#so come back woody guthrie come back to us now tear your eyes from paradise and rise again somehow

[murderballadeer]

i was gonna say christmas in washington by steve earle is a rare good christmas song but the thing is it's not even a christmas song it's just called that

[hondacivictrucknuts]

The ultimate 90s protest song

I followed in your footsteps once, back in my traveling days Somewhere I failed to find your trail Now I'm stumbling through the haze But there's killers on the highway now, and a man can't get around So I sold my soul for wheels that roll Now I'm stuck here in this town

I remember being at an anti-war protest ca. 2002, where a boomer with a guitar complained that all the protest songs he knew were 30 years old, and thinking that I knew more recent protest songs and maybe the problem was with him. The best ones were by Steve Earle, whose most famous protest song is now pushing 30 itself.

It used to strike me as weird that Christmas in Washington, a song set at eve of the second Clinton inauguration and calling for the reincarnation of Woody Guthrie to address the problems of that time, always remained more popular than songs like Jerusalem and Home to Houston that dealt more directly with the war(s) that we were in the streets protesting.

Now, though, I see that it was the ultimate 90s protest song, and is more relevant than ever in 2022! The second verse, quoted above, protests growing up and having responsibilities. From there, the song really captures the zeitgeist—of then and now—with the last verse, which protests no particular material condition but rather the lack of any cool leftist movements or leaders to follow:

There's foxes in the henhouse Cows out in the corn The unions have been busted Their proud red banners torn To listen to the radio You'd think that all was well But you and me and Cisco know It's going straight to hell

So come back, Emma Goldman Rise up, old Joe Hill The barricades are going up They cannot break our will Come back to us, Malcolm X And Martin Luther King We're marching into Selma As the bells of freedom ring

So come back, Woody Guthrie Come back to us now Tear your eyes from paradise And rise again somehow

It could be seen as an insult to whoever the major labor/civil rights activist leaders were in the mid-90s. But Earle himself was one of the top left-wing folk singers at the time, and the chorus is his own plea of insufficiency. Was he just too busy with alcohol, divorces, and other country music shit? By the early 2000s his live shows started with a rambling monologue about how he was a recovering folk singer.

In the 90s, three decades ago was the 60s, what with the Civil RIghts, labor, and anti-war movements. Three decades ago from now was the 90s.

[warning-strangedog]

Steve Earle at City Winery NYC

It was a full house that came to see Texas borne Steve Earle at the City Winery in New York on Monday, January 16.

But it was not just any Monday; it was, Martin Luther King Jr. Day. As you all know, King was the chief spokesman for nonviolent activism in the Civil Rights Movement, which successfully protested racial discrimination in federal and state law.

I was in town for a retail conference and had managed to snag a ticket to see one of my favourite performers, Steve Earle. Given his history of protest he seemed like an appropriate artist to see on this day.

I’d never been to the City Winery and didn’t know what to expect. It was a pleasant surprise, a warm room with lots of wood and quiet conversation. While the tables were close together the room felt spacious and most seats had a good view of the stage.

The show opened with Amy Helm, a singer/songwriter with a deeply expressive voice backed up by two very talented guitarists. Helm has been playing guitar and mandolin since she was a child and in 2015 released her first album “Didn’t It Rain”. And yes, she is the daughter of the late Levon Helm of The Band fame.

After a 6 song set Earle joined the band for “The Mountain” and then after a short break returned and kicked off his set with an homage to singer/songwriter Greg Trooper who passed away the previous day by playing “I Don’t Care What You Do to Me”.

This was followed up with “Taneytown”, a song about racism and the civil war and then the bluesy number “You’re the Best Lover That I Ever Had”. Now Earle’s life is larger than most. With seven marriages to six different women; prison; heroin addiction and recovery; and his anti-death penalty/anti-war actions you have a lot of material for a story teller of his calibre. Now sometimes his between song stories can be a little windy but most of the time I feel like we’re sitting in his recreation room as he gives me the backstory on his songs or shares his logic on his political leanings.

The audience hung on every word whether it was about addiction (Cocaine Cannot Kill My Pain), past loves (Sparkle and Shine or Fearless Heart) or songs “only a twenty year old could write” (Ben McCulloch) or just plain old hard luck (Tom Ames’ Prayer). Here’s a picture of a 20 year old Earle.

Giving us a performance of nearly two hours, Earle also made sure to treat us to hits like “Guitar Town” and “Copperhead Road”.  He’d often introduce a song by strumming the opening chords while telling us the background. The audience’s love for this poet with a guitar was in fact never more evident than when he played Copperhead Road, probably his most recognized song. The ovation was loud, raucous even, with cheers and a warmth that the artist could feel. Here’s a peek...

My listing of all the songs is incomplete  but in honour of Martin Luther King he played “Tell Moses” and talked about all the work that remained in relation to equality. “The Galway Girl” had the audience singing along to the chorus and then he came back for a quick encore with “Christmas in Washington”.

Now Christmas in Washington is one of my favourite Steve Earle tunes. This song is about the state of the nation, but Earle says” it’s also about some of the things I've lost along the way.” He opened with a lengthy commentary on the recent election and the fact that he was in Ottawa on election day (he voted in the advance polls). He told us how he was asked if he was moving to Canada and then explained why now was the time to stay in the United States and fight for what was right. It was a long preamble to this song but it was pure Steve Earle and made me love him even more. The audience loved it too singing along to the chorus of a song which is about bringing back heroes and the need for more heroes in these challenging times. It goes like this:

So come back Woody Guthrie  Come back to us now  Tear your eyes from paradise  And rise again somehow  If you run into Jesus  Maybe he can help you out  Come back Woody Guthrie to us now

He played the chorus at the end a few times and the audience got louder and louder until Earle strummed it to a close. And then as quickly as the night had started it was over; a rousing round of applause and we all headed back out into the cold with a little more warmth and humanity in our hearts thanks to Steve Earle.

I can’t wait to see him again!