Come for the politics, stay for the snark.

Not so fun when the rabbit gets the gun, is it?

So it was an October Surprise A Day, like an Advent calendar but for crime.

Peak wingnut was a lie.

The willow is too close to the house.

Wow, you are pre-disappointed. How surprising.

The words do not have to be perfect.

Just because you believe it, that doesn’t make it true.

Technically true, but collectively nonsense

I know this must be bad for Joe Biden, I just don’t know how.

People are complicated. Love is not.

The worst democrat is better than the best republican.

Americans barely caring about Afghanistan is so last month.

Why did Dr. Oz lose? well, according to the exit polls, it’s because Fetterman won.

When I decide to be condescending, you won’t have to dream up a fantasy about it.

Everybody saw this coming.

Battle won, war still ongoing.

The GOP couldn’t organize an orgy in a whorehouse with a fist full of 50s.

John Fetterman: Too Manly for Pennsylvania.  Paid for by the Oz for Senator campaign.

If you tweet it in all caps, that makes it true!

If senate republicans had any shame, they’d die of it.

Never entrust democracy to any process that requires republicans to act in good faith.

Republicans are radicals, not conservatives.

I really should read my own blog.

And we’re all out of bubblegum.

You are here: Home / Music / Song of the week

Song of the week

by | 80 Comments

This post is in: ,

From Can’t Explain….

Dolly Parton, “Down From Dover” (1970)
I’m pretty sure I can trust that the Balloon Juice crowd knows the talents and values of Dolly Parton, so I’m going to skip the “better than you know” qualifications I ordinarily feel constrained to make at this point. Her target market audience may, I have a bad feeling, be the kind of people Matt Taibbi identified as constituents in the Tea Party base, riding around on Medicare-funded scooters and screeching about getting government out of healthcare, but never mind. She’s the real deal. This is probably my favorite by her, and certainly the genuine sense of sadness it evokes matches my own watching what went down in national politics this week, and worrying what comes next. Not that I’m trying to make an allegory out of it or anything.

Ethos: “Just Because I’m a Woman”

More stuff at Can’t Explain.

Reader Interactions

80Comments

  2. 2.

    Omnes Omnibus

    I’d never heard that one before. Great evocation of sadness. The lady can sing.

  5. 5.

    fasteddie9318

    While I love the fact that anybody can say anything at this place and that repercussions are rare, it seems like every comments thread is becoming infested with weak-sauce trolls. I don’t have a proposed solution here, just an equally weak-sauce observation.

  7. 7.

    trollhattan

    Seconded on her talent and depth being lost on most, likely including a large proportion of her fans. I’d pit her in a debate against ANY constructivist/Randian re. the innate value and dignity of the working poor. A viewpoint one is literally never exposed to, these days.

  8. 8.

    Mike Goetz

    We could really use some Zoloft in this place. Do we really need to be this po-faced all the time?

  10. 10.

    jl

    Some things are unforgivable. So, Putrid Superannuated DougJ accuses me of not appreciating Dolly Parton?

    DougJ is dead to me. I close the iron door!

  11. 11.

    Disgruntled Lurker

    You know who else was real. Townes Van Zandt.

    When keeping it real goes wrong.

  13. 13.

    fasteddie9318

    @Omnes Omnibus: What is there to be desperate about? The debt ceiling fight is over. Polls are bad for everybody, but the economy stinks so that’s good for the trolls. No election coming up. What’s got them all worked up?

  15. 15.

    Violet

    My goodness I do love Dolly Parton. She just keeps turning out good music.

    @Raven (formerly stuckinred):
    I do love “Jolene.” A really great song. And someone will slaughter me for this, but I love her duets with Kenny Rogers. Guilty pleasures for me.

    Also love Hard Candy Christmas from “Best Little Whorehose in Texas.”

  20. 20.

    drkrick

    @Paul in KY: Oh yes. She said they had huge arguments about who got to wear the most sequins and use the most hairspray.

    My favorite was he response when somebody asked her what she thought of dumb blonde jokes: “I don’t mind them. I know I’m not dumb and I’m sure as hell not really blonde.”

  22. 22.

    Citizen_X

    @Raven (formerly stuckinred): Damn, that was tragic! Uncle Seymour was giving some real wisdom, about drinking and moderation, to the young Van Zandt. And which one of them lived to a ripe old age, Townes? Which one?

    Again, damn.

  23. 23.

    ed drone

    @arguingwithsignposts:

    This should be the song of the week: Hard Times Come Again No More.

    Hard times, hard times, and wuss a-comin’.
    Hard Times through my old head keeps runnin’.
    I’d cotch the man that wrote that song;
    To shake him well would not be wrong.
    I’d shake him up, I’d shake him down;
    I’d shake him till ‘good times’ comes ’round!

    — from a Minstrel Show soliloquy, circa 1860

    Ed

  25. 25.

    vtr

    @Disgruntled Lurker: If Townes were still with us, he could write a great song called “I Got 98 Per Cent Of What I Wanted.”

  26. 26.

    becca

    Gotta love the woman who attributed her weight loss to no longer eating “big wads of Velveeta”.

