On September 22, 1985, the first “Farm Aid” was held in Champaign, Illinois. Willie Nelson, Neil Young, and John Mellencamp organized the benefit concert for struggling American farmers. Performers at that concert included a broad range of performers, including Bob Dylan, B.B. King, Hoyt Axton, Don Henley, Johnny Cash, Tom Petty, Merle Haggard, Emmylou Harris, Billy Joel, Waylon Jennings, John Denver, Loretta Lynn, Joni Mitchell, Charley Pride, Sammy Hagar, George Jones, and Lou Reed.
Reportedly, the idea for Farm Aid began when Bob Dylan played at Live Aid earlier in the year in July and suggested some of the money from that concert should go to American farmers. While some — including Live Aid organizer Bob Geldof — were upset that Dylan exploited the stage of a worldwide televised concert in support of African famine relief to focus on Americans, other artists used the comment as inspiration for the Farm Aid concert. And Farm Aid benefit concerts continue to this day.
That September 22 in 1985, the performers did not know that the work would continue for decades. But they joyously sang and played to try to give something back. Below is one of the performances that day in Illinois, featuring Willie Nelson, Arlo Guthrie, and Dottie West singing “City of New Orleans.”
What is your favorite Farm Aid performance? Leave your two cents in the comments.
Today is the birthday of Joni Mitchell. To be honest, I do not have a lot of her music on my iPod, but of course I have the outstanding album Blue (1971) and know many of her songs. Mitchell was born in Fort MacLeod, Alberta, Canada in 1943. She had polio as a child, resulting in a hand impairment that led her to experiment with non-traditional guitar tunings. She was later named the greatest female guitarist of all time by Rolling Stone magazine.
Mitchell’s album Ladies of the Canyon (1970) includes the song “Big Yellow Taxi,” which was a hit in Canada, Australia, and the UK, but was not a hit in the U.S. when originally released. Mitchell released a live version of the song several years later that had more success in the U.S. but the most successful version of the song was a cover by the Counting Crows with Vanessa Carlton released more than three decades after Mitchell’s original.
The song’s most famous line was inspired by an actual event. Mitchell was visiting Hawaii when she opened the curtains in her hotel room in the morning to see beautiful mountains. She later recalled, “Then, I looked down and there was a parking lot as far as the eye could see, and it broke my heart … this blight on paradise. That’s when I sat down and wrote the song.”
“Big Yellow Taxi” mirrors the growing concern with the environment during the 1970s. For example, the song refers to the pesticide DDT, which was banned in the U.S. three years after the song was released:
Hey farmer farmer, Put away that DDT now; Give me spots on my apples, But leave me the birds and the bees.
The song is brilliant in that it is not just a song about DDT. Mitchell ties together the environmental concerns with a personal story about “a big yellow taxi” that took away her “old man.” Although it is unclear from the song whether she lost her father or a lover, the message is clear. “That you don’t know what you’ve got / Til it’s gone.” The lesson works both for our personal lives and for the world.
Unfortunately, Joni Mitchell, who suffers from Morgellon’s syndrome, does not record or perform anymore. While many of us might not have known what we had until it was gone, at least we can still watch old performances.
Above is a live performance of “Big Yellow Taxi,” which Mitchell used to close her set at the 1970 Isle of Wight Festival.
What is your favorite Joni Mitchell song? Leave your two cents in the comments.
The previous post on Three Depressing Holiday Songs got us started thinking about the best depressing holiday songs. So, this post features Chimesfreedom’s Top Ten Depressing Holiday Songs. We selected these top 10 based upon three categories. Points were given for (1) deep depression and sadness; (2) quality of song; and (3) familiarity of the song.
(1)“Fairytale of New York” – The Pogues: Scored high in all three categories. Discussed in previous post in more detail, but all you really need is the opening line of the song: “It was Christmas Eve, babe,/ In the drunk tank.” Score: 97 points.
(2) “Blue Christmas” – Elvis Presley, etc.: Gets high on the list because very familiar and a good song, but the music is not that sad. For more, we discussed the story behind Elvis Presley’s most famous performance of the song. Score: 93 points.
(3) “The River” – Joni Mitchell (and covers): Received most of its points from the deep depression category with both depressing lyrics and music. Discussed in previous post in more detail. Score: 91 points.
(4) “Pretty Paper” – Roy Orbison: The lyrics to “Pretty Paper,” which was written by a young songwriter named Willie Nelson in 1963, are a little vague. But a guy is alone on the sidewalk hoping “that you won’t pass him by.” “You’re in a hurry” so you leave him there crying as people laugh in the distance. You suck. Anyway, it has Roy Orbison’s voice, which automatically puts it high on the sounding-sad scale. If he sang “Jingle Bells” it would make this list. Score: 89 points.
