Sometimes it seems that those of us with a social conscience, those of us who believe in equality and humanity, are reviled with the use of the new term ‘woke’ that is bandied about like something distasteful and disgusting. But guess what? The majority of people actually believe that ‘woke’, as used in the 21st century vernacular, is a good thing! Take a look at Diane Ravitch’s post …
USA Today conducted a poll and found that most Americans think it’s good to be “woke.”
Republican presidential hopefuls are vowing to wage a war on “woke,” but a new USA TODAY/Ipsos Poll finds a majority of Americans are inclined to see the word as a positive attribute, not a negative one.
Fifty-six percent of those surveyed say the term means “to be informed, educated on, and aware of social injustices.” That includes not only three-fourths of Democrats but also more than a third of Republicans.
Overall, 39% say instead that the word reflects what has become the GOP political definition, “to be overly politically correct and police others’ words.” That’s the view of 56% of Republicans.
Okay, let’s lighten up this otherwise dreary Saturday afternoon with some humour from Debby and Sally over at Smorgasbord Blog! Thank you, D&S, for reminding us to laugh!
I had one heck of a time deciding on a song to play tonight! Everything that popped into my head I had already played recently, or within the last two years, and while I really wanted some Stevie Wonder to sooth my frayed nerves, ’twasn’t to be. I think having had some 4 hours of being under a tornado watch, the kitties all in hiding due to prolonged bouts of wind and thunder, has made it hard for me to think! So far, no sirens though, and we still have electricity … touch wood!
This was co-written by Franke Previte of Franke And The Knockouts, who hit #10 with Sweetheart in 1981, but by 1986 was without a recording contract. In late 1986 or early 1987, producer and head of Millennium Records, Jimmy Ienner, asked Previte about writing some music for “a little movie called Dirty Dancing”. Previte initially turned the request down because he was still trying to get a record deal, but Ienner was persistent, and got Previte to write several songs for the film, including Hungry Eyes, later recorded by singer Eric Carmen, which also became a top 10 hit.
Previte wrote the lyrics, and the music was written by John DeNicola and Don Markowitz.
The song was initially intended for Donna Summer and Joe Esposito, but Summer turned it down because she didn’t like the title of the film. Bill Medley was approached by Jimmy Ienner repeatedly over two months to do the recording, but he also turned it down because his daughter McKenna was due to be born, and he had promised his wife he would be there. After the birth of his daughter, Medley was approached again, because Jennifer Warnes had indicated she would record the song if she could do the duet with Medley. Medley then agreed to record the track. With the release of the film it became a worldwide hit, and is one of the most frequently played songs on radio.
The song has won a number of awards, including an Academy Award for “Best Original Song”, a Golden Globe Award for “Best Original Song”, and a Grammy Award for Best Pop Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocals.
(I’ve Had) The Time of My Life Jennifer Warnes, Bill Medley
Now I’ve had the time of my life
No, I never felt like this before
Yes I swear it’s the truth
And I owe it all to you
‘Cause I’ve had the time of my life
And I owe it all to you
I’ve been waiting for so long
Now I’ve finally found someone to stand by me
We saw the writing on the wall
And we felt this magical fantasy
Now with passion in our eyes
There’s no way we could disguise it secretly
So we take each others hand
‘Cause we seem to understand the urgency
Just remember
You’re the one thing
I can’t get enough of
So I’ll tell you something
This could be love
Because I’ve had the time of my life
No, I never felt this way before
Yes I swear it’s the truth
And I owe it all to you
Hey baby
With my body and soul
I want you more than you’ll ever know
So we’ll just let it go
Don’t be afraid to lose control, no
Yes, I know what’s on your mind when you say
“Stay with me tonight” (stay with me)
And remember
You’re the one thing
I can’t get enough of
So I’ll tell you something
This could be love
Because I’ve had the time of my life
No, I never felt this way before
Yes I swear it’s the truth
And I owe it all to you
‘Cause I’ve had the time of my life
And I’ve searched through every open door (never felt this way)
Till I found the truth
And I owe it all to you
Now I’ve had the time of my life
No, I never felt this way before (never felt this way)
Yes I swear it’s the truth
And I owe it all to you
I’ve had the time of my life
No, I never felt this way before (never felt this way)
Yes I swear it’s the truth
And I owe it all to you
‘Cause I’ve had the time of my life (I had time of my life)
And I’ve searched through every open door (you do it to me, baby)
Till I found the truth (you do it to me, baby)
And I owe it all to you
Apologies, for this is a redux from a post I did on April Fool’s Day two years ago, but when I re-read it yesterday, I had forgotten much of it and it made me laugh all over again, so I’m hoping that will be the case for you, too! Happy April Fool’s Day!!!
