It was actually THE FIRST cartoon really, TOTALLY intended for adults (but we kids didn't realize that). Years later, I discovered how incredibly FUNNY it really was.
Amazingly, to this day, it's still (in my opinion) one of the funniest TV shows ever produced!
There's one episode where some remark is made and Bullwinkle looks directly into the camera and says, "Wow! This show REALLY IS for children, isn't it?"
R&B "broke the 4th wall" CONSTANTLY. When I was a kid, I thought it was just another fun "cartoon". I had no idea that it was a work of total genius and about 30 years ahead of its time.
Do you know 'MOONLIGHTING' with Bruce Willis? If not, seek it out. One of the funniest and most creative TV shows ever.
~ D-FensDogG
I did read this the day after you posted it (on my phone), but it is such a pain to comment on that thing that I didn't. I thought I'd get my laptop up and running sooner than this, but alas, no.
ReplyDeleteThe more I study people the more I think that everyone is crazy in their own way. Not everyone will admit they're crazy, but still...
I would've liked to have met your Pa. He sounds like a funny, funny guy.
I saw your TV list above. I think Joan of Arcadia should be on it. Just sayin'.
I'm right with you, Stephen on the I've Always Been Crazy. lol That could be my anthem, too. I didn't even know this song existed until now. Remember, I'm slow....musical speaking and, ah...maybe a bit mentally, too. :D
ReplyDeleteI definitely will take a look at this little meme of Robin's when life calms down for me a bit, but I wanted to drop you a little message here because your email address bounced twice in response to Dixie. Well...I haven't heard from her yet. I don't know what to make of this, but IF I hear from her I will certainly let you and everyone else know AND please do in like kind. Have a tunetastic weekend!