(5) “Do They Know It Is Christmas?” – Band Aid: Very famous and depressing: “Where nothing ever grows/ No rain or rivers flow.” And then there is Bono wailing, “Tonight thank God it’s them instead of yooooooooooooo!” “Do They Know It’s Christmas” would be higher on the list, but by the end we are happily singing “Feed the world” and letting people know it is Christmas Time whether they want to know it or not. But while it did raise money for a good cause, the song has an extra tinge of sadness because it also reminds us that we did not find a solution to hunger in the 26 years since the song was released. We mock, but we love the song. Just avoid the two remakes from 1989 and 2004. Score: 88 points. Trivia Question: Who sings the Bono part in the 2004 Band Aid 20 remake?
(5) “Christmas in Prison” – John Prine. We like John Prine and the quality of “Christmas in Prison,” so we are putting it above some other songs even though you may never have heard it. Plus, you got prison: “The search light in the big yard / Swings round with the gun / And spotlights the snowflakes / Like the dust in the sun.” Check out John Prine’s version below (and hear a cover by Arlo McKinley here). Score: 84 points.
(7) “Christmas Card from a Hooker in Minneapolis” – Tom Waits: Scored high on the depression scale, but not a song for many repeated listenings and not as famous as some of the above songs. Discussed in previous post in more detail. Score: 79 points.
(8) “I’ll Be Home for Christmas” and “White Christmas” (tie) – Bing Crosby and others: Familiarity got these two into the top ten. The music sounds depressing, but the person is missing one Christmas and seems to still have family they will see again. For “I’ll Be Home For Christmas,” the guy who wrote the lyrics was thinking of a homesick kid in college. C’mon kid, there are people starving in Africa. At least “White Christmas” gets bonus sad points from its popularity being connected to WWII soldiers missing home. These songs are sad, but not hooker-in-prison sad. Score: 78 points.
(9) “Billy’s Christmas Wish” – Red Sovine: “Billy’s Christmas Wish” may not be as well known as the other songs here, but the song is unbeatable on the depression scale so it makes the list on that alone. Consider: (1) the little boy’s father is in prison for shooting the mother’s boyfriend; (2) the mother works in a bar and lives with an abusive “Mr. Brown;” and (3) then the little boy dies on Santa’s lap at the end. Seriously, that is the song. And then Santa has the nerve to tell us not to be sad because the boy wanted to live with God so “now everything’s alright.” That makes us think that Santa killed Billy. Score: 72 points.
(10) “The Rebel Jesus” – Jackson Browne. The Top Ten List must have room for a song that gets to the heart of Christmas and how the spirit of it gets corrupted, calling us out for our hypocrisy. Everyone may not know this song, but it is a beautiful song of the season. Score: 68 points.
Well we guard our world with locks and guns, And we guard our fine possessions. And once a year when Christmas comes, We give to our relations. And perhaps we give a little to the poor, If the generosity should seize us. But if any one of us should interfere In the business of why there are poor, They get the same as the rebel Jesus
I went shopping today and bought a present for my mom, and then I sang along to “Do They Know It’s Christmas” without doing anything about the poor. I am a worthless human being. Thanks Jackson Browne for making me feel like crap. If you need to feel a little better, you may use the charity of your choice or use these links for CARE, Oxfam, or UNICEF.
Honorable Mention: “Please Daddy Don’t Get Drunk This Christmas” – John Denver: You do not hear this one a lot, and I just discovered Alan Jackson covered the song. The song is sad with the kid worrying whether daddy will be drunk again this Christmas, but it is played as a clap-along song so not as depressing as it could be. Plus, the kid has it good compared to Billy in the Red Sovine song. Score: 54 points.
Bonus Recent Excellent Sad Holiday Song: Mike Ireland and Holler‘s “Christmas Past.” I found this song last year and really like it, and when you hear it, the melody sounds like a song you have heard many times before. The song features various memories floating by and ends with: “The only company I keep exists in memories / Leaving me alone on Christmas Day.” Sad, but a pretty song.
Bonus Links: In preparing this post, I did some googling and saw that others had compiled similar lists that you may see and compare here, here, here, and here.
What’s your favorite depressing holiday song? Post a comment.
On September 22, 1985, the first “Farm Aid” was held in Champaign, Illinois. Willie Nelson, Neil Young, and John Mellencamp organized the benefit concert for struggling American farmers. Performers at that concert included a broad range of performers, including Bob Dylan, B.B. King, Hoyt Axton, Don Henley, Johnny Cash, Tom Petty, Merle Haggard, Emmylou Harris, Billy Joel, Waylon Jennings, John Denver, Loretta Lynn, Joni Mitchell, Charley Pride, Sammy Hagar, George Jones, and Lou Reed.
(1971) and know many of her songs. Mitchell was born in Fort MacLeod, Alberta, Canada in 1943. She had 