I gave some thought to trying to pull an April Fool’s joke on you guys by telling you that this would be the last post ever on Filosofa’s Word, but … I figured some would see the title or read the first sentence and say, “Whew, it’s a good thing, for that old hag never had anything interesting to say anyway.” And then my feelings would be hurt. Not to mention that I’ve never been any good at pulling April Fool’s jokes. The best one I tried was hiding my daughter’s car after she went to bed one March 31st night. But, after an hour or two, I feared she might wake up, think it had been stolen, and call the cops (I only moved it one street over), so I moved it back before going to bed. My girls … and anyone who knows me … can tell when I’m “up to something”, for my face gives me away every time. So … instead of pulling a prank on you guys, I’m going to share some of the best April Fool’s pranks by others in years past.
Nearly every site I visited had this one …
On April 1, 1957, the BBC TV show “Panorama” ran a segment about the Swiss spaghetti harvest, enjoying a “bumper year” thanks to mild weather and the elimination of the spaghetti weevil. Many credulous Britons were taken in, and why not? The story was on television – then a relatively new invention – and Auntie Beeb would never lie, would it?
It accompanied this announcement with footage of Swiss peasants pulling strands of spaghetti down from trees. Huge numbers of viewers were taken in. Many called the BBC wanting to know how they could grow their own spaghetti tree. To this the BBC diplomatically replied, “place a sprig of spaghetti in a tin of tomato sauce and hope for the best.” Even the director-general of the BBC later admitted that after seeing the show he checked in an encyclopedia to find out if that was how spaghetti actually grew (but the encyclopedia had no information on the topic). The broadcast remains, by far, the most popular and widely acclaimed April Fool’s Day hoax ever, making it an easy pick for the #1 April Fools’ hoax of all time on the Museum of Hoaxes website – a fine source for all things foolish.
More recently, in 2015, Cottonelle tweeted that it was introducing left-handed toilet paper for all those southpaws out there.
In this now-classic 1996 prank, Taco Bell took out newspaper ads saying it had bought the Liberty Bell “in an effort to help the national debt.” Even some senators were taken in, and the National Park Service even held a press conference to deny the news. At noon, the fast-food chain admitted the joke, along with donating $50,000 for the bell’s care. The value of the joke, of course, was priceless.
In 1994, PC Magazine ran a column about a bill making its way through Congress that would prohibit the use of the Internet while intoxicated. Despite the name of the contact person, Lirpa Sloof (“her name spelled backward says it all,” the column concluded), many people took the story seriously.
In retrospect, however, perhaps the bill – fake or not – wasn’t such a bad idea.
Here are some of the best April Fool’s pranks from around the globe …
France: According to Le Parisien, in 1986, the Eiffel Tower was going to be dismantled and rebuilt inside the new Euro Disney park.
Denmark: In 1965, a Copenhagen newspaper reported that Parliament had passed a law that all dogs be painted white to improve road safety because they could then be seen clearly at night.
Norway: In 1987, after reading that the government was planning to distribute 10,000 litres of wine confiscated from smugglers, hundreds of citizens turned up carrying empty bottles and buckets.
