The Antidote To Boredom

Johnny Cash's "One Piece at a Time" car.
Storyteller's Farm & Museum
Photo: Gary Firstenberg.

When I first heard someone share John Updike's notion of four life forces -- love, habit, time and boredom -- I found myself inwardly scoffing at the last of these, boredom. Why? Because at the time I said to myself, "I'm never bored. There is always way more to do than there is time. I have more books, more projects, more aspirations than I will ever accomplish."

Since that time, though, I have come to see that boredom has played a bigger factor in my life than I'd previously realized. And perhaps this is true for you, too.

I'll give an example. 

When I first began experimenting with AI art applications, I was mesmerized by what they can do. I didn't want to go to sleep at night because I want to play with these new toys. I had one of these apps on my iPhone and tried out every feature. I used a couple others on m laptop that were even more stupefying. (Here are examples of things I created with AI assistance.)

After a while, though, being "blown away" by these images--and the speed with which they can be produced--lost some of its luster. How is it that making mind-blowing images can so quickly become boring? 

One reason is that it's too easy... The illustrations are still very cool, and I like making them for this blog, but there is no real challenge. 

What I began to realize is that when we stop challenging ourselves, things get boring. Even life can get boring. Behind this thought is the real culprit. We are afraid to fail. Fear of failure paralyzes us, so we don't write the book that is in us or learn a new language or whatever it is that we'd like to achieve. So we lower the bar. That is, we lower our expectations so we're not disappointed. 

The antidote to boredom, therefore, is to have goals that challenge us. Go big! The bigger the better.

Here's a blog post I wrote along these lines in 2011. Maybe it will speak to you: Start a Huge Foolish Project. 

* * * 

The Ethical Outliers Nobody Knows, Nobody Sees

I don't know about you but with me, if I am not noodling thoughts then I have music running through my mind. If it's not songs with lyrics, it might be a familiar symphony (frequently Beethoven or Tchaikovsky), piano excursions by Chopin or cool blue jazz (Ahmad Jamal or Miles Davis are regulars.)

While shoveling snow recently (we've had a lot the past two weeks) it was Johnny Cash. The song going through my head was "The Long Black Veil."

The Long Black Veil

Ten years ago, on a cold dark night
Someone was killed, 'neath the town hall light
There were few at the scene, but they all agreed
That the slayer who ran, looked a lot like me

The judge said son, what is your alibi
If you were somewhere else, then you won't have to die
I spoke not a word, though it meant my life
For I'd been in the arms of my best friend's wife

She walks these hills in a long black veil
She visits my grave when the night winds wail
Nobody knows, nobody sees
Nobody knows but me

Oh, the scaffold is high and eternity's near
She stood in the crowd and shed not a tear
But late at night, when the north wind blows
In a long black veil, she cries ov're my bones

She walks these hills in a long black veil
She visits my grave when the night winds wail
Nobody knows, nobody sees
Nobody knows but me

Songwriters: Danny Dill / Marijohn Wilkin

* * *  

The words I wanted to focus on were these: "Nobody knows, nobody sees." 

We all know about the things that we hear about in the news. In fact, most of us who have been around a while know that secrets don't remain secret very long once they're shared. A pastor once said to me that he had learned that "if I tell one person I am telling the whole church." He was referring here to the secrets people confided to him in private counseling.

My brother, a professional counselor, likewise understands the importance of confidences 

While singing this song I thought about the people who are moral outliers, the people who are extremely bad or remarkably generous. Tommy Lee Jones near the end of No Country For Old Men was reflecting on how frighteningly dark and bad the evil is out there, but we only learn about the world's Jeffrey Dahmers after they get caught. Until it comes to light, becomes headline news, we're unaware of it. 

