John Mellencamp gives his fans a cover of a song “fitting for these times.”
John Mellencamp recently posted on his Facebook page his cover of a Vigilantes of Love song “Welcome to Struggleville.” The singer-songwriter offered a brief explanation: “John played this song because he thought it was fitting for these times.”
Through the 1990s into the early 2000s, Vigilantes of Love was fronted by Bill Mallonee. Although Mallonee never received the fame he deserved, it is cool that Mellencamp recognizes the talent.
And Mellencamp is also correct about how the song fits our times. Although the Vigilantes of Love version of “Welcome to Struggleville” is a rock song, Mellencamp slows things down, making it into a folk song that is almost a dirge. The song paints haunting images, including Biblical characters. And it ends with a dark warning.
They are building a new gallows For when you show up on the street. Polishing the electric chair, They’re gonna give you a front row seat. Heard a sneer outside the garden; Salutation so well-heeled: . . . . ‘Welcome all you suckers to Struggleville. ‘
Check out John Mellencamp’s version of “Welcome to Struggleville.”
In 1978, Bruce Springsteen and the E Street band were touring to promote Darkness on the Edge of Town, creating many legendary performances. Among these was their appearance in September 1978 at the Capitol Theatre in Passaic, New Jersey. And now, you may watch the entire show.
Through the magic of YouTube, the show is available to watch. Many consider it one of the greatest Springsteen shows, and now you may judge for yourself. Yeah, the video is in black and white and a little grainy, but it is still awesome. Check it out.
What do you think of the show? Leave your two cents in the comments.
During the pandemic, I’ve found a special connection to Willie Nelson’s recording of”Hands on the Wheel.”
Early in the pandemic as things seemed to become more insane day-by-day, I turned to music for comfort. And one of the albums I found myself repeatedly listening to was Willie Nelson’s Red Headed Stranger. And one song I kept returning to was “Hands on the Wheel.”
Nelson’s concept album recounts the tale of the Stranger who after killing his wife and her lover begins a journey to find redemption. Finally, after much travel, the Stranger’s discovery of peace is relayed in “Hands on the Wheel.”
The album’s final song with words was written by Kentucky raised Will Callery, and the song is often also associated with Jerry Jeff Walker. Nelson’s version also appears at the end of the Robert Redford movie The Electric Horseman (1979).
There is another wonderful version of “Hands on the Wheel” by Carla Bozulich and Willie Nelson on Bozulich’s re-interpretation of the entire Red Headed Stranger album. I’ve also been listening a lot to Bozulich‘s wonderful Red Headed Stranger album too, and I recommend it for fans of Nelson’s album.
I am not sure why the album and this song have grabbed me even more during these times. Maybe even Willie Nelson saw the connection, as online he performed the song with his sons early on during the pandemic. Perhaps it is something subconscious about how “Hands on the Wheel” begins:
At a time when the world seems to be spinnin’ Hopelessly out of control; There’s deceivers, and believers, and old in-betweeners, That seem to have no place to go.
Those lines reflect much of the feeling in the air these days. As the pandemic and the economic devastation bring death and suffering to the world, everything seems out of control with failed leadership. At the same time, when I go on Facebook and elsewhere, I see the deceivers echoing falsehoods about the coronavirus. And that takes place while we shelter, seemingly having no place to go.
It is a pretty depressing opening to a song. Yet, maybe the song also gives us some hope, or I at least I want to believe it does. The singer continues by telling us how in the craziness of the world, he found love, family, faith, and a place in the world.
And I looked to the stars, Tried all of the bars, And I’ve nearly gone up in smoke; Now my hand’s on the wheel, Of something that’s real, And I feel like I’m going home.
And maybe that is it. We have to hang on to whatever is real to try to get through these times. Remember what matters, whatever or whoever that is. And hang onto it for dear life, no matter what the rest of 2020 brings us. Don’t let go. Like the Four Seasons also told us, “hang on to what we’ve got.”
And maybe not today, or tomorrow, or the day after that, but someday we will wake up and feel like we are not yet home — but at last we are heading that way.
Arlo McKinley’s new song “Die Midwestern” evokes the tragedy and impact of drugs on the Midwest.
It has been a few years since we had a Song-of-the-Day from Arlo McKinley. So we are long overdue for checking in with the Ohio singer-songwriter on John Prine’s Oh Boy Records. The title track from his upcoming album Die Midwestern evokes how one may feel trapped by geography into a certain path.
McKinley explains that “Die Midwestern” is about a love-hate relationship with his home state of Ohio. “The Midwest is full of drugs that end up controlling people. . . . I love [Ohio] because it’s everything that I am but I hate it because I’ve seen it take my loved ones lives, I’ve seen it make hopeful people hopeless.” He adds, “Temptations run all along the Ohio river, but it’s so hard to watch the Ohio fade in the rearview mirror.”
The video for “Die Midwestern” features McKinley around Cincinnati. Check it out.
Arlo McKinley‘s album Die Midwestern hits the Internet on August 14, 2020. It features ten original songs by McKinley.
John Prine recorded “I Remember Everything” not long before he died, and the posthumous release gave him his first number one song.
John Prine recently scored his first number one song on the Billboard charts with “I Remember Everything.” Prine wrote the song with Pat McLaughlin. And he recorded it in his living room, his final song before he died of complications from Covid-19 on April 7, 2020.
Prine fans will not be surprised that he is still capable of bringing a smile and a tear to our eyes even after he passed away.
The song is about missing someone (“How I miss you in the morning light / Like roses miss the dew”). But it also functions as someone looking back on life.
I’ve been down this road before, Alone as I can be; Careful not to let my past, Go sneaking up on me; Got no future in my happiness, Though regrets are very few; Sometimes a little tenderness, Was the best that I could do.
Check out the video below of John Prine singing “I Remember Everything” in his living room.
