MOTHERS DAY: Songs That Celebrate Being A Bum

[John S Mosby]

How about this modern one— two worthless bum parents/druggie/doper drunks who orphan their little girl. This song is so brilliant and such a rarity in country music.... The Little Girl (Harley Allen writer)— powerful and truly tear causing for the little tyke:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5JxrYAumI-I

[John S Mosby]

Oh yes— brilliant. See my post later about Harley Allen’s

“The Little Girl”-—

both parents drunken druggie bums— and the little girl believes the Lord Jesus protected her “the night that my parents died”. Song is so unusual and timely— bums in many forms and the children... they suffer.

[John S Mosby]

Well, the song was written by John Hartford— who collected an average of 300k a year in royalties for 20 years after the hit which earned even more in performance and publishing of multiple artist recordings.

Song written about the kind of love Hartford observed/read in Dr. Zhivago about Yuri Zhivago’s destroyed life and preserved irrational love in the tumult that was the Russian Revolution. Seriously— have it in writing from him, in Nashville way back. But, no matter. Glen Campbell made the song and gave the doctor’s son a true career. It took hard work of both of them to do that.

But- can understand how it could be instructional— it sure kept me busting butt to keep the wolf away from the door.

[John S Mosby]

Or the container ship crane operators— senior ones, who make well over 150 K a year plus benefits. Way the hell up there in a little glass box... no thanks, or

professional deep sea divers on oil rigs— sheesh.

Ditch digging being the down scale “terror” of a endpoint job.

Friends do both of those jobs— the diver has faced certain death too many times (to which I say to him— no freaking way, on helox deep sea welding).

[John S Mosby]

And John Hartford the multimillionaire writer of the song— who worked at Opryland in lean touring years, then joined the road show with Alison Krauss (and an all star cast of incredible musicians) for the road tour “Down From the Mountain” (spinning off the successful film “Brother Where Art Thou”). Having fought Non-Hodgkin lymphoma for more than 20 years— then Finding out he had three months to live- and could no longer move his fingers on command to play, nor to move his voice to sing. Dropped out of the tour and in 3 months at age 63 died in June, 2001— two months before 9/11 changed our world/nation. He loved steamboats and became a licensed Miss. River pilot- and was a national treasure of American music.

You might like this (from one who did go to work— in tall buildings) Tall Buildings: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NWg6UWFrfrE

[elcid1970]

I have been so blessed - there were lean years, but ultimately full employment later in life and now my wife & I know secure retirement and the blessings of a loving God.

Like Glen Campbell, my father and my wife’s only lived to 81. My health at 70 is worse than my Dad’s was at that age. Time left to give thanks for each day that passes. My Mom is 98 in a nursing home but is glad to see me every morning.

I envy absolutely no one. God has gifted each of us differently, as Scripture teaches us.

[Hootowl]

Well acquainted with “Tommy” -For it’s Tommy this, an’ Tommy that, an’ “Chuck him out, the brute!” But it’s “Saviour of ‘is country” when the guns begin to shoot. I would argue that most of the bums created by the Great Depression started out as something else. They became bums, including many veterans, by circumstance, not by choice. As a retired master sergeant, I agree completely with your sentiments about veterans.

[John S Mosby]

Thank you, FRiend. Yes, they signed up for WWI got killed, or survived— gassing, horrific wounds, septic infection and.. the term of the day that should never have been “niced up”. They called it shell shock in WWI, then in WWII called it “battle fatigue”, Korea: “operational exhaustion”- not a human concept in the words. Vietnam: “Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder”.

Our Veterans deserve better, and deserve to not be forgotten, ever. My point about the communist written “Buddy Can you Spare a Dime” was that society forgot these volunteers, and they definitely did not become bums by their choice, but they came home to an economy that was wiped out.

Rather much different than the little pussy millenials who whine when their starbucks coffee order is wrong, and tell us who interview them why we HAVE to give them a job with their useless educational background. Take a Vet any day.

Thank you, Sir.

[John S Mosby]

Agree- many lean years.. and we are blessed.

Not having gone through the complete rootlessness that this song describes, but rather- worked our whole lives for the truth that is well earned, honestly.

Glen found the truth of that rootlessness of his own life, in this song he made a hit— popular with the desperate masses who cling to much other that is not God’s love and Word.

Much to be learned— if the millenials will listen. We’ll see.