This prompted me to reflect on the amazing people who are serving others in sacrificial ways, but who don't put press releases out to the media or draw attention to their actions in other ways. They are generous as an expression of their gratitude for having themselves been blessed. Perhaps they don't even have money, but they volunteer at a hospice or raise a child whose parents have died. I know the media can foster animosity toward the rich, but some of these may be giving far beyond what they could have in ways we can't even imagine. Countless doctors donate their services overseas to serve at hospitals run by volunteer doctors who take turns meeting needs in Madagascar and elsewhere. 

We're familiar with Mother Theresa, but how many others are doing the same whom we've never heard of or never will.

As we stand on the threshold of a new year, maybe we can slow down a little and pay attention a little more to what is going on around us so we can notice opportunities to heal a hurting heart with a kind word, befriend someone who has lost a loved one or _______. (Fill in the blank.)

Make your 2023 an adventure by making a difference for good, whether anyone sees or not.

The Role of One-Percenters

The role of one-percenters from the point of view of many plebians is: "Wouldn't it be great to live like kings, to have your wishes be fulfilled and to be able to do whatever you want?"

In other words, a lot of us envy them at times. For others, one-percenters are leeches to be hated and despised. 

The roll of Powerball and other Mega-Millions lotteries: To soften the plebians' hatred of one-percenters, because, "If I'm lucky maybe I'll be a one-percenter some day." 

* * * 

A study was done about matters pertaining to the mood of people who experience sudden extreme events in their lives, such as becoming a quadriplegic or winning one hundred million dollars. What the researchers found is that nearly everyone reverted to their general disposition before the accident or the mind-blowing victory. That is, if you were melancholy or a puddleglum beforehand, afterwards you were likely to eventually revert to type. If you were a cheerful optimist beforehand, you would likely eventually be the same even after a serious accident. 

In other words, your disposition is determined more by internal mechanisms rather than external circumstances.

* * * 

How many times have
You heard someone say
If I had his money
I could do things my way

But little they know
That it's so hard to find
One rich man in ten
With a satisfied mind

"Satisfied Mind" by Jack Rhodes and Red Hays is a classic that's been recorded by many greats including Johny Cash and Bob Dylan, who makes it the opening track on his album Saved.

"Money can't buy happiness" is a familiar palliative when you ain't got none, but what does it really mean? For many, and this happens a lot to athletes, the responsibilities that accompany having money are a weight that distracts them from what they really love, which is playing baseball or basketball or whatever. When it comes to who can they trust to watch the nest egg, well... there have been plenty of sports stars who ended up bankrupt. 

Psalm 73 is how I comfort myself when I think on these things. How do you view money?

Throwback Thursday: Add Martin Guitar Factory to Your Bucket List

In the lobby of the Martin Guitar Factory.

Tonight Jorma Kaukonen will be in Duluth at the West Theater. Jorma is a Martin Guitar enthusiast and the company now makes a Jorma Kaukonen Signature Model M-30 acoustic guitar that you might fall in love with. 

The following was published in April 2019 after my visit to the Martin Guitar Factory, an impressive experience.

 

* * * 

I live in Minnesota, my family in Pennsylvania. Over the years I've spent a lot of time flying home from the ABE airport, a.k.a Allentown-Bethlehem-Emmaus. Like airports everywhere, ABE has a number of displays showcasing sites to see in the area. One of the sites advertised here is the Martin Guitar Factory in nearby Nazareth. Though I always expected it to be special, I had no idea how special their factory tour and museum would be.

Every business has a story, a starting point and a history. Martin Guitars just happens to have a story that leaves none of us untouched. That is, anyone for whom music or pop culture has been a part of their lives.

It began in Germany where a young man named Christian Frederick Martin, born to a long line of cabinet makers, left his home to go to Vienna to become an apprentice making guitars. Unfortunately, upon returning to Germany he found himself wedged between his dream and the realities of the guild system there. C.F. Martin left his homeland and came to America.

Martins have been in the center of music history for a long, long time.

