I'm wrapping it up with a great American storyteller that has held the line since before I was born. The son of the legendary Woody Guthrie (the man turned Robert Zimmerman into a folk hero), Arlo Guthrie.
Now when I originally heard this song, as performed by Arlo and the previously blacklisted Pete Seeger (an angel of a man who I had the honour of meeting when I was a child), it was written to shed some humour on the U.S. government bailout of Chrysler. Not the recent one - the old one, back in the late seventies.
But as most hippies know, what comes around goes around, and the same shit happens time and again.
So, I'm changing my name to Fannie Mae. Same song, different generation...
When they hand a million grand out, I'll be standing with my hand out, yes, I'll get mine.
On a serious note, I had a few discussions with Arlo after meeting him at Mariposa back around 2000 or so. My band ended up doing some charitable work for the Guthrie Center (at the old Trinity Church) and, well, the guy stopped returning my calls.
That bummed me out a bit. Nevertheless, the song City of New Orleans is one of my clearest memories I have from my childhood. Arlo will always be in my heart.
Good morning America, how are you? (Yes, this is where the television show got its name...)
He sounds like Bob Dylan, eh? Actually, no. Bob ripped his persona from Arlo's dad, Woody.
If you're an old (or new) hipped, do a search for "The Ballad of Reuben Clamsoe"
Nevermind, I did it for you:
https://youtube.com/watch?v=uo9TxeqeDCE