China: Claiming that it would reduce the need for foreign experts, the China Youth Daily joked in 1993 that the government had decided to exempt PhDs from the nation’s one-child-per-family policy. After foreign press picked up the hoax, the government condemned April Fools’ Day as a Western tradition.
Great Britain: In 1980, those serial pranksters at the BBC announced that Big Ben, London’s historic clock tower, would undergo a face-lift and become digital to keep up with the times. This one didn’t go over so big, as enraged callers flooded the station with complaints.
Canada: In 2008, WestJet airlines advertised its overhead cabin bins as “among the most spacious of any airline” and said it would charge passengers an extra $12 to use these “sleeper cabins.”
Taiwan: In 2009, the Taipei Times claimed that “Taiwan-China relations were dealt a severe setback yesterday when it was found that the Taipei Zoo’s pandas are not what they seem.” The paper reported that the pandas, a gift from the Chinese government, were brown forest bears dyed to resemble pandas. Among the complaints sent to the paper was one from the zoo’s director.
Germany: In 2009, BMW ran an ad promoting its new “magnetic tow technology.” The invention enabled drivers to turn off their engine and get a “free ride” by locking onto the car ahead via a magnetic beam.
Perhaps the most fun part of April Fool’s pranks are that somebody, somewhere, will fall for almost anything!
Now, use your imagination and have a bit of fun with the day … just keep it fun, not mean. Unless you’re pranking someone who deserves mean … then it’s okay to be mean.
I played this one once before, back in 2020, and it was on my list of “songs that pop into my head unbidden in the middle of the night.” So, what better time than the present?
This song was written by Jiles Perry (aka J.P.) Richardson, an influential Texas disc jockey known as “The Big Bopper.” Richardson had a hit of his own in 1958 with Chantilly Lace, and on February 3, 1959, was killed in the same plane crash that took the lives of Buddy Holly and Ritchie Valens.
Rock and Roll was still in its infancy in the ’50s, and teenagers were the target audience. Many of the songs of that era are about teenagers, and like this one, often involve tragedy. In this song, Running Bear is a young Indian who falls in love with a girl from the rival tribe across the river. At the end of the song, they swim to meet each other and drown.
Richardson thought the Romeo & Juliet theme of this song was too serious for him to record. He passed it on to his friend, the Cajun musician friend Johnny Preston, who originally was unsure about the song but was eventually persuaded to cut it.
Released in 1959, this recording featured background vocals by Richardson, George Jones, and the session’s producer Bill Hall, who provided the “Indian chanting” of “uga-uga” during the three verses, as well as the “Indian war cries” at the start and end of the record. It was No. 1 for three weeks in January 1960 on the Billboard Hot 100 in the United States. The song also reached No. 1 in the UK Singles Chart
This song makes me sad, but yet I cannot help but love it. Tonight, I am offering two versions … both by Johnny Preston, but 49 years apart. I don’t know about you guys, but I love to see the artists decades later performing their music from … well, decades before. Pick one, pick both … it matters not as long as you enjoy the song. That, after all, is what music is about … bringing us pleasure.
Running Bear Johnny Preston
On the banks of the river stood runnin’ bear, young Indian brave
On the other side of the river stood his lovely Indian maid
Little white dove was-a her name, such a lovely sight to see
But their tribes fought with each other so their love could never be
Runnin’ bear loved little white dove with a love big as the sky
Runnin’ bear loved little white dove with a love that couldn’t die
He couldn’t swim the raging river ’cause the river was too wide
He couldn’t reach little white dove, waiting on the other side
In the moonlight he could see her blowing kisses ‘cross the waves
Her little heart was beating faster, waiting there for her brave
Runnin’ bear loved little white dove with a love big as the sky
Runnin’ bear loved little white dove with a love that couldn’t die
Runnin’ bear dove in the water, little white dove did the same
And they swam out to each other through the swirling stream they came
As their hands touched and their lips met, the ragin’ river pulled them down
Now they’ll always be together in that happy hunting ground
Runnin’ bear loved little white dove with a love big as the sky
Runnin’ bear loved little white dove with a love that couldn’t die
Here are just a few things that raised my hackles and made me growl this morning …
A comment seen on Facebook:
“Big Oil fueled the Industrial Revolution and gave all mankind an unmatched standard of living. Your green energy voodoo will send us back to the dark ages. Literally.”