New York was bustling, but business there had its challenges. Someone told him that there was land in Pennsylvania and an abundance of Germans there. In 1838, after five years in the big city, he bought a tract of land on the outskirts of Nazareth. Eventually it became a factory for hand-crafted guitars. By the time he passed away in 1873 he'd already created a legacy for fine guitars.

Two decades later an influx of Italian immigrants led to the introduction of mandolins to the product line. Distribution, however, was an issue for many years and things weren't always coming up roses.

Templates and tools of the trade.

In the 1920's there was a ukulele crazeand the third generation Martin was on it. Their initial entry into the uke market was lackluster due to the over-braced design. This was soon corrected and Martin eventually became the dominant ukulele in this arena. As the Roaring 20's roared, so did Martin Guitars. As with all market cycles, the 30's challenged everyone, including the Martins.

There's more than one way to respond to hard times. Some companies fold, others, innovate. The Martin Guitar Company chose the latter path. To their credit, they survived. Fans of all forms of American music have been beneficiaries.

Guitars with personality are part of the Martin tradition.

One of the innovations of this period was the Dreadnought, so named after a large class of World War I battleships. (In case you were wondering where that name came from.) It had a large body, booming bass and seemed a perfect accompaniment for vocals. In eventually proved to be the perfect instrument for the folk music scene that would soon evolve.

In the post-WW2 boom, the big challenge for Martin Guitars became keeping up with demand. In 1955 a decision was made to build a larger plant and really get serious about the business. The one constant throughout their history has been an adherence to high standards.

* * * *
This is a brief introduction only. If you play guitar at any level, you'll want to add "a visit to the Martin Guitar Factory" to your bucket list. You'll discover things about guitars that you'd never considered before. That sheen you love, for example, is the result of a process that includes nine coats of lacquer. The selection of woods, adhesives and strings are all part of the equation. You'll discover how they authenticate their guitars so that you know you have the real deal when you pay for your guitar. It's all there, not only the what but also the why.

The museum, too, is killer. You'll see the history expressed in the form of those who love the products they produced.

The who's who of Martin guitar players includes some of our most legendary names. Gene Autrey, Roy Rogers, Johnny Cash, Eric Clapton, Willie Nelson, Jeff Beck, Mark Knopfler and Bob Dylan, who played a Martin D-28 at the Newport Folk Festival in 1963, and a Martin 00-42 there in 1964. Dylan, a fan of Martins in the Sixties famously played a 1963 Martin D-28 at George Harrison's Concert for Bangladesh in 1971. That Martin, which Dylan purchased for $500 sold for near $400K 46 years later.

Stringed instruments are their thing. 

Here are a few quotes that give you a sense of the value here.

I was in a parade with this singing cowboy
back when I was a boy circa 1960.

"I still play that guitar. It's a Martin D-18 with a clear pick guard. I've played that guitar on and off my TV shows for nearly 50 years. "
--Andy Griffith

"My favorite guitar now is my Martin HD-7 because it's got everything. It's got the jingle-jangle thing from the twelve string, it's got the flexibility of the six string, and the bass notes where you can do bass runs and that sort of thing."
--Roger McGuinn

"I only had time for one trip back in [to my burning house]. I grabbed my two prized possessions, a pound of marijuana and my Martin guitar."
--Willie Nelson

* * * *
There is a Martin Guitar Museum just off to your left, where most of these photos were taken. It gives you a sense of the history. Then there's the factory tour, and you see the great care with which the guitars are made. Both the museum and the tour are free. My iPhone battery was out of juice, to my dismay, by the time we got to the factory tour. It was exceedingly rewarding and I will likely return.

"Come gather 'round people wherever you roam..."

The Man in Black.

The Martin Guitar Factory Museum is a model for other companies
on how to market their brand. Don't compromise quality and
show others why people love their product.

Guitar pickers of all stripes drift through this lobby. Here's one I saw while I was there.

Birds-eye view of a table in the lobby.

