Texas senatorial candidate Beto O'Rourke (Democrat) joined Willie Nelson onstage to play and sing "Will the Circle be Unbroken" among other numbers at Nelson's annual July 4 Picnic in 2018.
Willie's Republican fans are not impressed
Fox News headline:
I like many of Willie's songs but I'm not an avid fan, Merle Haggard and Waylon Jennings were more my cup o' tea - and I'm probably as left as they come, politically, in this 'ere Bible Belt of the USA. When my country music fandom was honed, back in England, I had no knowledge of American politics, didn't care a jot about that, I loved what I heard, that was the end of it - still is, where music is concerned.
As it's Music Monday, here's one of Willie's lesser known renditions - a Bob Dylan song. The lyrics are kind of apt for current circumstances.
Gotta Serve Somebody
Full lyrics HERE
Snip:
You may be an ambassador to England or France
You may like to gamble, you might like to dance
You may be the heavyweight champion of the world
You may be a socialite with a long string of pearls
But you're gonna have to serve somebody, yes
Indeed you're gonna have to serve somebody
Well, it may be the devil or it may be the Lord
But you're gonna have to serve somebody............
"In two weeks’ time, Willie is scheduled to be one of the headliners for an O’Rourke rally in Austin -- the first time in the singer’s long career, according to Rolling Stone magazine, that he’s done a public performance for a political candidate."
See HERE
Willie's Republican fans are not impressed
Fox News headline:
"Willie Nelson fans furious over announcement that he'll headline a rally for a Dem candidate."
I like many of Willie's songs but I'm not an avid fan, Merle Haggard and Waylon Jennings were more my cup o' tea - and I'm probably as left as they come, politically, in this 'ere Bible Belt of the USA. When my country music fandom was honed, back in England, I had no knowledge of American politics, didn't care a jot about that, I loved what I heard, that was the end of it - still is, where music is concerned.
As it's Music Monday, here's one of Willie's lesser known renditions - a Bob Dylan song. The lyrics are kind of apt for current circumstances.
Gotta Serve Somebody
Full lyrics HERE
Snip:
You may be an ambassador to England or France
You may like to gamble, you might like to dance
You may be the heavyweight champion of the world
You may be a socialite with a long string of pearls
But you're gonna have to serve somebody, yes
Indeed you're gonna have to serve somebody
Well, it may be the devil or it may be the Lord
But you're gonna have to serve somebody............
Received via e-mail from "JD" in the UK:
ReplyDeleteYes, I think Waylon is a great C&W star but I just luurve Willie Nelson too. They were the 'outlaws' who escaped the cheesy rhinestone Nashville of Chet Atkins and redefined the music. See my recent must post about the Highwaymen - https://theylaughedatnoah.blogspot.com/2018/06/friday-music-highwaymen-by-jd.html
Ahyhoo - not long ago the American comedian Rich Hall did a travelogue programme about country music and he included this wonderful quote about Willie Nelson -
“Not many musicians can get 10000 people to show up and help pay his back taxes, and when farmers are going broke and transatlantic pipelines need to be stopped and towns are blown up in fertilizer explosions or schools for impaired children need to be built, Willie shows up. Does the show for free. For three hours. Everyone has a good time, and somewhere, Bono squirms just a little bit on that self-righteous cross he's nailed himself to.”
And I think that sums up the man perfectly; he is apolitical because politicians are interested in the people only in so far as it will help their 'careers' but Willie loves humanity.
Don't know if Rich Hall's "Countrier Than You" has ever been shown in the US. Might be worth looking to see, it was very enjoyable and full of acerbic humour as above.
JD ~ Hey there! Thank you for these observations, and the link. I agree that Willie is definitely one of the Good Guys! I admire his actions, but his voice doesn't always thrill me to bits. :)
ReplyDeleteI like the Highwaymen CD too - was listening to it just the other day. I was always a little peeved that Merle Haggard wasn't included in that group. For me he will always be #1 in vintage country music - both for his song-writing and his singing. Waylon is #2. Willie comes a wee bit lower down, on a level with a few others of the oldies such as Kris K. Among the newer singer song-writers Garth Brooks is my choice - only choice in fact!
I don't know of Rich Hall's "Countrier Than You" - will investigate.