Greetings and salutations Hivers. Today let's go into another Three Tune Tuesday post.
As always, thanks to 
Well I'm a day late. All of you who kindly keep up with my posts know I'm behind due to a nasty headache I had over the weekend. But thanks to the magic of time zones, it's still tuesday somewhere in the world, so this post still counts!
Today I have another mix of different genres. Trying to keep switching things up to stay interesting.
Harry McClintock - Big Rock Candy Mountain
This is a fun song about a hobo's idea of paradise. McClintock actually did some hoboing when he was younger, using the hobo name "Haywire Mac", so he had some experience here in the view and desires the song lists. It's been a popular song since release, though most versions these days clean it up, making it more child friendly.
Woodie Guthrie - Do Re Mi
Now when mention of Guthrie comes up you probably think two things, Bob Dylan (who idolized Guthrie) or This Land is Your Land. The latter of those is probably what he is most famous for these days. The original was written as a response to "God Bless America" and was much more biting and critical of the country than the sanitized version we have today, which has been remade into a kid's song with all critical lyrics striped out.
Anyway, I'm not going with that, instead I'll go with this classic ode, warning folks who are migrating from the East to go back home, cause their aren't enough jobs out West for them.
By the way, did you know Guthrie wasn't a big fan of Trump's pop? Read up on that here.
Suzuki Tsunekichi - Omoide
Folk singer Suzuki based this on the traditional Irish ballad A Pretty Girl Milking Her Cow but changed the lyrics to evoke nostalgia, sorrow, and the transience of life. It was a fairly popular hit for him, then was picked as the opening song for Shinya Shokudō ("Midnight Diner"), a popular TV show, and it became much more popular.
Even if you can't understand the lyrics, I think you can probably enjoy his singing. (But here is a translation if you want to read them.)
So what's your favorite?
| David LaSpina is an American photographer and translator lost in Japan, trying to capture the beauty of this country one photo at a time and searching for the perfect haiku. He blogs here and at laspina.org. Write him on Twitter or Mastodon. |