WHERE has this person been for the last 40 years??? An ‘unmatched standard of living’??? Meaning what? Is the ability to fly ‘round the country, drive a gas guzzler, have your entire house lit and at the perfect temperature while you cook on your gas stove and have at least three electronic devices playing at any given time more valuable than the lives of your grandchildren??? I’ll take my chances with ‘green energy’ and risk being sent back to the dark ages, since in my book these times we are living in are pretty damned dark already!
Arizona
In 1943, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that compelling children to say the Pledge of Allegiance was unconstitutional and violated freedom of speech and religion. Apparently, some people in the Arizona state legislature do not believe that ruling applies to them.
Arizona state representative Barbara Parker, saying that the ruling is “completely obsolete and doesn’t apply,” has proposed a bill that would force every child to recite the pledge every school day, including the words “under god,” regardless of whether they are Christian, Jewish, Muslim or what. This is a violation of the 1st Amendment and no doubt if it passes will generate numerous lawsuits, as it should! Governor Katie Hobbs has said she will not sign the bill into law, which is a relief for people in Arizona, but what if other states pick up the mantle? If such a bill were proposed in, say, Arkansas, there isn’t a doubt in my mind that Governor Sarah Huckabee Sanders would sign it in a heartbeat, probably cackling the whole time. Grrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr …
“There are many ways to judge the success or failure of a country. We can look at its economy, the strength of its military or the quality of its education. We can examine the soundness of our bridges or the smoothness of our highways. But what if we used a different standard? We should judge a nation by a simple metric: the number of weeping parents it allows, the small caskets it tolerates. By this standard, America has obviously failed. So perhaps the question to ask now is, ‘How could anyone not do something about this?’”
How, indeed? A question to ask your representative or senator.
The price of eggs???
You know how people are whining about the price of eggs? (Really ridiculous, since they’re still a lot more affordable than beef!) Well, according to CNN Business, Cal-Maine Foods, the largest egg producer in the United States, reported revenue doubled and profit surged 718% last quarter because of sharply higher egg prices. Now perhaps people will stop blaming President Biden for the fact that their omelet costs $2 instead of $1!
“Because I can” …
A Washington Post/IPSOS survey asked nearly 400 AR-15 assault weapon owners to explain their reasons for having the weapon, what they use it for and how often they fire it. The results speak for themselves …
When I played Down on the Corner by Creedence Clearwater Revival a couple of nights ago, Roger mentioned this one and asked if I might play it sometime. I checked my archives and was surprised to find that this is one CCR song I’ve never played here on Filosofa’s Word.
According to SongFacts …
This is often believed to be about the Vietnam War, as it referred to a “jungle” and was released in 1970. The fact that previous CCR songs such as “Who’ll Stop the Rain?” and “Fortunate Son” were protests of the Vietnam War added to this theory. In response, John Fogerty said: “I think a lot of people thought that because of the times, but I was talking about America and the proliferation of guns, registered and otherwise. I’m a hunter and I’m not antigun, but I just thought that people were so gun-happy – and there were so many guns uncontrolled that it really was dangerous, and it’s even worse now. It’s interesting that it has taken 20-odd years to get a movement on that position.”
