Unofficial Anthem

Somehow I find myself playing the Outlaws' Green Grass & High Tides every three weeks. That is becoming my theme. Great song, but when I first heard it, I couldn't make out the lyrics. Was he singing Green Grass and High Class forever? Horse races say they adore you? I don't know, but I love it, and I found the correct lyrics to rectify my errors.

I'd like to form a band in that spirit, but I'm not really an Outlaw. Our band will be called the Scofflaws. We follow rules, laws and regulations, but secretly spit at and scorn authority when the powers that be aren't looking. We raise the middle finger to the cop's back, but pay our parking tickets anyway - a credo I'm sure most folks could relate to.

Anyway, do you have an unofficial anthem you keep coming back to?

I don't have one at the moment, but for quite a while, Cowboy Mouth's "Glad to Be Alive" fit the bill.

And the band name The Scofflaws is being used.

Del, please let me know when they stop using it, thanx.

In general I'm not a big fan of the songwriter, but lyrically Guy Clark's "stuff that works" has been my anthem lately. Must have something to do with being 41 (granted my old blue shirt is really a blue oxford, and I'd have to replace boots with Merrell hiking shoes, but hey I'm a northeasterner) :

I got an ol’ blue shirt
And it suits me just fine
I like the way it feels
So I wear it all the time
I got an old guitar
It won’t ever stay in tune
I like the way it sounds
In a dark and empty room

I got an ol’ pair of boots
And they fit just right
I can work all day
And I can dance all night
I got an ol’ used car
And it runs just like a top
I get the feelin’ it ain’t
Ever gonna stop

Stuff that works, stuff that holds up
The kind of stuff you don’t hang on the wall
Stuff that’s real, stuff you feel
The kind of stuff you reach for when you fall

I got a pretty good friend
Who’s seen me at my worst
He can’t tell if I’m a blessing
Or a curse
But he always shows up
When the chips are down
That’s the kind of stuff
I like to be around

I got a woman I love
She’s crazy and paints like God
She’s got a playground sense of justice
She won’t take odds
I got a tattoo with her name
Right through my soul
I think everything she touches
Turns to gold

We were spending a lot of time with pediatric neurologists a couple of years ago. That's when this became our family's unofficial anthem. Thankfully, our littlest one (who is now 3) has managed to overcome a number of obstacles in that time.

"Stay Positive" – The Hold Steady

i've got a lot of old friends that're getting back in touch
and it's a pretty good feeling yea it feels pretty good
i get a lot of double takes when im coming round the corners
and its mostly pretty nice its mostly pretty alright

'cause most kids give me credit for being down with it
when it was back in the day back when things were way different
when the youth of today and the early seven seconds
taught me some of lifes most valuable lessons

there's gonna come a time when the scene'll seem less sunny
it'll probably get druggy and the kids'll seem to skinny
there's gonna come a time when shes gonna have to go
with whoevers gonna get her the highest

there's gonna come a time when the true scene leaders
will forget where they differ and get big picture
cause the kids at their shows, they'll have kids of their own
the sing-a-long songs'll be our scriptures

we gotta stay positive
we gotta stay positive
we gotta stay positive
we gotta stay positive

when the chaperone crowned us the king and the queen
i knew that we'd arrived at a unified scene
and all those little lambs from my dreams
well they were there too

cause its one thing to start it with a positive jam
and its another thing to see it all through
and we couldn't of even done this if it wasn't for you

we gotta stay positive
we gotta stay positive
we gotta stay positive

That's a great choice of anthem, Jermoe. I hope your little one is doing much better!

Thanks, nosepail. All things considered, he's doing well, but we've had to accept a large number of unknowns regarding his health and development. We were just waiting for seizures for awhile. I know it seems cheesy, but when the only thing you can control is how you react to circumstances, a positive outlook (even if you're just putting on a front for everyone else) does help.

Very sorry about your son's health problems, but glad things are going better. You definitely need an anthem sometimes to keep going. Mine has always been the Pistols' "God Save the Queen".

When there's no future
There cannot be sin
We're the flowers in the dustbin
We're the poison in the human machine
We're the future
Your future

Damn, I love it so.



Post Edited (04-08-10 20:03)

"Life Goes On" by the Damned or "Life is an Accident" by New Fast Automatic Daffodils.

Life goes on and on and on
When you think it's all gone wrong
go on and on and on

Life's a con a con a con
When you think you can't go on
go on and on and on

And always remember: This is the happiest day of your life

[edited because as this ran through my head I realized I'd typed it wrong]



Post Edited (04-09-10 15:19)

Jermoe,

I've been faced with serious health/etc. problems with my own kids as well, and wish you well--and have put you and your family in my prayers.

-Erik

Like Jermoe, we have had to get through some tough medical and neurological challenges with our daughter. A couple of our helpful anthems have been "Better Days" by the Fleshtones and "Don't Give It Up Now" by Lyres.

ninety nine bottles of beer on the wall...

Quote

Anyway, do you have an unofficial anthem you keep coming back to?

When I was younger, it would have to have been "Out Of My Mind On Dope & Speed" by Julian Cope. Then, for a while it was "All You Know" by Acetone. But lately, I don't really have a handle on this issue. Maybe something by Derek Stevens? I hear Rhino is mulling over doing a 2-disc anthology of his stuff. Is that true? That would be like trying to capture someone like Captain Beefheart in a 2-CD compilation. An impossible task, if you ask me.

My unofficial anthem is "One Step Beyond" for no other reason that it is awesome and my kids and I like to dance to it together. And it has no deep meaning other than "hey, listen to this cool song by Madness!"

Not for the specific lyrics (I've never picked up a guitar, for example) but "I Stand Tall" by the Dictators still makes me do so all these years later.

Hoip, you've got the link to the band's site, so you're empowered to keep track of that.

"I don't want to worry about dying
I just want to worry about sunshine girls"