Gentle Readers . . . and Maxwell,
Thank you for your interest in my return to the Battle of the Bands, hosted by Stephen McCarthy at STMcC Presents 'Battle of the Bands'. I appreciate the time you took to vote and read my posts about the song for my battle––Strange Fruit.
And the winner is
Billie Holiday with 18 votes
while
Nina Simone finishes with a respectable 13 votes.
After spending so much time on a song about lynching and writing about the connection between its author, Abel Meeropol, and Julius and Ethel Rosenberg, I had a nightmare Thursday night that I was fighting with someone who was trying to kill my daughter in the electric chair. I didn't sleep well the rest of the night.
I mentioned the nightmare to my son and told him I would also be opposed to his execution in the electric chair (or by any other means).
Isn't it strange that the man who wrote with such eloquence about lynching went on to adopt the sons of people who were, in essence, lynched by their own government?
On a happier note, it's a bit cooler here. Franklin and I have resumed our walks to the neighborhood park. While we often meet other dogs who are walking their people, last time we met a horse. She was beautiful, and was accompanied by her human friend, who had stopped to give her a break from her trailer.
That's the first time we've come across a horse in the park. Franklin was curious about her and seemed unafraid, but when we returned to the path, he was in a hurry. She had four legs, but she was the biggest dog he'd ever seen.
I'll leave you with another song by Abel Meeropol, whose pseudonym as a songwriter was Lewis Allan in honor of his two stillborn sons with wife Anne. Sing us out, please, Ole Blue Eyes.
Infinities of love,
Janie Junebug
My motto as an editor: Authors are the authority on their work. I'm a full-service editor. For a reasonable fee, I'm your writing coach from the first suggested revision to the correction of the final typo.
That was lovely. It's still America to me... But boy oh boy, how young Frank was, and our country was younger, too. He mentioned the country was 150 years old.
ReplyDeleteThat clip is part of a short film that he made.
DeleteHAHA! That is funny about Franklin. My cats have never come face to face with a dog, let alone a horse or any other animal, and I'd be curious to see their reaction.
ReplyDeleteHe was calm until we walked away. Then he almost dragged me.
DeleteAbel Meeropol sounds like a helluva guy whose life should be better known.
ReplyDeleteYes! We should know more about him.
DeleteThat was a good match and Nina held her ground well against the more known artist. Excellent Battle.
ReplyDeleteWe've had some cooler weather of late, but according to the weather report we've got some more days over 100 coming up this week. Probably summer's last hurrah.
Lee
Tossing It Out
I hope we're done with the highest temperatures, but I do have the air conditioning back on this afternoon.
DeleteIt's hard to believe Sinatra was ever that young!!
ReplyDeleteNew to your blog: hi! That would've been a tough one to vote on (Billie vs. Nina): I love them both. :)
ReplyDeleteWelcome! I followed you back.
DeleteI've seen that Sinatra clip before, but I did not know that Abel Meeropol wrote that song. Love it.
ReplyDeleteOkay, co-wrote.
DeleteOkay.
DeleteWhat an awful nightmare! Don't mess with Mama Bear, right? I had a dream when Dagan was little that this man tried to kidnap him and take him away from me. I jumped on his back and ripped his throat open with my bare hands. Don't mess with Mama Bear. ;)
ReplyDeleteAnnie sat in fascination with a goose that towered over her only inches away through the patio screen...but she heard little kids laughing way down the block and was under the bed--LOL!
Goodness! Sinatra was so young there. That is the America I still believe in. That is the America I have been mourning.
We feel the same (as usual).
DeleteWhat a ghastly nightmare! That one would keep me awake.
ReplyDeleteSounds like you and Franklin had a lovely walk.
Hope your weekend is wondrous.
Hugs,
Thank you! Favorite Young Man brought Penelope for one of our walks this week, but it wasn't during the encounter with the horse. She might have fainted over an encounter with something that large.
Delete"All races and religions" . . . that was seen as positive not that long ago, eh? sigh . . .
ReplyDeleteThe battle of the bands was fun and your posts were really informative. I'm glad you did this series, and I'm looking forward to more music-offs. Is that a thing? Bake-offs is a thing. Why not music-offs?
I agree. Music-off can be a thing.
DeleteThat was a very good Battle to return with, JANIE. I always think of a Battle ending with a vote differential of 5 or less a real successful one.
ReplyDelete~ D-FensDogG
Stephen T. McCarthy Reviews...
Janie,
ReplyDeleteI voted for Billie, so congrats on her victory. At least your battle was a closer match unlike mine. :) Oh, I hate it when I have an unsettling dream which wakes me. It causes me to not sleep well the rest of the night, too. Our temps have cooled a bit with cooler weather to come! Have a good week, my friend!
I suppose I'm not surprised that he cared about orphaned kids and lynchings. He seemed to be a man who wasn't just full of compassion, but was a man of action too.
ReplyDeleteI've got lentil soup on the stove. Come on over.
ReplyDeleteAnd...YAY, BILLIE!
Good song to leave us with. And about your walk through the park. My little Teddy is a Yorkie, and though he thinks he's a big dog, I can't imagine his reaction if we met up with a horse. I enjoyed reading of your experience.
ReplyDeleteI love horses. They are so majestic.
ReplyDeleteA horse is another creature we haven't been particularly kind to.
hmm, if it were my dream I would wonder if my daughter was being drained emotionally or physically. Electricity transforms into energy of some source. I hope you sleep better tonight :)
ReplyDeleteWhere Winston went to puppy boot camp he has horses. One day Paul didn't know Winston was following him into the correl. The horses are trained to be around dog. So when they looked past him he turned around and there was Winston stopped. Looked at the horses, turned around and zoomed back to the house. That was two big horses.
ReplyDeletecheers, parsnip
This is interesting, thanks for sharing!
ReplyDeleteI'm sorry about your nightmare. It did not happen in real life, and I do not believe it ever will. I hope this thought makes you sleep better.
ReplyDeleteSorry that you had such a horrific nightmare, Janie! Dreams like that are always unsettling. I had to laugh at the "Big Dog" that Franklin saw. In Westport on White Bay in Newfoundland the little local dogs (cracks) used to chase the wild ponies. They grab at their tails. Have a Happy Halloween!
ReplyDelete