This morning, feeling a bit nostalgic, I was looking over my CDs and found some long-forgotten tunes from a bygone era — the 60s and 70s. I came across a few tunes that, back in the day, went relativity unoticed.
First we’ll take a look at Steppenwolf’s tune “Monster/America”, lyrics below. Other Steppenwolf hits, Born to be Wild, Magic Carpet Ride. Know them now?
Words and music by John Kay, Jerry Edmonton, Nick St. Nicholas and Larry Byrom
Monster
Once the religious, the hunted and weary Chasing the promise of freedom and hope Came to this country to build a new vision Far from the reaches of kingdom and pope Like good Christians, some would burn the witches Later some got slaves to gather riches But still from near and far to seek America They came by thousands to court the wild And she just patiently smiled and bore a child To be their spirit and guiding light And once the ties with the crown had been broken Westward in saddle and wagon it went And ’til the railroad linked ocean to ocean Many the lives which had come to an end While we bullied, stole and bought our a homeland We began the slaughter of the red man But still from near and far to seek America They came by thousands to court the wild And she just patiently smiled and bore a child To be their spirit and guiding light The blue and grey they stomped it They kicked it just like a dog And when the war over They stuffed it just like a hog And though the past has it’s share of injustice Kind was the spirit in many a way But it’s protectors and friends have been sleeping Now it’s a monster and will not obey The spirit was freedom and justice And it’s keepers seem generous and kind It’s leaders were supposed to serve the country But now they won’t pay it no mind ‘Cause the people grew fat and got lazy And now their vote is a meaningless joke They babble about law and order But it’s all just an echo of what they’ve been told Yeah, there’s a monster on the loose It’s got our heads into a noose And it just sits there watchin’ Our cities have turned into jungles And corruption is stranglin’ the land The police force is watching the people And the people just can’t understand We don’t know how to mind our own business ‘Cause the whole worlds got to be just like us Now we are fighting a war over there No matter who’s the winner We can’t pay the cost ‘Cause there’s a monster on the loose It’s got our heads into a noose And it just sits there watching America where are you now? Don’t you care about your sons and daughters? Don’t you know we need you now We can’t fight alone against the monsterTo hear this song again for the first time in a while is a real shocker. I had the album when I was in high school (8 track player in the 63 Belair Chevy), heard the words then also. But back in 69 none of us were that hip. Apparently John Kaye of Steppenwolf was.
The best verse in this song is:
“America where are you now? Don’t you care about your sons and daughters? Don’t you know we need you now We can’t fight alone against the monster”That verse almost makes me cry, really.
Really, what did he know? The last I heard about John Kaye was that he was living in a log cabin outside of Merlin, Oregon. Shortly after making this album (At Your Birthday Party), Steppenwolf slipped into obscurity. I wonder why — said with all deliberate sarcasm!
Next on the list is “1984” by Spirit. this song was written in 1969 by Randy California of Spirit
1984
1984 Knockin’ on your door Will you let it come? Will you let it run your life? 1984 Knockin’ on your door Will you let it come? Will you let it run your life? Someone will be waiting for you at your door When you get home tonight Ah yes, he’s gonna tell you darkness gives you much more Than you get from the light Classic plastic guards well they’re your special friend He sees you every night Well he call himself the big brother but you know it’s no game You’re never out of his sight 1984 Knockin’ on your door Will you let it come? Will you let it run your life? It’s time you started thinking inside your head That you should stand up and fight Oh just where will you be when your freedom is dead Won’t you listen tonight? Those classic plastic coppers, they are your special friends They see you every night Well they call themselves protection but they know it’s no game You’re never out of their sight 1984 Knockin’ on your door Will you let it come? Will you let it run? 1984 Knockin’ on your door Will you let it come? Will you let it run? That is almost prophetic.Next, Neil Young’s “Vampire Blues”, written in 1973 by Neil Young, on a very obscure album of Neil’s called. “On The Beach”. Neil made this album after reading the novel, On the Beach by Nevil Shute, which is is the book that the Mad Max movies with Mel Gibson are based on. This album was ignored by everyone. Glad I have it. You may want to check out “Revolution Blues” on the same album. )
Vampire Blues
I’m a vampire, babe, suckin’ blood from the earth I’m a vampire, baby, suckin’ blood from the earth. Well, I’m a vampire, babe, I’ll sell you twenty barrels worth. I’m a black bat, babe, bangin’ on your window pane I’m a black bat, baby, bangin’ on your window pane. Well, I’m a black bat, babe, I need my high octane. Good times are comin’, I hear it everywhere I go Good times are comin’, I hear it everywhere I go. Good times are comin’, but they sure comin’ slow. I’m a vampire, babe, suckin’ blood from the earth I’m a vampire, baby, suckin’ blood from the earth. Well, I’m a vampire, babe, I’ll sell you twenty barrels worth. Good times are comin’…… but they sure comin’ SLOW!The obvious oil man metaphor is hard not to notice. I accidentally sent this album to my daughter and she asked me when the song was written. When I told her 1973, she did not believe me but some of us are too young to remember what the world was like when gas was .16 cents per gallon (when I was in high school). When I got out of the army two years later it was nearly $1.00. That was called the “Oil Crisis of 1973”. Remember that? By the way, Neil Young took a 1962 Lincoln Continental with a 428 cu. in. engine and made it get 100 miles to a gallon of gas. And then there was a “mysterious” fire in his Los Angeles research lab that destroyed the lab and the car.
Lastly but certainly not least is the Buffalo Springfield (which included Neil Young and Steven Stills) classic “For What It’s Worth”. The lyrics of this song are much more relevant today then they were in 1968. (This is a song in which Neil Young plays his Gibson 5 string banjo that is strung with guitar strings — very unique sound.)