For more information:
Visit https://www.martinguitar.com/about/visit-us/

The Story Behind the Armory Mural We Did Last Year

Mark Nicklawski, Michael Shannon, Zane Bale, Mark Poirier
Members of the Duluth Dylan Fest Committee
Photo credit: Michael Anderson -- Click to enlarge

Last summer -- and it feels like a decade ago -- Mark Poirier asked me if I'd be interested in doing a mural on a section of Duluth's Historic Armory. Mark is the Armory director who runs the office and manages the building at this point in time. His motive, in part, was to show the public that there were things happening here. For two decades all the renovations have been taking place inside, so it still looked like an abandoned building to many.

Every mural starts with a blank slate.
This one is 17 ft wide & 13 ft tall.

I expressed interest but wasn't sure I'd have time. When August began to slip past I realized that we'd better get on the ball or it would be winter soon. With the blessing of the Armory Board I proceeded to reach out to a group of local painters to see if they might be interested in contributing to the concept I'd conceived.

For those unaware, the Duluth Armory is where young Bobby Zimmerman saw Buddy Holly a few days before Holly died in an Iowa cornfield in Clear Lake, Iowa -- along with the Big Bopper, Ritchie Valens and their pilot.

Although many of us were drawn together through the Duluth Dylan Fest and Bob Dylan Way, it was agreed that the theme should be something broader than a tribute to Bob Dylan. 

Because the Armory's history is full of stories, one concept that emerged was to capture and share some of those stories. While I was painting images on the larger wall, a dozen artists worked out different themes to accompany and embellish it. For this reason we see Johnny Cash, Louis Armstrong, Buddy Holly, Sonny & Cher and John Philip Sousa in some of the pictures here. Some of the artists created more abstract impressions.

The wider theme included the manner in which the Armory and its surroundings has been a source of inspiration. One painting, for example, is a tribute to the Anishinaabe peoples who lived on these shores before it became a U.S. territory and later Minnesota.

Each of the artists who contributed was given an 18" x 18" panel which had been precut and primed for painting. One panel (right) lists the artists names in the order that their pieces appear from top to bottom. (Missing from this image are the names of Lulu and Tubbs, who were added when their pieces were delivered later. You can see their paintings to the right of Buddy Holly in the upper left.)

Some of the symbols in the larger mural itself are worth noting. Most of them are related to Bob Dylan, even if he is not a central feature of the painting. Sing Your Song was the title of a documentary on Harry Belafonte that many Duluthians saw at a Duluth Superior Film Festival several years ago. I chose this because when young Bob Dylan arrived in New York City, Wood Guthrie was his idol but his ambition was to be "as big as Harry Belafonte."

As it turns out, young Dylan's first paid recording gig was to play harmonica on a Harry Belafonte album. Though he was lined up to play on three songs, he only recorded one. You can see a photo of the harmonica he played and read the details of that story in Peter McKenzie's Bob Dylan: On a Couch & Fifty Cents a Day.

In the center of the mural is Robert Johnson, who famously made a pact with the devil "down at the crossroads" in Clarksdale, Mississippi at the intersection of Highway 49 and Highway 61, the Blues Highway... which runs North all the way up past the Historic Duluth Armory. To Johnson's right you can see the Highway 61 road sign. (The Clarksdale location is disputed by some who say it took place in Rosedale.) 

In the lower right is a funkified Bob Dylan profile that I created. 

Funkified young Bob Dylan in profile.

Here are a few of the other images displayed.

Johnny Cash by Kris Nelson

Contribution by Twin Cities graphic designer Lulu

Virginia Alexander's Duluth Symphony

Mark Poirier, masked but not anonymous, affixes Tubbs' piece next to Lulu's

Along the left side you can see (top to bottom) Buddy Holly by Ed Newman, Sue Rauschenfels' Anishinaabe-themed piece, Linda Glisson's expression depicting the energy of a concert atmosphere, and Edna Stromquist's John Philip Sousa. Molly Overden's Lighthouse and Seed is just below that .

