Civics Lessons: Lena Horne Still Sings Stormy Weather

Thelonious Monster - Lena Horne Still Sings Stormy Weather [purchase]

"They tore down Ships just like they tore down Tiny Naylor's,
They'll tear down anything in this town,
They'll do just about anything to squeeze an extra dime,
They'll probably even sell their own grandmothers.

Ah but Lena Horne still sings 'Stormy Weather,'
Yeah things, they're bad, but they could get better,
Yeah things, they're bad, but they could get better,
And I'm just waiting to see which way to go.
Yeah, I'm just waiting to see which way to go.

They say Jesse Jackson will never be President,
But yet, he's still the man I'd vote for,
'Cause people everywhere, we're workin' our ass off,
And can't even afford to pay our bills.

Ah, Lena Horne's still singing 'Stormy Weather,'
Well things, they're bad, but they could get better,
Well things, they're bad, but they could get better,
And I'm just waiting to see which way to go.
Yeah, I'm just waiting to see which way to go.

And I'm hopin' and a-prayin' and a-wishin' and givin' my all,
I'm hopin' and a-prayin' and a-wishin' and givin' my all."

One of Bob Forrest's finest moments as a songwriter and Thelonious Monster's finest moments as a band, "Lena Horne" is essentially a folk song done as rootsy punk rock. Forrest's songwriting triumph ... especially in the context of both Reagan/Bush and post-punk's golden age ... was in transcending a predictable vitriolic rant against "the system" to produce a compelling song of hope and belief. There's no reason for the protagonist to feel hope, especially against a backdrop of depressing and destructive forward-thinking materialism. After all, two of Los Angeles' most distinctive googie-style coffeehouses, Ships and Tiny Naylor's, were torn down because that's what Los Angeles, and by extension, of course, America, does. We don't preserve the village green. We raze it and open a Starbuck's. We'll do just about anything to squeeze an extra dime, we'll probably even sell our own grandmothers.

And yet, the song's message remains one of perseverance. Forrest doesn't say things are bad and getting worse. He says things are bad, but they could get better. A vote for Jesse Jackson isn't a pointless and cynical gesture of protest, it's one man's emphatic endorsement in the machinery of democracy as a force for change. Maybe we are working our asses off and can't afford to pay our bills, maybe Tiny Naylor's was torn down (pictured above), and maybe there are people who'll sell their own grandmothers. But, that doesn't mean things can't get better. We just have to believe they can get better and work and hope and pray and wish and give it our all.