Speaking about the musical influence on this song, John Fogerty said: “There were so many more people I’d never heard of – like Charlie Patton (an early Delta bluesman). I’m ashamed to admit that, but he wasn’t commercially accessible, I guess. I read about him, and about a month or two later, I realized there were recordings of his music. To me, that was like if Moses had left behind a DAT with the Dead Sea Scrolls or something! ‘You mean you can hear him?! Oh my God!’ And then when I did hear Patton, he sounded like Howlin’ Wolf, who was a big influence on me. When I did ‘Run Through the Jungle,’ I was being Howlin’ Wolf, and Howlin’ Wolf knew Charlie Patton!”
The line, “Devil’s on the loose” (“They told me, ‘Don’t go walking slow ’cause Devil’s on the loose'”) was taken from music journalist Phil Elwood, who misinterpreted the line “doubles on kazoo” from the song “Down on the Corner” (“Willy goes into a dance and doubles on kazoo”). Fogerty saw this misquoted lyric in the newspaper and loved it, so he thanked Phil and used it for “Run through the Jungle.”
This was released as the B-side to the single for “Up Around the Bend,” which was issued in April and quickly went gold. Most artists didn’t use songs that could be standalone singles as B-sides, but if you bought a CCR single, you often got two hit songs – another example is “Travelin’ Band” and “Who’ll Stop The Rain?,” which were paired on the same single.
John Fogerty played the harmonica part. Like the vocals on “Down on the Corner,” he recorded it after recording the actual song and dubbed it in, because it went from harmonica to vocals so quickly and he couldn’t remove the harmonica from his mouth fast enough. John also played harmonica on his solo effort The Wall (not to be confused with the Pink Floyd album).
This charted at #4 in the U.S., but as far as I can tell did not chart elsewhere.
This one’s for you, Sir Roger!
Run Through The Jungle
Creedence Clearwater Revival
Whoa, thought it was a nightmare
Lord it was so true
They told me don’t go walking slow
The devil’s on the loose
Better run through the jungle
Better run through the jungle
Better run through the jungle
Whoa, don’t look back to see
Thought I heard a rumblin’
Calling to my name
Two hundred million guns are loaded
Satan cries, “Take aim”
Better run through the jungle
Better run through the jungle
Better run through the jungle
Whoa, don’t look back to see
Over on the mountain, thunder magic spoke
Let the people know my wisdom
Fill the land with smoke
Better run through the jungle
Better run through the jungle
Better run through the jungle
Whoa, don’t look back to see
Lots going on these days … it’s hard to know where to even start, and harder still to try to make sense of it all. Nonetheless, the nation’s political cartoonists are hard at work trying to make “a picture paint a thousand words” and they are pretty darned successful! Here are some that I thought particularly thoughtful, thought-provoking, prescient, or otherwise worthy from the past several days. As you can see, ol’ Tucker Carlson is the brunt of more than a few jokes! Well-deserved, too!
I just played this one two years ago, March 4, 2021, but I was reading Mick Canning’s post tonight and his words made me think of this song. An hour later, it’s still stuck in my head, and since it is one that I love, I’m playin’ it again today!!!
Jim Croce died in a plane crash on September 20, 1973 when he was only 30 years old. A few days after his death, his wife Ingrid received a letter from him telling her that he had decided to quit music and stick to writing short stories and movie scripts as a career, and withdraw from public life. Bad Bad Leroy Brown hit #1 on the charts just two months before his death.
The song was inspired by a tough private he met while in the army. Croce and Brown used to hang out and sing together … until one day when Leroy Brown went AWOL.