On the right side of the mural one can see Christie Eliason's Louis Armstrong at the top followed by Virginia Alexander's Duluth Symphony,  Kris Nelson's Johnny Cash, Margie Helstrom's Blues Inspiration and Rosemary Guttormsson's Sonny & Cher.

Here's the current status of the mural. 

If you look close, on the right side it says:

TO BE CONTINUED.

Trivia: When I was in college I did an 8' x 12' painting which I 

continuously worked on and reconfigured or 3 to 5 hours a day. 

It had a life of its own, or so I theorized. I enjoy working large,

as many painters do. This is the objective I have in mind here,

to keep it alive until the time that it must depart. Which means

I need to continue working on it sometime and breathe more 

life into it. In the meantime...

THANK YOU TO ALL THE ARTISTS WHO HELPED

BRING THIS PROJECT TO LIFE. 

And to the Armory folks who gave us this space to decorate.

More Photos from the Storytellers Hideaway Farm & Museum: Honoring Johnny Cash and Music History

Tuesday we shared the backstory on 

Storytellers Hideaway Farm & Museum

which used to be where Johnny Cash would go

to get away from it all and be with friends.

Here are more photos, courtesy Gary Firstenberg.

Musician Mark Cash, Johnny's nephew, performs on the farm

Minnie Pearls hat is among the collectibles here.

Founder Brian Oxley. This unusual tree is estimated to be 250 years old.

STORYTELLERS HIDEAWAY FARM AND MUSEUM

9676 OLD HIGHWAY 46, BON AQUA, TN, 37025

(931) 996-4336

INFO@STORYTELLERSMUSEUM.COM

 

Music Based Tourism Links

The Case For Celebrating Bob Dylan’s Home Town

Music Based Tourism and Placemaking in Dylan’s Northland

The Storyteller's Farm & Museum Near Nashville Features Johnny Cash, Elvis and Music History

There are so many interesting stories in the world. Rod Stewart once sang “Every picture tells a story, don’t it.” I think the same can be said for places. Places have many stories. One such place with lots of stories for music fans is Storyteller’s Hideaway Farm and Museum, just west of Nashville off Highway 40 in Bon Aqua, TN. This is where Johnny Cash used to go to escape from public life.  

The Storytellers Museum features memorabilia, artifacts, and stories from classic country music history with a distinct focus on Johnny Cash, Elvis Presley and Colonel Tom Parker, as well as producer Red Wortham. The stories and storied lives don't stop there.

The Hideaway Farm is a 107-acre property that Johnny Cash owned for 33 years and called the center of his universe. It features a 200-year-old Farmhouse, with an intimate collection of family photos, memorabilia, and footage of Johnny Cash at the property, as well as stories from his family.  The famous One-Piece-At-A-Time Cadillac, created from Johnny’s own song of the same name, is also on display.

Johnny's One-Piece-At-A-Time Cadillac. 
All color photos on this page courtesy Gary Firstenberg

The couple responsible for renovating this place, preserving history and sharing it is Brian and Sally Oxley. In June I spoke with Brian Oxley and learned a little about the project he and his wife have undertaken.

When I asked how he came to take such an interest in these properties of Johnny Cash he replied,  “I had a friend in Illinois… I was visiting in his office and he had a series of paintings of people who he respected the most. He had one of Johnny Cash…. And I asked, ‘Who is that?' He then began to tell me his story.”

If you’re surprised that Brian Oxley was unfamiliar with who Johnny Cash was, it’s helpful to know his background. Oxley grew up in Japan, the son of missionaries there. When his parents retired they chose Nashville as a place to settle.

Oxley became intrigued by the Johnny Cash story and the more he learned, the more fascinated he became. “I found Johnny Cash’s parents’ home. They were across the street from Johnny’s house that had burned down,” Oxley explained. “It was on the market, so I bought it, and renovated it to the original form.” 

