Category: History

Sting Performs “Russians” in Plea to Help Ukraine

Sting makes an appeal to help Ukraine, revisiting his 1985 song “Russians.”

Making an appeal to help the people in Ukraine, Sting recently posted on Instagram a video of him singing his song, “Russians,” originally released in the 1980s. In the song, he pleads, “We share the same biology, regardless of ideology;/ But what might save us, me and you,/ Is if the Russians love their children too.”

“Russians” first appeared on Sting’s debut solo album, The Dream of the Blue Turtles (1985). At the time, the song, mentioning both “Mr. Krushchev” and “Mr. Reagan,” highlighted the idiocy of cold war policy that was fueling a nuclear arms race.

Sting made the new recording as a world power’s aggression is causing great tragedies in Ukraine. He notes in the video that he has rarely sung “Russians” since it was written because he thought it would not be relevant again.

“But,” he explains, “in the light of one man’s bloody and woefully misguided decision to invade a peaceful, unthreatening neighbor, the song is, once again, a plea for our common humanity. For the brave Ukrainians fighting against this brutal tyranny and also the many Russians who are protesting this outrage despite the threat of arrest and imprisonment – We, all of us, love our children. Stop the war.”

[March 20, 2022 Update: Unfortunately, the recently posted video no longer seems to be available for embedding, so below is the original video for “Russians.” You may also check Sting’s Instagram account for the video.]

With the posted video, Sting provides a way to help: “Supplies shipped to this warehouse in Poland are delivered in coordination with the Armed Forces of Ukraine and are guaranteed to go to people most in need. Wherehouse address:
Pol-Cel; Ramos Breska 63, 22-100 Chelm, Poland. Every box should be labeled “HELP UKRAINE” and indicate the contents: “Medicines,” “Clothes,” “Food,” “Humanitarian Aid.” For more info, contact: UK +44 1353 885152; USA +1 855 725 1152. helpukraine.center.

Leave your two cents in the comments.

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It’s Like Deja Vu All Over Again

The invasion of Ukraine has left many of us asking how we got to this point, what we can do, and some of the questions John Fogerty raised in the song “Deja Vu (All Over Again)”

As we watch events unfold in Ukraine, there is a feeling of helplessness around the world. Those who hope for a better world and wish for more to be done to stop the senseless killing, may understand the logistics of the world standing by. But it is a sad reminder of the state of affairs of humanity throughout history.

In 2004, John Fogerty released a song comparing the U.S. invasion of Iraq with the Vietnam War. He explained that the song, “Deja Vu (All Over Again),” was not meant to be political but about the sadness of the destruction caused by war. Not surprisingly, considering the name of the song, as well as the flow of history, the song unfortunately remains relevant today.

So tonight as I watch the humanitarian crisis unfolding, like many others I feel helpless in that I only am offering up a small prayer, finding a small bit of solace knowing that other humans around the world have the same feelings of despair and the same unanswered prayers.

Day after day another Momma’s crying;
She’s lost her precious child,
To a war that has no end.

Did you hear ’em talkin’ ’bout it on the radio?
Did you stop to read the writing at The Wall?
Did that voice inside you say,
I’ve seen this all before;
It’s like Deja Vu all over again.

Bury Me Not on the Lone Prairie

The famous cowboy ballad “Bury Me Not on the Lone Prairie” started out as a song about the ocean.

Oh Bury Me NotThe song “Bury Me Not on the Lone Prairie” is largely considered one of the most famous cowboy ballads of all time. Although first published in 1910 in John Lomax‘s Cowboy Songs and Other Frontier Ballads, the song’s roots go back even further. More recently, Colter Wall made a beautiful version along with a video.

“Bury Me Not” originated as a song about the sea, called “O Bury Me Not in the Deep Deep Sea.” The lyrics to the song, “The Ocean Burial” (or “The Sailor’s Grave”), were written by preacher and poet Edwin Hubbell Chapin and published in 1839 in a literary magazine. Chapin was born in New York on December 29, 1814, later living in Vermont, Virginia, and Massachusetts. George N. Allen later put music to the words of Chapin’s poem.

“Oh, bury me not in the deep, deep sea.”
These words came low and mournfully,
From the pallid lips of a youth who lay
In his small cabin bed at the close of day.

At some point, the song developed into a cowboy lament regarding the prairie. “Bury Me Not on the Lone Prairie” appeared in various publications in the early 1900s. The song remains very similar to “The Ocean Burial,” as one may see by comparing the opening verse above to the opening verse of “Bury Me Not on the Lone Prairie” below.

“O bury me not on the lone prairie.”
These words came low and mournfully,
From the pallid lips of the youth who lay
On his dying bed at the close of day.

The song is partly about death but also about loneliness and being away from home. The dying cowboy (or sailor) laments that they are far from home and worries that his body will be buried far from home where loved ones cannot “come and weep o’er me.” The real cowboys must have related to the song, feeling isolated from their homes while out on the wide open prairie. It made for a lonely life. In the song lyrics, the cowboy’s comrades “took no heed to his dying prayer. / In a narrow grave, just six by three/ They buried him there on the lone prairie.”

