Tonight on Jeopardy, one of the three contestants will be an IBM computer taking on two former champions, Ken Jennings and Brad Rutter. It is a battle of human against machine.
The classic human-versus-machine song is “John Henry.” Historians debate about who was the person who inspired the folk tale. But most seem to agree that somewhere at some point, there was a real person or persons who inspired the legend.
There are various versions of the song about the folk hero. In most versions of the story, John Henry is a railroad worker who, to save the jobs of his co-workers, claims he can beat the railroad company’s new steam-powered hammer. The tale and the song represent modern human beings’ attempts to maintain dignity in the face of rising corporate and technological powers. Although the various song versions differ, the lyrics from the song made famous by Pete Seeger include: John Henry told his captain, “A man ain’t nothin’ but a man, But before I let your steam drill beat me down, I’d die with a hammer in my hand. Lord, Lord. I’d dies with a hammer in my hand.”
There are many great versions of the song by people such as Pete Seeger and Johnny Cash. There’s a blues version with some great guitar playing by Mississippi Fred McDowell.
Here’s another version by Bruce Springsteen and the Seeger Session Band that is a little less raw and a little more like a celebration of John Henry’s sacrifice.
John Henry beat the machine, but in the end he died. Tonight, we doubt there will be any deaths, but can Jennings and Rutter beat the machine? Please answer in the form of a question.
Post-Match Update: The computer won. But this match was just a warm up for a one-million dollar rematch that will be broadcast February 16, so there may still be hope for the humans.
Today it was announced that Mark Madoff, the son of Bernie Madoff, apparently hanged himself in his New York City apartment. His father was arrested two years ago today.
There are accusations about whether or not Mark Madoff and his brother had knowledge about what their father was doing and whether or not they benefited from it. But it was Mark and his brother who turned in their father.
We do not know what other dark clouds Mark Madoff was facing, but it is easy to see that his life was changed by the actions of his father. Add to that the albatross from his own choice to betray his father. Unfortunately, Mark Madoff’s children now carry their father’s burdens, even though Mark’s wife worked to lessen the connection to their grandfather by changing their last name. According to reports today, Mark Madoff’s two-year-old son was sleeping in the bedroom next to the room where Mark hanged himself. One’s heart goes out to the family, despite the suffering created by Bernie Madoff himself. I cannot help but wonder how Bernie Madoff feels about all of the tragedy he has wrought on so many lives, including his own sons.
Bruce Springsteen has written several songs touching on the father-son relationship, borne out of his own troubles. The lyrics to “Adam Raised a Cain” seem relevant here: “They fit you with position/ And the keys to your daddy’s Cadillac./ In the darkness of your room,/Your mother calls you by your true name.” It is unfortunate that the sins get passed on from generation to generation.
You’re born into this life paying, for the sins of somebody else’s past, Daddy worked his whole life, for nothing but the pain, Now he walks these empty rooms, looking for something to blame, You inherit the sins, you inherit the flames, Adam raised a Cain.
In one of his most beautiful songs, “Long Time Comin’,” Springsteen sings one of the best wishes a parent could have for a child. In a single line, he gently erases the curse of “Adam Raised a Cain.”
“Well if I had one wish for you in this God forsaken world, kid It’d be that your mistakes will be your own. That your sins will be your own”
On this cold winter day, may your sins be your own.
Leave your two cents in the comments. Photo via public domain.
In this video from last night’s show, Jimmy Fallon does his great Neil Young impression to cover the Willow Smith song, joined by a “young” Bruce Springsteen at around the 2-minute mark. Excellent.
Rolling Stone has the story behind the performance here.
Today is the release date for Bruce Springsteen’s “new” CD/DVD set, The Promise. The songs on the two-CD set mostly were recorded during sessions after 1975’s Born to Run and before 1978’s Darkness on the Edge of Town. But ultimately they were left off the latter album. It’s interesting that the DVD documentary and the album are named after the song “The Promise,” a song never given a proper release and long one of my favorite songs.
There are many songs about broken hearts, but there are not many great songs that are about broken dreams like “The Promise.” A testament to the power of this song is the fact that in the new documentary, Springsteen said that he did not release the song in 1978 because he was “too close” to it.
Many have speculated about what the song specifically means to Springsteen, tying it to his situation of being embroiled in a lawsuit with his former manager Mike Appel over control and ownership of his songs. But like most songs that come out of a strong personal meaning for the songwriter, this one has universal themes that touch people unconnected to its origins.
In 1998, Springsteen released Tracks, a 4-CD set of unreleased songs from throughout his career. He miscalculated how much his fans had grown to love “The Promise” through years of bootlegging, and fans complained that the song was left off the set. He remedied the situation by adding the song to a single CD Best of Tracks collection, making fans happy for the song but not happy to have to buy the Best of CD for a couple of bonus songs when they had already purchased the 4-CD set. At the time, he said he did not release “The Promise” on Tracks because he was not satisfied with the versions in the vaults, so he recorded a new version with him alone at a piano for the Best of CD.
I loved the piano version of “The Promise” that he released on Best of Tracks, and with the Internet now I’ve heard several versions of the song. I first heard the song as a bootleg on a record album in the early 1980’s, and it immediately became one of my favorite songs. In that version, it featured the full band. So I have a fondness for the full band versions of the song.
The song is about people with dreams — and in particular a person who travels to participate in car races in his car, “Challenger” — and what happens after the dreams are broken. I like the line about how even when you win, you still feel like you carry something from those you defeated.
I won big once and I hit the coast, But somehow I paid the big cost; Inside I felt like I was carryin’ the broken spirits Of all the other ones who lost.
When the promise is broken you go on living, But it steals something from down in your soul; Like when the truth is spoken and it don’t make no difference, Something in your heart goes cold.
The song has several references to “Thunder Road.” The name “Thunder Road” ertainly had various meanings for Springsteen after a song by that name appeared on his previous album and had created such high expectations and pressure for the upcoming album.
In the different versions of “The Promise” I’ve heard, Springsteen sometimes places different emphasis on the final lines about the narrator and Billy saying they were going to “take it all and throw it all away.” Sometimes he sings with resignation and despair, sometimes he sings with hopeless defiance. But that’s one of the signs of a great song and a great singer, that they can convey different meanings and emotions with the same material.
