Posted on 11/14/2002 1:51:51 PM PST by ArcLight
In the post 9/11 world, words are read and heard with a different eye and ear. So when singer/songwriter Steve Earle performed "John Walker's Blues," (as in John Walker Lindh, the so-called American Taliban who was arrested in Afghanistan and admitted he served with the Taliban), there were more than few raised eyebrows:
"If my daddy could see me now - chains around my feet He don't understand that sometimes a man Has got to fight for what he believes And I believe God is great, all praise due to him And if I should die, I'll rise up to the sky Just like Jesus, peace be upon him
We came to fight the Jihad and our hearts were pure and strong As death filled the air, we all offered up our prayers And prepared for our martyrdom But Allah had some other plan, some secret not revealed Now they're draggin' me back with my head in a sack To the land of the infidel."
The song, off Earle's new album Jerusalem, was leaked to a conservative radio talk show host in Nashville. Then came this New York Post headline: "Twisted Ballad Honors Tali-Rat", and it wasn't long before it became fodder for the cable television foodfights.
Steve Earle's answer to all the critics: "I don't condone what he did. But I have a 20-year-old son, which is my main connection to this, and I really do believe it could have been my son or anybody's son. The way that John Walker arrived at Islam could only have happened here. It's a very American story. And when it's presented the way that it was in the media, I totally understand the average person reacting to it violently."
In a fresh conversation with Dave Marash tonight (you may recall a Nightline profile on Earle last year repeated this summer on UpClose), Earle says "there were plenty of people that wanted to make [Walker Lindh] him into a poster child for all our fear...and that you have a right to be judged as a human being and not as, you know, a bogeyman."
UpClose tonight, a singer/songwriter in the long tradition of American troubadours. He's written a book of short stories and just wrote and produced his first play obout another controversial American figure, Karla Faye Tucker, the first woman to be executed in Texas in more than a century. Steve Earle is a man many times divorced, who's done time in prison and nearly killed himself with alcohol and drugs. He's been sober for eight years and reestablished himself in a series of widely acclaimed albums. Now he's back in the news, a lonely voice trying to give voice to a man who has been vilified for his actions half a world away.
Richard Harris Senior Producer Nightline UpClose
...and dittos for Del McCoury....
A long time ago,
There was a man,
He had the world,
In the palm of his hand...
Now I'm depressed.
Although one has to wonder if enough people like Earle could revive the old "redneck left" (Woody Guthrie, etc.) and push the left from its current position of national socialism for non-whites.
Your description would be more appropriate of an individuals journey to becoming a christian conservative. Is there anything more rebellious than becoming a true christian conservative?
Earle, like many similiar Hollywood "rebels", smack of fake rebelliousness. It took more courage for Toby Keith to record his Courtesy of the Red White & Blue, than Earle to record his pap.
Saw his sister, Stacy Earle, open for Steve Forbert last week. What a doll! She's cute as a button, positive, happy and has a great voice. It's amazing how different siblings can be.
By the way, Steve Forbert is an American treasure. If you ever get the chance, check him out.
Steve Earle is a man many times divorced, who's done time in prison and nearly killed himself with alcohol and drugs. He's been sober for eight years and reestablished himself in a series of widely acclaimed albums.
Guess you must have missed the part where he's been sober for eight years.
No, but he shot a man in Reno, just to watch him die.
Liking and disliking artists based on their work is a risky game, you're as likely to be wrong as right. But Del McCoury and the boys, oh my God! Saw them about a year ago and believe me, they sat at the right hand of the muse on that night. You could tell me they were all wife beaters and I would still see them again just to see if lightning strikes twice.
Based on your handle I would guess that you've done a little picking yourself.
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