The Night Cafe The Night Cafe Vincent Van Gogh What else to say? Where would words go? Le Cafe de Nuit (how bad my French is) It speaks to me (Christ I’m pretentious) It’s seventy kilometers It hangs at Yale It’s….oh God I’m not sure.. Words will fail Am I a critic? Here I stand … Read More
Noel Neill 1920-2016 Noel Neill played Lois, a reporter who wore pearls And pretended not to notice just who saved the world As a child, to be a journalist was her ironic plan Then her life took a turn and thus Iconic Man His entrance always casual straight after ascent His absence was fantastical, she … Read More
July 6 Have you seen the reviews for July the Sixth? Yays and boos. Decidedly mixed. John and Paul meet, the world is ecstatic But Anne Frank retreats up to the attic First Republican Party Convention They start perfecting the art of no dissension Richard the Third resorts to force In a few words, the … Read More
I finished this song a few weeks ago and love singing it. I especially love singing it with Molly Watkins and Susan Dillard (who also really knows her way around a kazoo). You can watch us here, on Vimeo. Thanks to Tom Adams for the video. Until July 23, when my Kickstarter completes, I am posting new … Read More
Scotty Moore 1931-2016 On July 4, 1954, they started a revolution Bill Black, Scotty Moore, blues/hillbilly fusion A kid comes into the studio, Presley, shy and quiet What they did oh who could know, would anyone buy it? Our Sistine Chapel, Sun Records in Memphis Airwaves crackle with America, restless At the start of this … Read More
“What would you be like if you weren’t my dad?” Out of nowhere (seemingly) when my daughter was 4, she asked me this question. This song is the answer. This song is from one of my kids’ records, “I Miss the Mud“. Until July 23, when my Kickstarter completes, I am posting new and old … Read More
This song is inspired by Lucile Clifton‘s poem of the same name. “Am I my brother’s keeper?” was Cain’s reply to God’s query regarding the whereabouts of Abel. It has always seemed to me that Cain was then punished not for murder but for insolence. God could be touchy. I wrote this a few years … Read More
If I had a Dime The title of this song was first uttered in disdain by Franklin Roosevelt. It was completed with “I’ve been asked what was it like to grow up in the shadow of cousin Teddy?” Later, the Republican Party forced through a measure that removed FDR’s image from the now-out-of-circulation New Deal … Read More