In more recent years, many artists, such as Johnny Cash, recorded the song. “Bury Me Not on the Lone Prairie” appeared in the theme music for the movie Stagecoach (1930). The film featured John Wayne’s breakout performance that helped make him a star.

More recently, Colter Wall recorded his own more introspective version. Here is Wall’s video for “Bury Me Not on the Lone Prairie,” Live from Speedy Creek.

Illustration of Edwin Hubbell Chapin via public domain.  What is your favorite cowboy song? Leave your two cents in the comments.

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    ATM Money, It’s a Gas

    Money SongsOn September 2, 1969, the first public Automatic Teller Machine (ATM) began giving out money to customers at Chemical Bank in Rockville Center, New York. This first ATM could give out cash, but it could not do anything else.  Two years later in 1971, ATMs were introduced that could do other functions we associate with such machines today.  Today, there are more than three million ATMs in the world.

    A number of people worked on developing the ATM.  But most credit Don Wetzel as coming up with the idea for the ATM while he was waiting in line at a bank.  Wetzel worked as an executive at Docutel, a company that developed baggage-handling machines.

    After the first machines appeared at banks, engineers continued to work on and improve the machines, which became more popular and common by the 1980s.  I first remember using an ATM at a bank around 1984.  It amazed me that I could access what little money I had in the bank so easily.  Today, I cannot imagine not having them, even as technology keeps changing.  The last time I deposited a check was the first time I did it through my cell phone.

    Money Sings

    There are a number of good songs about money or that reference money directly or indirectly.  Dire Straits had “Money for Nothing.”  The Beatles sang about not being able to buy love.  50 Cent reports, “I Get Money.”  The Steve Miller Band advises us just to “Take the Money and Run.”  And in “Price Tag,” Jesse J reminds us “it’s not about the money, money, money.”  Yet, as Cyndi Lauper notes, “Money Changes Everything.”

    But the first song about money that comes to my mind is Pink Floyd’s “Money.”  From the opening cash register sound of coins, it is one of the most recognizable openings in music.

    Roger Waters wrote the song, which features lead vocals by David Gilmour.  In the Pink Floyd song, the way Gilmour exclaims “Money!” and some of the lines like “Money is a gas” lead listeners to believe the song is in praise of currency.  But if one examines the lyrics closely, one sees the song is really about problems caused by money.

    Money, it’s a crime;
    Share it fairly but don’t take a slice of my pie;
    Money, so they say,
    Is the root of all evil today;
    But if you ask for a raise it’s no surprise that they’re
    Giving none away, away, away.

    “Money” was the opening track on the album Dark Side of the Moon, which was released on March 1 of that year. The song, which also uses unusual time signature changes and is one of only two songs on the album to feature a saxophone, was the first U.S. hit for Pink Floyd.
    “Money” was released as a single on May 7, 1973, less than four years after that first ATM appeared.  But money had been causing problems long before ATMs came along.  And it will continue to do so no matter what technology we use for the transfer of cash.
    What is your favorite song about money? Leave your two cents in the comments.
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    Senator Robert Byrd Played Fiddle On Hee Haw

    Byrd Fiddle Many people remember Robert Byrd as a Senator from West Virginia. He served in the U.S. Senate from 1959 to 2010, making him the longest serving Senator in U.S. history. And that is not counting his earlier service in the House of Representatives from 1953 until 1959. But did you know at one time he played a mean fiddle, including a performance on Hee Haw?

    Byrd was born in North Carolina on November 20, 1917, and he died while still in office on June 28, 1910. His long service made him the last Congressman to have served while Harry S. Truman was president. Although he had filibustered against the 1964 Civil Rights Act (and earlier been a member of the Ku Klux Klan), he later publicly changed his position on civil rights. And although he had supported the Vietnam War, he received attention near the end of his career as a Republican who strongly opposed the Iraq War.

    Byrd also was a fiddle player. He played square dances as a teen and played until 1982 when a benign hand tremor affected his playing. After becoming Senator, he made several appearances with his fiddle, including the Kennedy Center, the Grand Ole Opry, and Hee Haw.

    Byrd played fiddle and sang the traditional song “The Roving Gambler” on a 1979 episode of Hee Haw. Unfortunately, that episode is not currently available on YouTube, but in the below video he performs on Pop Goes the Country.

    In 1978, the Senate Majority Leader also recorded an album. Appropriately, it was titled, U.S. Senator Robert Byrd: Mountain Fiddler (1978).

    Below from the album is “Come Sundown,” which was written by Kris Kristofferson and made famous by Bobby Bare.

    Who is your favorite performer who recorded as a secondary career? Leave your two cents in the comments. Portrait of Senate Majority Leader Robert Byrd by Michael Shane Neal via public domain.

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