IGX

Tom Russell on Sterling Hayden, a Hollywood tough guy, a real adventurer, an OSS war hero, and a guy who named names for Sen. Joe McCarthy. I had some drinks with him once, back in the day. The song gets him pretty well.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sterling_Hayden

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Wd8R0DohAkg[/youtube]

It's been rumored that everyone in Hollywood that wasn't blacklisted gave names or cooperated in some way in order to keep working. Hayden used to have a ranch south of Tucson when he died. Last time I was there in the late 90's, it had been converted into a nice western style restaurant.

Deal with Hayden was he worked with Tito's (commie) partisans in what was then Yugoslavia during WW2.. Got the Silver Star. Admired the Yugo fighters. Just didn't turn anti-commie in time.

But the song quotes his autobiography about the naming of names: "You don't have the foggiest idea of the contempt of have for myself for that." Goes on to talk about shipwrecks of the heart and why we drink.

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iHxOego2Sso[/youtube]

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-yZMnEBGMR0[/youtube]

Tom Russell tells great stories.

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Wgom-IWpKdM[/youtube]

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YrLk4vdY28Q[/youtube]

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CxJUVgN8kG8[/youtube]

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wRhki98NwOE[/youtube]

seeahill wrote:Tom Russell on Sterling Hayden, a Hollywood tough guy, a real adventurer, an OSS war hero, and a guy who named names for Sen. Joe McCarthy. I had some drinks with him once, back in the day. The song gets him pretty well.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sterling_Hayden

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Wd8R0DohAkg[/youtube]

Good commies are against everything this nation was founded on so expossing them was the least that could have been done.

Should have killed them all.

It's great that when the KGB's records were open for a short time McCarthey turned out to be right about Hiss and a few others.

Society was better when actors and the such were ment for entertainment but were held in contempt by most. Might have been a good reason?

Darth,
That last post is one of your finest, a triumphant exercise in completely missing the point.

Guy Clark. Yes. This one, Desperados waiting for a Train, is good. It becomes evident that the train here is death. "C'mon Jack, the son of a bitch is coming."

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dFb1lGMvS3I[/youtube]

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MwR1n0p1V7U[/youtube]

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YtzgwNDZAs4[/youtube]

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lWsuVuw5JO4[/youtube]

Turdacious wrote:[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MwR1n0p1V7U[/youtube]

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YtzgwNDZAs4[/youtube]

Near perfect songs.

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xlEb3Zxhuwg[/youtube]

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SqA_xpOZcOU[/youtube]

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SRmUieLCF-A[/youtube]

Townes was so good it hurts.

Quote from Steve Earle: "Townes van Zandt is the best songwriter in the whole world and I'll stand on Bob Dylan's coffee table in my cowboy boots and say that." ...

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NfICI_Mais0[/youtube]
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=te7KW4K-00E[/youtube]
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cymuGswKH0M[/youtube]

seeahill wrote:Townes was so good it hurts.

Quote from Steve Earle: "Townes van Zandt is the best songwriter in the whole world and I'll stand on Bob Dylan's coffee table in my cowboy boots and say that." ...

Yup. He also had that rare quality of taking the occasional song by someone else and owning the shit out of it....

My favorite cover of all time.

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NBwC7Qzljso[/youtube]

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-KTsXHXMkJA[/youtube]

Another Cover. Cowboy Junkies sing Townes

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tU78lSjgN3Y[/youtube]

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2eepsCXpLY4[/youtube]

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7HlxqursgjU[/youtube]
Translation of the lyrics:

A greeting from my heart to Beirut
kisses to the sea and to the houses
to a rock, which is like an old sailors face
She is made from the peoples soul..from wine
She is from his sweata bread and Jasmins
So how does her taste become? A taste of fire and smoke

Glory from the ashes to Beirut
My city has turned out her lamp
From the blood of a child carried upon her hand
She shut her door, and became alone in the sky
Alone with the night
You are mine, you are mine
Ah Hug me you are mine
You are my flag, tomorrow stone
And a travels waves
The wounds of my people have blossomed
And mothers tear
You are mine, you are mine
Ah Hug me

seeahill wrote:Darth,
That last post is one of your finest, a triumphant exercise in completely missing the point.

No Tim, you missed the point. Much of the bad image McCarthy has is because of actors talking about how bad it was to black list commies/

Other than when they are doing their art, we would be better off if we were as we were when actors and musicians were admired for their craft but looked down on anything else.

OK, D, but the song was about this guy who dropped out of school at 16 and took a job on a ship. Skippered at 22. Became an actor because he was "A Viking God" at 6'5". But he never liked being an actor. WW2, he enlists. Becomes an officer and an OSS operative operating under a nom de guerre, John Hamilton. Earns a silver star.

So he liked the Commie Yugoslavs he worked with. (Russia and us, we were on the same side in that war).

So he knew Commies. But --- here's where you miss the point --- when the McCarthy hearings called him, he named names. (So he was sorta on your side.)

But he despised himself for that. Later, as the song says, he kidnapped his kids and sailed around the world, or at least to Tahiti.

When I met him, he was living north of San Franscisco, in a house boat in Sausalito. I met him because he was interested in writing. He'd done his auto-biography "Wanderer" and a novel.

The song is about the man's tortured history. And, well, even his manliness. Listen the fuck to it, D.

seeahill wrote:So he knew Commies. But --- here's where you miss the point --- when the McCarthy hearings called him, he named names. (So he was sorta on your side.)

But he despised himself for that.

Despised himself for ratting on his friends, or for being insufficiently committed to the cause?

Turdacious wrote:

seeahill wrote:So he knew Commies. But --- here's where you miss the point --- when the McCarthy hearings called him, he named names. (So he was sorta on your side.)

But he despised himself for that.

Despised himself for ratting on his friends, or for being insufficiently committed to the cause?

Darf dyslexia.

It's the song. Listen. Make up your own mind.

seeahill wrote:

Turdacious wrote:

seeahill wrote:So he knew Commies. But --- here's where you miss the point --- when the McCarthy hearings called him, he named names. (So he was sorta on your side.)

But he despised himself for that.

Despised himself for ratting on his friends, or for being insufficiently committed to the cause?

Darf dyslexia.

It's the song. Listen. Make up your own mind.

Didn't ask Tom Russell-- asked you.