La reflexión de la semana, de parte de la gente de la Downtown Music Guide

Parece que ante la insensatez rampante que parece haberse apoderado del mundo hay gente, de hecho como siempre, unos pocos, que son capaces de mantener una actitud crítica, activa y POSITIVA.
Los admiro porque yo soy incapaz de ver luz en el asunto y eso me paraliza y me hace cada vez más misántropo.

El caso es que parece que la gente de la Downtown Music Gallery (ya he hablado de ellos: ¡gran tienda de música neoyorquina!) se ha propuesto hacernos reflexionar sobre nuestro mundo a través de letras de canciones y un comentario adicional. Y (¿será porque me caen muy bien?) logran que vea  semi-iluminados asuntos muy espinosos. Gracias. Muchas gracias.

De su newsletter del pasado Viernes.

“Monster / Suicide / America” by Steppenwolf 

From their fourth album, ‘Monster’, released November, 1969 

Once the religious, the hunted and weary
Chasing the promise of freedom and hope
Came to this country to build a new vision
Far from the reaches of kingdom and pope
Like good Christians, some would burn the witches
Later some got slaves to gather riches
But still from near and far to seek America
They came by thousands to court the wild
And she just patiently smiled and bore a child
To be their spirit and guiding light

And once the ties with the crown had been broken
Westward in saddle and wagon it went
And 'til the railroad linked ocean to ocean
Many the lives which had come to an end
While we bullied, stole and bought our a homeland
We began the slaughter of the red man
But still from near and far to seek America
They came by thousands to court the wild
And she just patiently smiled and bore a child
To be their spirit and guiding lightThe blue and grey they stomped it
They kicked it just like a dog
And when the war over
They stuffed it just like a hog
And though the past has it's share of injustice
Kind was the spirit in many a way
But it's protectors and friends have been sleeping
Now it's a monster and will not obey

The spirit was freedom and justice
And it's keepers seem generous and kind
It's leaders were supposed to serve the country
But now they won't pay it no mind
'Cause the people grew fat and got lazy
And now their vote is a meaningless joke
They babble about law and order
But it's all just an echo of what they've been told
Yeah, there's a monster on the loose
It's got our heads into a noose
And it just sits there watchin'
Our cities have turned into jungles
And corruption is stranglin' the land
The police force is watching the people
And the people just can't understand
We don't know how to mind our own business
'Cause the whole worlds got to be just like us
Now we are fighting a war over there
No matter who's the winner
We can't pay the cost
'Cause there's a monster on the loose
It's got our heads into a noose
And it just sits there watching

AMERICA where are you now?
Don't you care about your sons and daughters?
Don't you know we need you now
We can't fight alone against the monster

It seems hard to believe that this song & album, ‘Monster’ was released 50 years ago next month!?! Most folks just remember Steppenwolf from their big hit & biker anthem, “Born to Be Wild”, but they had much more going on than that. Their records were consistently strong and their lyrics were well thought out, well worth considering. The above song does a good job of capturing the darker side of American history, much of it still rings true today. Who is the MONSTER that they are warning us about?!?! Check out some of the YouTube videos for this song. - BLG/DMG