Being from Duluth I couldn’t help but think of collector/archivist Bill Pagel’s ongoing efforts to restore Bob Dylan’s boyhood homes to their original form.

The Colonel and Elvis

Oxley continued. “On one occasion I got to know Tommy Cash, Johnny’s brother. Tommy told about the farm (The Hideaway), how it was off the beaten path. Tommy approached the farmer who owned it and I was able to buy the property. I wanted a spiritual tone to it, because Johnny Cash was spiritual.”

As Oxley became aware of properties related to this story he purchased them. The Mama Cash house was the last home Johnny and June stayed in before June died. They were there because Johnny wasn’t doing well. They were in the process of installing an elevator in his house across the street.

At a certain point in time Oxley found the VHS tape that became Seeing Red. It’s possible that Elvis might never have been discovered were it not for Red Wortham. That story is shared here. 

The Oxleys are well aware that timing is everything. One day Brian Oxley heard that Colonel Parker’s place was going to be torn down to become a car wash. “I stepped in and we acquired the rights to dismantle it,” he said. He now displays the wall behind the desk where Elvis and the Colonel did their deal. “I dismantled the wall where Elvis and Col. Parker shook hands.”

Johnny's favorite chair.

After acquiring what could be preserved he learned about the Hollywood film that is in the works about this period of music history. None other than Tom Hanks will be playing Colonel Parker. 

In June the Oxley’s got word that there is a movement in Holland to bring the Colonel back. “They want to build a monument. I have the house and tons of pictures. He (Colonel Parker) was an illegal alien.”

Restorations of this magnitude clearly require capital. Though primarily the Oxley’s own money has been invested, he has also been assisted a friend from Taiwan whose mother was a famous classical dancer. While other people were telling Oxley that he was out of his mind, this friend said, “Go for it.”

“The stuff I do, you can’t go to normal business people. There was no assurance it would ever make money,” Oxley continued. “I’m a storyteller. When people come in they are closer to Elvis with his head on the wall than anywhere on the wall. The original gates from the Colonel’s place were duplicated at Graceland.”

The Oxley's motivation has all along been to preserve music history. And we're all being enriched by it.

STORYTELLERS HIDEAWAY FARM AND MUSEUM

9676 OLD HIGHWAY 46, BON AQUA, TN, 37025

(931) 996-4336

INFO@STORYTELLERSMUSEUM.COM

https://www.storytellershideawayfarm.com/

Music Based Tourism Links

The Case For Celebrating Bob Dylan’s Home Town

Music Based Tourism and Placemaking in Dylan’s Northland

Cash and Dylan Sing Songs of Remorse: I Hung My Head and I Threw It All Away

When Ken Burns' documentary on Country Music aired on PBS last fall, and Dylan's Bootleg #15 Travelin' Through came out featuring Johnny Cash on two of the three CDs, the world was twice reminded of the manner in which these two careers have routinely intersected.

Maybe intersecting isn't quite the right word. The image that comes to mind is the double helix of a DNA molecule in which the two strands corkscrew around each other like a twisted ladder. There's a sense in which Dylan and Cash have had parallel lives in terms of achievement and fame, sometimes in the foreground and sometimes in the shadows, and frequently connected by those ladder rungs.

It's apparent from their earliest recordings and footage of making music together that there was a mutual admiration society thing going on between them. They sometimes sang one another's songs. They clearly seemed to enjoy one another's company, both on stage or in the studio.

Later in their careers another interesting parallel began to occur. With the inauguration of Bob Dylan's Bootleg Series, a recycling of countless hours of unreleased material was sifted through as they opened the vault to share with a wider public content that had been left on the cutting room floor. This has provided loyal fans the luxury of being continually surprised by the breadth of his imagination.

Something similar occurred with Johnny Cash when he began recording The American Recordings. Cash, with his resonant baritone, was given the opportunity to  take on this project when producer Rick Rubin, better known for heavy metal and rap, saw Johnny Cash perform at the Bob Dylan's 30th Anniversary concert in 1992. The deal was this: Cash could do what he wanted and Rubin would produce something exceptional.

