As an old hippie, I was -- still am -- a fan of Melanie Safka's music, from "Brand New Key;" to the "Nickel Song," to her version of "Ruby Tuesday;" to, of course, "Lay Down (Candles in the Rain)," a song that was written about her experience at -- wait for it ...
Woodstock.
Story here.
I wasn't at Woodstock. I'm probably the only guy my age who was a hippie who wasn't, according to all the stories. Must have been fifty, sixty million people there, if every who claimed to be was ...
I did manage the Celebration of Life, at McCrae, on the Atchafalaya River, a couple summers later, and while somewhat smaller in scale -- official records say fifty thousand, my recollection was that there were twice that many -- so I have an idea of the energy such a smaller event can generate. It was hot, wet, mosquitoes everywhere, people drowning, getting run over by cars taking short cuts, and, of course, the music. I was, ostensibly, working for The Word, the local hippie paper for which I was a cartoonist and columnist, and we were delivering food and water in The Word van to the hungry and thirsty. Got us in free, that did. Us, and half the people who didn't bother with the gates ...
Wonder of wonders, somebody had a camera, and lookit, it's on YouTube. (Look, there I am, right there, the stoned guy, standing in line outside the porta-potty ... no, wait, I'm the stoned guy in the mud pit -- no, wait, wait, the stoned guy down by the river ... Well. I'm pretty sure I was there. I think. And no doubt I was stoned.)
"Hey, man, you want to buy a paper? The Word, only a quarter."
"I wish. I'm broke, dude."
"Hey, fuck it, have one for free."
The paper didn't do too well, that issue. There weren't that many porta-potties, and, well ... you know ...
Ah, the good old days ...
Melanie, who like Cher, sang under one name, will always be a part of that old hippie sound.
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6 comments:
Hey, I think I saw you...Were you the nekkid chick at the lake with the great tits?
I think its wonderful that the kids of your generation could get together in a dinosaur-free zone and sing about things like fire, fig leaves and how one day the mammals will be equal.
Those must have been such heady days; Cave drawings were all the rage, crop rotation was a radical idea and a new thing called "The Wheel" was just beginning to emerge.
How I envy you.
Naw, the naked chick was your grandmother ...
Yes, they were good times. Of course, had we but known we'd be followed by kids with the attention spans of gnats, and bands like Air Supply , 10 cc, and your favorite, the Captain and Tennille, who collectively caused so many cases of diabetes the country lost most of a generation, why, we might not have enjoyed it so much --
Nah. We would have still enjoyed it. Ear plugs were invented just in time ...
This mention of this song made me go pull out 'Barabajagal' and give that another listen to...I do love my shirt...
I LOVED 10CC!!!
"Things We Do For Love" was kinda sappy, (Like walkin' in the rain and the snow, and there's no where to go...) but you have got to admit: "I'm Not in Love" is a classic.
It's almost as good as "All Out of Love".
Can't believe you brought up 10cc...
Love.
How about Muskrat Love?
And now he's ticklin' her fancy
Rubbin' her toes
Muzzle to muzzle, now anything goes
As they wriggle, and Sue starts to giggle
And they whirled and they twirled and they tangoed
Singin' and jingin' the jango
Floatin' like the heavens above
It looks like muskrat love
La da da da da ...
Ha,ha...
Well, I've been to two State Fairs and a goat ropin', but I've never been to a music festival that big.
Bobbe:
10cc's ?
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