Lyric Of The Day #21 (September 23, 2020)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UaauFMbk10c

 

Listening to my iPod while out for my walk Tuesday morning, I was struck by the following pair of lines:

 

The disappointment of success

Hangs from your shoulders like a hand-me down dress

 

And, shortly thereafter, by the second iteration of the chorus:

 

So look into the mirror do you recognise someone

Is it who you always hoped you would become

When you were young

 

When I got back home, I wound up deciding, for the first time, that the complete lyrics deserved to be enshrined in my blog. (Thanks to LyricFind.) Interesting note – this tune only ranked #14 when I put together my list of favorite songs from one of the most underrated rock bands of all time.

 

Look at the fool you have been

They drained the pool while you drowned in the dream

They bought your beauty and your soul

Then softly sold you back what they stole

 

So look into the mirror do you recognise someone

Is it who you always hoped you would become

When you were young

 

The disappointment of success

Hangs from your shoulders like a hand-me down dress

And down nostalgia's rocky road

You watch your former lovers growing old

 

So look into the mirror do you recognise someone

Is it who you always hoped you would become

When you were young

 

Sometimes your lack of sympathy gets hard to explain

So on your mask of make up just paint

A little parody of pain

 

So I look into the mirror and I recognise someone

It is who you always hoped you would become

When you were young

 

LP #38 Los Lobos – By The Light Of The Moon (1987)

Despite the name of their superlative 1993 compilation (which happens to feature four songs recorded live at The Barns At Wolf Trap), Los Lobos is much more than Just Another Band from East L.A.

 

If I had it to do over again, this album would definitely have found its way into my top 25. For me, this is their masterpiece, so much so that it was painful for me to decide which tracks NOT to include in my list of favorites. There’s one traditional Mexican number, and three cuts by Cesar Rosas, whose tracks add some raw grit (and often some up-tempo fun) to the band’s LPs. The rest of the songs are co-written by Louie Perez and David Hidalgo (with help in one case from co-producer T-Bone Burnett). Hidalgo is one of the most underrated guitarists around; one observer has described his work as follows: “Blues bends, smoky R’n’B, the rattle of country-swing and rock’n’roll – he’s a master of (almost) all styles, bending them and twisting them to make his own.”

 

A strong sense of social consciousness permeates the Hidalgo/Perez compositions – it’s no accident that Just Another Band from East L.A. contains a great live version of Marvin Gaye’s “What’s Going On”. While they display a sharp eye for individual stories on “One Time One Night” and “The Hardest Time”, they also show (in “The Mess We’re In”) that they understand the bigger picture:

 

We've got no money

But we've got our lives

A voice that's louder than any picket sign

Don't take away what is ours to keep

This very land that lies beneath our feet

Don't know about this mess we're in

 

Fortunately, there’s hope at the end:

 

The smoke is clearing and we see a light

Coming together for a different fight

All of us looking, finding our way again

Out of this mess we're in

 

Favorite tracks:

 

One Time One Night

Is That All There Is?

My Baby’s Gone

The Mess We’re In

Set Me Free (Rosa Lee)

River Of Fools

The times we live in

First off, the 20-minute joint press conference this afternoon with Davey Martinez and Joe Girardi is a must-watch:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-YrNbZMwVEA

 

Also worth noting, from ESPN:

“The Players Alliance, made up of more than 100 Black current and former MLB players, announced Thursday that its members will donate their salaries from Thursday's and Friday's games to the organization to support its efforts to combat racial inequality and aid Black families and communities affected by recent events.” The roster includes Josh Harrison, Howie Kendrick, and Andrew McCutchen (who’s on the Active Player Advisory Board). The Retired Player Advisory Board includes Ryan Howard and Jimmy Rollins.

 

You can check out the group’s website at https://theplayersalliance.com/. They do accept donations from non-members.

 

And in case you weren’t aware of it – I wasn’t until yesterday – Jackie Robinson Day for this year was rescheduled from April 15 to August 28 (tomorrow).

 

The message up on so many scoreboards says it all.

 

Justice

Equality

Now