This would be a different kind of recycling. Cash would be recycling covers, but adding new dimensions of gravity to the songs. When American IV came out with Cash doing a cover of "Hurt" by Nine Inch Nails, an electricity went through the music scene, much like the electrical current that sizzled through Greenwich Village when young Dylan arrived. The net result was that American IV went platinum and many (like us who acquired it) followed up by buying the previous albums in the series, eagerly anticipating those that would follow.

This unlikely marriage--Rubin and Cash--received widespread critical acclaim including multiple American IV platinum and gold awards.

* * * *

Sting's version of "I Hung My Head" is a good song, but--and I mean no disrespect--the cover arrangement and gravelly Cash voice produce a chilling, incomparable effect that is heartbreaking, effectively amping the song to a new high.

It's a story in song, something both Cash and Dylan excel at. It begins innocently enough. The narrator is out one morning messing around, killing time, until he does something stupid that changes everything.

Early one morning with time to kill
I borrowed Jeb's rifle and sat on a hill
I saw a lone rider crossing the plain
I drew a bead on him to practice my aim
My brother's rifle went off in my hand
A shot rang out across the land
The horse, he kept running, the rider was dead
I hung my head, I hung my head

You can imagine the emotions, were this a real life event, your real life accident.

You may not play with guns, but you make mistakes. And not every mistake is deadly, though some can be. They kill something special that was living, and will never live again, perhaps a friendship, or an intimate relationship. So the song continues with an attempt at denial. This can't be real.

I set off running to wake from the dream
My brother's rifle went into the sheen
I kept on running into the south lands*
That's where they found me my head in my hands
The sheriff he asked me why had I run
And then it come to me just what I had done
And all for no reason just one piece of lead
I hung my head, I hung my head

But it is real and there are consequences. In the courthouse he has to explain what he was thinking. Sometimes we don't even understand our own actions, yet must make an account. He recognizes that he's orphaned a man's children and widowed this man's wife. And he's sinking inside.

The final verse has an intriguing twist. It's the day of his hanging, and it proves to be an echo of the event that brought him to this moment.

Early one morning with time to kill
I see the gallows up on the hill
And out in the distance a trick of the brain
I see a lone rider crossing the plain
And he'd come to fetch me to see what they'd done
And we'll ride together to kingdom come
I pray for God's mercy 'cause soon I'll be dead
I hung my head, I hung my head
I hung my head, I hung my head

* * * *

Photo Bob Landy

Bob Dylan's "I Threw It All Away" is a completely different story, but essentially the same lament. Whereas it's true he writes songs that blame the woman for this breakup--"I gave her my heart but she wanted my soul" for example; or the harsh "It ain't me, babe" as sung on Bootleg #5 1975--in this song he takes full responsibility for the end of this meaningful affair of the heart.

I once held her in my arms
She said that she would always stay
But I was cruel, I treated her like a fool
I threw it all away.

It's a beautiful song, recorded for Nashville Skyline. I have a friend who says his favorite "sound of Bob's voice" is here on Nashville Skyline. It was certainly distinctive.

The song evidently remained significant for him as he performed it live nearly fifty times, most recently in 2002, the second tune in a May Rotterdam show.

Once I had mountains in the palm of my hand
rivers of grandeur every day
I must have been mad, I never knew what I had
until I threw it all away

There may be critics who call it sentimental pap, but if you've ever been hit with it deep, how that which you valued was destroyed by your own hand, this captures it.

The bridge is a basic nod to the all-encompassing and life-affirming notion: "Love is all there is, it makes the world go round..." following up with this admonition born of experience:

So if you find someone that gives you all of her love
Take it to your heart, don’t let it stray
For one thing that’s certain
You will surely be a-hurtin’
If you throw it all away

* * * *
These were thoughts I had this weekend as I listened to Johnny Cash American Series IV in conjunction with Dylan's Traveling Through. Both men saw a lot in their lives, both the highs and lows, and both were superb at conveying it in the songs.

