“The Holy City” AKA “Jerusalem.”
I left my money in San Francisco.
Hippie From Olema
Come on - You know it’s gotta be Sweet Home Alabama
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IwWUOmk7wO0
Now that I read the category completely, I have to add: Riding on the City of New Orleans, by Arlo Guthrie.
Brussels for Dinner -
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Our Flag Flying Proudly One Nation Under God
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Lord, Please Bless Our Troops, They're fighting for our Freedom.
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God Bless Our Republic
I pledge allegiance to the Flag
of the United States of America,
and to the Republic, for which it stands;
one nation UNDER GOD,
indivisible,
with liberty and justice for all.
Prayers going up
“Roads to Moscow” by Al Stewart
They crossed over the border the hour before dawn
Moving in lines through the day
Most of our planes were destroyed on the ground where they lay
Waiting for orders we held in the wood - word from the front never came
By evening the sound of the gunfire was miles away
Ah, softly we move through the shadows, slip away through the trees
Crossing their lines in the mists in the fields on our hands and our knees
And all that I ever was able to see
The fire in the air glowing red silhouetting the smoke on the breeze
All summer they drove us back through the Ukraine
Smolyensk and Viyasma soon fell
By autumn we stood with our backs to the town of Orel
Closer and closer to Moscow they come - riding the wind like a bell
General Guderian stands at the crest of the hill
Winter brought with her the rains, oceans of mud filled the roads
Gluing the tracks of their tanks to the ground while the sky filled with snow
And all that I ever was able to see
The fire in the air glowing red silhouetting the snow on the breeze
In the footsteps of Napoleon the shadow figures stagger through the winter
Falling back before the gates of Moscow,
Standing in the wings like an avenger
And far away behind their lines the partisans are stirring in the forest
Coming unexpectedly upon their outposts, growing like a promise
You’ll never know, you’ll never know
Which way to turn, which way to look, you’ll never see us
As we’re stealing through the blackness of the night
You’ll never know, you’ll never hear us
And the evening sings in a voice of amber, the dawn is surely coming
The morning road leads to Stalingrad, and the sky is softly humming
Two broken Tigers on fire in the night flicker their souls to the wind
We wait in the lines for the final approach to begin
It’s been almost four years that I’ve carried a gun
At home it’ll almost be spring
The flames of the Tigers are lighting the road to Berlin
Ah, quickly we move through the ruins that bow to the ground
The old men and children they send out to face us, they can’t slow us down
And all that I ever was able to see
The eyes of the city are opening now it’s the end of the dream
I’m coming home, I’m coming home
Now you can taste it in the wind, the war is over
And I listen to the clicking of the train wheels as we roll across the border
And now they ask me of the time
That I was caught behind their lines and taken prisoner
“They only held me for a day, a lucky break”, I say;
They turn and listen closer
I’ll never know, I’ll never know
Why I was taken from the line and all the others
To board a special train and journey deep into the heart of holy Russia
And it’s cold and damp in the transit camp, and the air is still and sullen
And the pale sun of October whispers the snow will soon be coming
And I wonder when I’ll be home again and the morning answers
“Never”
And the evening sighs and the steely Russian skies go on forever
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N_ZG6tRGMYk
The Night Chicago Died
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p-L0NpaErkk
Best Friends Make the Worst Enemies - David Houston.
When I was living in Little Rock and taking the bus home to Ohio for various holidays, I made a game of it. I started in LR with Ferlin Husky’s “I Hear Little Rock Callin.’” Next was Memphis, I never really chose a song for Memphis because there are so many. But I really love Lonnie Mack. And Roy Drusky’s “Memphis Morning” is an obscure beauty.
Sometimes there were smaller stops, there was occasionally Jackson, TN, but I never took that one seriously, always assumed “Jackson” was about Jackson, MS. (Of course, I was aware Denise LaSalle lived in TN, and might have gone for one of her songs, but I don’t really know any of them. She’s slightly outside my era.) Another small stop in Tennessee reminded me of “Phanton 309.”
Onward, we arrived in Nashville, and I always loved Ray Stevens’ song “Nashville.” (Johhny Cash is at the Ryman, Boots is at the Carousel, God is smilin down from heaven, aw, Mayor Briley’s doin’ well) Next was Leroy Van Dyke’s “Louisville,” depending on the year and the route, we also had the Everly Brothers’ “Bowling Green,” then Connie Smith’s “Cincinnati, Ohio.” The bus would still stop in Columbus and Zanesville but I don’t know any songs about them.
Fly Me to the Moon - Julie London.
Honolulu Lulu.