A Timely Observation

 Song 549: Seven weeks after my previous personal friend song post, this week's captivating mover One More Midnight comes from another NJ folkie singer/songwriter buddy, John Sonntag, who also wrote the song, and you can find a YouTube video of it by clicking on the title. Back in the 1990s we often hung out and performed on the same stages, to the point where we even discussed forming a musical partnership. This particular opus became the title track for a CD he crafted during that era, and while, unlike a few other rambles from that collection, such as Daddy Turned Grey (Song 297), I had not actually heard this one until recently, I can easily understand why he gave it that distinction. It does, after all, share the observance of the lonely light on the block, and after hearing the tick tock tick tock, like me, you also might decide that you're going to stay in and witness a new day begin - just wait 'til the light plus one more midnight.

Unable to Terminate Passion

 Song 548: This week on the playlist you’ll find I Can't Stop Loving You by Kitty Wells, written by Don Gibson, and you can find a YouTube video of it by clicking on the title. This marks the second appearance of Ms. Wells on the list - her first hit It Wasn't God Who Made Honky Tonk Angels (Song 406) had quickly become a favorite and a highlight of the summer visits to my Bowling Green, OH, family relatives during my single-digit years. At some point in that era, I also learned Kitty's second chart topper - this tune - and her version remained the only one of this famous masterpiece that I had even heard until well into the 1970s, when I did eventually hear the Elvis one, the Ray Charles one and a few others, so prior to that, I just thought of this gem as belonging to her. They say that time heals a broken heart but for many months now it feels like time has stood still and I can't yet speculate as to when those happy hours that we once knew might return, but for now, I understand why some might want to just live a life in dreams of yesterday.

A Four-letter Motivation

 Song 547: This week the playlist applauds Pride (In The Name Of Love) by U2, who also wrote the song (all four band members), and you can find a YouTube video of it by clicking on the title. Friday would have been Martin Luther King, Jr.'s 92nd birthday, and tomorrow will be the yearly day that commemorates his legacy, so this seems like an appropriate moment to feature a track that honors him, particularly when the White-Supremacist-in-Chief is about to leave office, to be replaced by a nicer and more crafty white supremacist. Well over a year before the album that included this cut came along at the end of the summer in 1984, I had already become a major U2 fan, and the new record took my appreciation for the quartet to an even higher level. At a point where many rockers seemed to lack drive, these four had a very strong message wrapped in both their lyrics and their music. They obviously understood the implications of early morning, April 4, when a shot rings out in the Memphis sky. Dr. King was, ironically, free at last when racists took his life, but they could not take his pride, and they could not squash the movement that he had worked for in the name of love.

Shining Jewels in a Pile of Dust

 Song 546: This week the playlist puts the spotlight on Diamonds And Rust by Joan Baez, who also wrote the song, and you can find a YouTube video of it by clicking on the title. I decided to add a Joan recording this week when I found out that 1/9/21 (yesterday) marked her 80th birthday. I also realized that I had gotten close to number 550 before her first appearance on the list, so I will need to make up for that negligence by including a few of her other gems in the coming months. I knew a little bit about her during my HS years, but I soon learned a lot more about her contributions after becoming a big fan of Bob Dylan, shortly after I turned 19 and began my second year in college. She played a major role in his story, as he did in hers, both artistically and romantically, and I felt certain, when this title track came along in the spring of 1975, that he inspired the rhymes. Those of us who live in the northeast region know that walking outside during this season, our breath often comes out white clouds, mingles and hangs in the air, sometimes with brown leaves falling around and snow in our hair, but with the current unresolved pandemic question mark hanging over our heads, we can appreciate even more someone so good with words and at keeping things vague because we could use some of that vagueness now.

Defining the Time and Place

 Song 545: This week the playlist recognizes Five O'clock World by The Vogues, written by Allen Reynolds, and you can find a YouTube video of it by clicking on the title. For the opening week of 2021, I figured this hit deserved to get added to the list. When it first appeared around the time 1965 turned into 1966, it didn't show up on my radar - if I did hear it, I did not remember it. However, a few years later, the woman I hooked up with in the early 1970s soon shared it with me - it was one of her favorites, and she quickly turned it into one of mine as well. The lyrics perfectly embody the working person's daily difficulties and inherent conflicts, as they occur during more conventional times. Even in the era when this cut rode the charts, despite a booming economy and greater overall economic resilience, workers still often struggled to make it through the day, and in the six decades that have followed, things have generally gotten harder for the majority of employees, as the US ruling class elites have moved increasing piles of wealth from the bottom half to the top 1 percent. Then the pandemic situation unfolded in 2020, and now, for most workers, a return to the Five O'clock World seems at this point like it would make 2021 a better year than the last one - it would be nice to know the reason someone can still go on when every other reason is gone.