The Animal Kingdom: Gallo del Cielo

Tom Russell: Gallo del Cielo

[purchase]

Due to my love of country and folk music, I have 68 horse mp3s in my collection. But since I always wait until the last minute to post on Star Marker Machine, I usually miss my chance to post my first thought on the given subject. I spent the week scouring my brain trying to think of a non-horse animal kingdom song to post. Finally on Thursday, while listening to Outlaw Country on XM radio, it hit me.

Tom Russell's "Gall del Cielo" is the quintessential Americana song. Written near his native Los Angeles in 1979, the song tells the story of Carlos Zaragoza, a Mexican man trying to win enough money via betting on cockfights to buy back the land that Pancho Villa stole from his family. The rooster from heaven, Gallo del Cielo, is the strongest of the cockfighters. Zaragoza steels the rooster from his home in northern Mexico, swims the Rio Grande and travels the southwestern US and California winning money on Gallo del Cielo's fighting prowess. Unfortunately by the time Zaragoza gets to Santa Clara, Gallo del Cielo meets his match. Zaragoza losses all of his money on the fight, and exiles himself so as to not bring his family shame.

Ruseell has recorded several versions of "Gallo del Cielo." This one is from the completion Veterans Day: The Tom Russell Anthology, but the original is from Russell's 1984 album Heart on a Sleeve.

Sports: The Pugilist at 59

Tom Russell: The Pugilist at 59

[purchase]

Tom Russell gives us a vivid character sketch of a boxer whose glory days are gone. He remembers the feeling of getting in the ring and knowing he could beat anyone. But now he has met the one opponent he can never hope to defeat: aging.

Tom Russell, on the other hand, shows no sign of slowing down. He is known primarily as a Texas singer/ songwriter, as good as any of them. But he also incorporated Irish and Norwegian folk music into his “folk opera”, The Man From God Knows Where, in which Russell explored his family history. Russell’s album Hotwalker is a combination of music and spoken word pieces, created in collaboration with poet Charles Bukowski. The two have also published a book of their correspondence. And Russell also paints. So those who wish to look further into Russell’s work have plenty to explore. And it is a journey well worth taking.

April Fools: The Definition of a Fool

Tom Russell and Barrence Whitfield: The Definition of a Fool

[rare; but still available here]

Language is a slippery bugger. Because dictionary definitions are easily trumped in realtime by the way people really understand a word's meaning, my favorite professors taught me that you can't talk about a subject until you've defined its terms up front.

Here, folksinger Tom Russell and country bluesman Barrence Whitfield -- two men who are not afraid to look a little foolish themselves -- team up to give us a Claptonesque blues with a reggae beat that should shed some light on the subject.

Baby Mine: Secret O' Life

There's so much parental advice offered up out there: wear a jacket when it's chilly, don't pull the dog's tail, broccoli is good for you, never run with a lollipop in your mouth, you need fresh air and exercise, better not cross your eyes or they'll freeze like that, color inside the lines, eating food dropped on the floor is a big no-no – thank goodness there are songs like the lovely and eloquent Scott Miller's (which Nelson posted) to take us to the crux of the matter.

We want our children to be good people... to have a sense of family, friendship and the world... to live in the moment... to do the right thing when no one is watching (and, when that fails, to be lucky enough to survive the wrong thing) – ultimately, we become better people in our desire to shape their ethics, values and passions...

In the songs-I-wish-I'd-written-for-my-children spirit, I offer up four examples of counsel from the deepest, truest, most sincere place of all: the heart...

James Taylor: Secret O' Life

"The secret of life is enjoying the passage of time
Any fool can do it
There ain't nothing to it
Nobody knows how we got to the top of the hill
But since we're on our way down
We might as well enjoy the ride..."

[purchase]


Joan Baez: Forever Young (written by Bob Dylan)

"May you grow up to be righteous
May you grow up to be true
May you always know the truth
And see the lights surrounding you
May you always be courageous
Stand upright and be strong
May you stay forever young..."

[purchase]


Tom Russell: Box of Visions

"I give to you a box of visions
I give to you a jar of hearts
I'll give to you the gypsy's ear
To hear the sacred harp
I'll give to you a house of mirrors
A thousand eyes they belong to you
A labyrinth of wild roses
I know you'll find your own way through..."

[purchase]


Maura O'Connell: Feet of a Dancer

"I hope you find the feet of a dancer
I hope you can sing in the rain
I hope you find all the easy answers to your pain
I hope you find love and affection, someone who cares
I hope you find all the right direction everywhere..."

[purchase]


My children are now 27, 24 and 20... and I still wish all of the above for them – as Anne Tyler so eloquently states in Dinner at the Homesick Restaurant: there's no statute of limitations on motherhood (amend that to parenthood)...

Pennsylvania: U.S. Steel

Tom Russell: U.S. Steel

[purchase]

A good song about the closing of the steel works in Homestead, Pennsylvania.

From the Wikipedia entry:

“Settled in 1871, Homestead was chartered in 1880. For most of its first 100 years, Homestead served as the place where one of the world's most productive steel mills existed. About 7,000 men were employed in the plant around the turn of the century in 1900 when the population of Homestead was 12,554 people. The industrious people of Homestead increased their numbers to 18,713 in 1910, and to 20,452 in 1920.

In 1940, 19,041 people lived in Homestead. During the early 1940s half the population was displaced as the United States Government added on to the steel mills to have the capacity for armor plating for ships and tanks (preparing for WWII). After the end of World War II, a decline in the steel-making industry of the United States took place.

By 1970, it had become well-nigh impossible to obtain employment at the Homestead Works, which was not producing much steel at that time. In 1984, the mill closed and The Homestead Works was demolished, replaced in 1999 by The Waterfront shopping mall. As a direct result of the loss of mill employment, the number of people living in Homestead dwindled. By the time of the 2000 census, the borough population was 3,569. The borough began financially/economically recovering in 2002, with the enlarging retail tax base.”