Bad Bad Leroy Brown Jim Croce
Well the South side of Chicago
Is the baddest part of town
And if you go down there
You better just beware
Of a man named Leroy Brown
Now Leroy more than trouble
You see he stand ’bout six foot four
All the downtown ladies call him “Treetop Lover”
All the men just call him “Sir”
And it’s bad, bad Leroy Brown
The baddest man in the whole damned town
Badder than old King Kong
And meaner than a junkyard dog
Now Leroy he a gambler
And he like his fancy clothes
And he like to wave his diamond rings
In front of everybody’s nose
He got a custom Continental
He got an Eldorado too
He got a thirty two gun in his pocket for fun
He got a razor in his shoe
And it’s bad, bad Leroy Brown
The baddest man in the whole damned town
Badder than old King Kong
And meaner than a junkyard dog
Now Friday ’bout a week ago
Leroy shootin’ dice
And at the edge of the bar
Sat a girl named Doris
And oo that girl looked nice
Well he cast his eyes upon her
And the trouble soon began
And Leroy Brown learned a lesson
‘Bout messin’ with the wife of a jealous man
And it’s bad, bad Leroy Brown
The baddest man in the whole damned town
Badder than old King Kong
And meaner than a junkyard dog
Well the two men took to fighting
And when they pulled them off the floor
Leroy looked like a jigsaw puzzle
With a couple of pieces gone
And it’s bad, bad Leroy Brown
The baddest man in the whole damned town
Badder than old King Kong
And meaner than a junkyard dog
And it’s bad, bad Leroy Brown
The baddest man in the whole damned town
Badder than old King Kong
And meaner than a junkyard dog
Badder than old King Kong
And meaner than a junkyard dog
It’s time for some upbeat and fun music, don’t you think? We can always count on CCR for that! Here’s one that I’ve only played here once, back in 2019.
This song by Creedence Clearwater Revival in 1969 tells the story of a fictional jug band, Willy and the Poor Boys, who were street musicians “playing for nickels, can’t be beat.” The name of the jug band was also the name of CCR’s fourth straight million-selling album.
John Fogerty did all the singing on this. He recorded a bunch of vocal tracks that were overdubbed to create the effect that he was harmonizing with himself.
You all know how terrible I am with lyrics, for 90% of the time I mis-hear them? Well, imagine my delight when I read that one line in this song is often mis-heard by most people! The line is “Willy goes into a dance and doubles on kazoo”, and people often hear that last part as “Devil’s on the loose”. A journalist named Phil Elwood made that mistake and published it in a newspaper article. John Fogerty got a big kick out of this, and as a nod to Elwood, put this line into the CCR song Run Through the Jungle
They told me, “Don’t go walking slow ‘Cause Devil’s on the loose”
The song has been covered by a few thousand artists … okay, perhaps I exaggerate just a tad … including Bo Diddley, Jerry Reed, The Osmond Brothers, Harry Belafonte, and others. It has also been featured in Walgreens commercials since 2012, with the tagline “At the Corner of Happy and Healthy”.
Down on the Corner Creedence Clearwater Revival
Early in the evenin’ just about supper time
Over by the courthouse they’re starting to unwind
Four kids on the corner trying to bring you up
Willy picks a tune out and he blows it on the harp
Down on the corner
Out in the street
Willy and the Poor Boys are playin’
Bring a nickel, tap your feet
Rooster hits the washboard and people just got to smile
Blinky thumps the gut bass and solos for a while
Poor Boy twangs the rhythm out on his kalamazoo
And Willy goes into a dance and doubles on kazoo
Down on the corner
Out in the street
Willy and the Poor Boys are playin’
Bring a nickel, tap your feet
Down on the corner
Out in the street
Willy and the Poor Boys are playin’
Bring a nickel, tap your feet
You don’t need a penny just to hang around
But if you’ve got a nickel, won’t you lay your money down?
Over on the corner there’s a happy noise
People come from all around to watch the magic boy
Down on the corner
Out in the street
Willy and the Poor Boys are playin’
Bring a nickel, tap your feet
Down on the corner
Out in the street
Willy and the Poor Boys are playin’
Bring a nickel, tap your feet
Down on the corner
Out in the street
Willy and the Poor Boys are playin’
Bring a nickel, tap your feet
Down on the corner
Out in the street
Willy and the Poor Boys are playin’
Bring a nickel, tap your feet
Filosofa's Word 