For What It’s Worth
There’s somethin’ happenin’ here What it is ain’t exactly clear There’s a man with a gun over there Tellin’ me, I got to beware I think it’s time we stop, children, what’s that sound? Everybody look what’s going down There’s battle lines being drawn Nobody’s right if everybody’s wrong Young people speakin’ their minds Gettin’ so much resistance from behind I think it’s time we stop, hey, what’s that sound? Everybody look what’s going down What a field day for the heat (Hmm, hmm, hmm) A thousand people in the street (Hmm, hmm, hmm) Singing songs and carrying signs (Hmm, hmm, hmm) Mostly say, hooray for our side (Hmm, hmm, hmm) It’s time we stop, hey, what’s that sound? Everybody look what’s going down Paranoia strikes deep Into your life it will creep It starts when you’re always afraid You step out of line, the man come and take you away We better stop, hey, what’s that sound? Everybody look what’s going down We better stop, hey, what’s that sound? Everybody look what’s going down We better stop, now, what’s that sound? Everybody look what’s going down We better stop, children, what’s that sound? Everybody look what’s going downSo it would seem that there have always been those who “GOT IT”, and I gotta say it again,
“America where are you now? Don’t you care about your sons and daughters? Don’t you know we need you now We can’t fight alone against the monster”
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Rush, Hendrix, Styx, Lennon n so many others.
Yeah, but this trend started in the 70s! Talk down all you want about the Hippies and Flower Children, they sang this, back then.
“It`s A Beautiful Day” put out a lot of good old music – “The girl with noi eyes, White Bird, Bombay. They were startyed back in `65,`66 or so. Black Sabbath and their song “War Pigs” is always good I thought. Deep purple and “The Mule” Old memories there Bonnie. Old Traffic, Canned Heat, The Kinks, Grand Funk Railroad, The Doors. The Taj Mahol The Who, The Dirty MacThere was a lot of good music back then. Janis Joplin,CCR, Jeff Beck & the Yard Birds – Geez ya could go on and on.
@Bonnie.
Have you ever considered that the “hippie thing” was a plan to discredit the intellectuals that opposed the Viet Nam war? CIA was known for dosing people with drugs particularly LSD.
Talk about blowback from an operation!
Nothing in our lives has every been what it appears.
Inside The LC: The Strange but Mostly True Story of Laurel Canyon and the Birth of the Hippie Generation Part 1
http://www.davesweb.cnchost.com/nwsltr93.html
Not well written but thought provoking.
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748703858404576214574291829718.html
The Buffalo Springfield song has always put a chill down my spine.Many song writers spoke code but we all knew what they ment and so many of those songs have stood the test of time because they are still relivent today.
Another ’60s tune that is still eerily relevant is “Pride of Man.” Check out the version done by Quicksilver Messenger Service on youtube.
“Turn around, go back down, back the way you came
Can’t you see that flash of fire ten times brighter than the day
And behold the mighty city broken in the dust again
Oh God, the pride of man, broken in the dust again
“Turn around, go back down, back the way you came
Babylon is laid to waste, Egypt’s buried in her shame
Their mighty men are beaten down, their kings have fallen in the ways
Oh God, the pride of man, broken in the dust again
“Turn around, go back down, back the way you came
Terror is on every side, though the leaders are dismayed
Those who put their faith in fire, in fire their faith shall be repaid
Oh God, the pride of man, broken in the dust again…”
Marvin Gaye’s short song, “Mercy Mercy Me” works, too in relation to environmental disasters.
“Woah, ah mercy mercy me
Ah things ain’t what they used to be, no no
Where did all the blue skies go?
Poison is the wind that blows
From the north and south and east
Woah mercy, mercy me, yeah yeah
Ah things ain’t what they used to be
Oil wasted on the ocean and upon our seas
Fish full of mercury
Oh Jesus yeah mercy, mercy me ah
Ah things ain’t what they used to be, oh no
Radiation under ground and in the sky
Animals and birds who live nearby are dying
Hey mercy, mercy me oh
Ah things ain’t what they used to be
What about this overcrowded land
How much more abuse from man can she stand?
Oh, na na na
Ohh baby hey ooh”
Leon Russell Stranger in a Strange Land 1970/71
Used a Moog on it.
At 2:40 he goes into a lil rap like thing.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tV6u97beANs
How many days has it been
Since I was born
How many days until I die
Do I know any ways
That I can make you laugh
Or do I only know how to make you cry
When the baby looks around him
It’s such a sight to see
He shares a simple secret
With the wise man
He’s a stranger in a strange land
Just a stranger in a strange land
Tell me why
He’s a stranger in a strange land
Just a stranger in a strange land
How many miles will it take
To see the sun
And how many years until it’s done
Kiss my confusion away in the night
Lay by side when the morning comes
And the baby looks around him
And shares his bed of hay
With the burrow in the palace of the king
He’s a stranger in a strange land
Tell me why
He’s a stranger in a strange land
Just a stranger in a strange land
Well, I don’t exactly know
What’s going on in the world today
Don’t know what there is to say
About the way the people are treating
Each other, not like brothers
Leaders take us far away from ecology
With mythology and astrology
Has got some words to say
About the way we live today
Why can’t we learn to love each other
It’s time to turn a new face
To the whole world wide human race
Stop the money chase
Lay back, relax
Get back on the human track
Stop racing toward oblivion
Oh, such a sad, sad state we’re in
And that’s a thing
Do you recognize the bells of truth
When you hear them ring
Won’t you stop and listen
To the children sing
Won’t you come on and sing it children
He’s a stranger in a strange land
Just a stranger in a strange land
Almost. 4got my favorite of all, n every song is dedicated 2 awakening. Pink Floyd 😉 Few of my favorites, “Comfortably Numb”