Ultimately, it is life itself in the balance. Don't throw it all away.

* The lyrics Sting wrote and recorded were slightly altered here in the Cash rendition. Sting sang "salt lands" and "stream" as opposed to South lands and sheen.

Blast from the Past: A Duluth Armory Trivia Contest

FLASHBACK FRIDAY

For a number of years one of the highlights of our Duluth Dylan Fest was the Salute to the Music of Bob Dylan concerts assembled by Magic Marc Productions. In addition to being a great night of music for those who attend the Salute concert served as a fund raiser for the Armory Arts and Music Center.

As noted in Dylan's autobiography Chronicles: Volume One, it was here at the historic Duluth Armory that Dylan as 17-year-old saw Buddy Holly's second-to-last concert just before his untimely death in an Iowa cornfield along with Ritchie Valenz and The Big Bopper. Holly was only 22.

These were not the only famous folk, however, to pass through the Armory's halls. For this reason, I thought I would offer up this quiz as a form of entertainment. I like games and most of us enjoy trivia to some extent. (It made the creators of Trivia Pursuit wealthy for sure.) So here it is.

A DULUTH ARMORY TRIVIA QUIZ

A major feature of the Historic Duluth Armory is what it reveals about American celebritydom in the past century. The Armory’s Great Hall has been a virtual who’s who parade that says much about our iconic connections to America-at-large. It’s an illustrious history worth preserving, not simply for its past but for the foundations it offers for the future.

The following is a list of people who may or may not have performed or appeared at the Armory. Take a sheet of paper and number it from 1 to 12. Your assignment: Identify which name in each set of four did NOT appear at the Duluth Armory in the past century? Once you have filled out your sheet, look for the answers at the very end. No peeking.

Beach Boys on the Ed Sullivan Show, 1964.

1.
A. Marian Anderson
B. Louis Armstrong
C. The Beach Boys
D. Ricardo Montalbán

2.
A. Leonard Bernstein
B. Boston Pops with Arthur Fiedler
C. Johnny Cash
D. Stonewall Jackson

3.
A. Dale Carnegie
B. Patsy Cline
C. Cher and Sonny Bono
D. Tyrone Power

4. 
A. Doris Day
B. Jimmy Dean
C. Dion
D. Duke Ellington

Will Rogers. (Public domain)

5.
A. Roy Rogers
B. Jimmy Rodgers
C. Will Rogers
D. Oral Roberts

6.
A. Tommy Dorsey
B. Duke Ellington
C. Everly Brothers
D. Marty Robbins

7.
A. The Guess Who
B. Harlem Globetrotters
C. Buddy Holly
D. Hoosier Hot Shots

8.
A. Bob Hope
B. Liberace
C. Roy Orbison
D. Jack London

9.
A. The Osmonds
B. Floyd Patterson
C. John Philip Sousa
D. Minnie Pearl

10.
A. Mitch Ryder & the Detroit Wheels
B. Sam the Sham and the Pharaohs
C. Isaac Stern
D. Harry S. Truman

11.
A. Hank Williams Sr.
B. Harry Truman
C. Ritchie Valens
D. Frankie Yankovic and the Yanks

12.
A. Bobby Vee
B. Bobby Vinton
C. Lawrence Welk
D. Ritchie Valens

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

Billy Hallquist (left) performed here as a lad long ago.

The late Billy Hallquist (left) played in several Salute concerts.

ANSWER KEY: DULUTH ARMORY TRIVIA QUIZ
Everyone listed in every set of four has been here and done that. In other words, all the folks listed performed or spoke here at one time or another in the past.

NOTEWORTHY
Read the Bob Dylan interview in Today's NYTimes on the eve of his latest album of original tunes being released. Bob Dylan Has a Lot on His Mind