  28. 28.

    arguingwithsignposts

    @ed drone:
    Let us pause in life’s pleasures and count its many tears,
    While we all sup sorrow with the poor;
    There’s a song that will linger forever in our ears;
    Oh Hard times come again no more.
    Chorus:

    Tis the song, the sigh of the weary,
    Hard Times, hard times, come again no more
    Many days you have lingered around my cabin door;
    Oh hard times come again no more.

    While we seek mirth and beauty and music light and gay,
    There are frail forms fainting at the door;
    Though their voices are silent, their pleading looks will say
    Oh hard times come again no more.
    (Chorus)

    There’s a pale drooping maiden who toils her life away,
    With a worn heart whose better days are o’er:
    Though her voice would be merry, ’tis sighing all the day,
    Oh hard times come again no more.
    (Chorus)

    Tis a sigh that is wafted across the troubled wave,
    Tis a wail that is heard upon the shore
    Tis a dirge that is murmured around the lowly grave
    Oh hard times come again no more.

  29. 29.

    Raven (formerly stuckinred)

    @Citizen_X: Have you seen the film? He lived for a year shopping only at the 7-11 down the street. I guess people like him and Zevon have that Blue Fire of brilliance but they make me glad I was able to put that shit down.

  32. 32.

    Cat Lady

    The first time I ever saw Dolly was with Porter on one of those cheesy shows from the Grand ‘Ol Opry back in the mid 70’s, when the uniform of late teenhood in the Northeast suburbs was army jackets, pea coats, Frye boots, flannel shirts and navy surplus jeans. For women. I had never ever seen anything like her in the world I inhabited, and wanted to dismiss her right away as antithetical to everything I believed in (women’s lib!). She’s just too unique and has such a great story and her explanation for how she chose her look and her perseverance really taught me a lesson about books, covers, etc. She’s wonderful, and that’s a great song.

    Since we’re reaching back in time, here’s young Aretha with a different take on heartbreak. Prepare for goosebumps.

  36. 36.

    Dennis SGMM

    @Raven (formerly stuckinred):

    Kind of wish you hadn’t done that. “After the Gold Rush” was the album that we listened to most (On crappy little battery powered eight track tape machines) when I was down in the Delta.

  38. 38.

    Raven (formerly stuckinred)

    @Dennis SGMM: I know how that is. I have about 5 albums burned in my head forever.

    8 Track! Damn, where the fuck did you get that, My Tho?

  46. 46.

    Smerf

    Where are the breathless headlines about the terrible employment numbers today….oops wait a minute. Ok, then focus on the stock market because bad is good on Babboon piss.

    Stay Gloomy…y’all!

  47. 47.

    arguingwithsignposts

    @Omnes Omnibus: yeah, i’ve heard that too. the lesson for me seems to be that there are assholes in every profession. we humans are a complex lot.

  49. 49.

    arguingwithsignposts

    @Raven (formerly stuckinred): Zevon or Browne?

    Why do you think I’m defending the dickishness of songwriters?

    ETA: I can hold two thoughts in my head at one time. For instance, Billy Corrigan has written some great shit with Smashing Pumpkins. But he’s known for being an asshole. That doesn’t negate the lyrics. I would rather he were a wonderful human being, but I’ll take the songs and chalk the rest up to human nature.

  51. 51.

    Derf

    Hmmmm, DOW up about +63 right now with a half hour to go. Gosh, where are the breathless headlines on Babboon piss?

    Seems the bargain hunters are busy eh? Those fools…ha. Everyone knows the market is crashing because Captain Doom John Galt Cole says so.

  52. 52.

    Raven (formerly stuckinred)

    @arguingwithsignposts: Zevon, “I’ll Sleep When I’m Dead”. This wasn’t “dickishness. This was incredible, long term abuse of nearly everyone he came into contact with including his children.

  55. 55.

    Martin

    Ok, it’s modest, but it’s going to be politically more difficult than most things for the tea party to quash:

    Among the president’s proposals is a Returning Heroes and Wounded Warrior Tax Credit, which would provide businesses that hire veterans a tax break, varying in size depending on how long the newly hired veteran has been unemployed and whether he or she has a disability.
    Under the president’s proposal the credits would range from $2,400 for hiring a short-term unemployed veteran to $9,600 for hiring a long-term unemployed and disabled veteran.

    The target is 100K jobs out of 13.9M unemployed, so it won’t do a lot, but it might help identify where more programs can be passed.

  56. 56.

    khead

    And someone will slaughter me for this, but I love her duets with Kenny Rogers. Guilty pleasures for me

    Guilty here too. Since country crossover pop was THE ONLY CATEGORY for a decade or two in southern WV it was all I had in the 80’s unless I turned on MTV. Or until I left for college, at least.

    My poor mother would freak if she could see Kenny now.

  58. 58.

    arguingwithsignposts

    @Raven (formerly stuckinred): Now you’re calling me a liar? WTF?

    BTW, I just checked wiki:

    Before his death, Zevon is reputed to have given the project his blessing, and to have requested that the book be uncompromising in its honesty about even the most unflattering details.

    Sounds like he wanted the unvarnished truth to come out.

    Like I said, humans are some complex organisms.

  59. 59.

    fasteddie9318

    Ah, I see derf is once again improving his portfolio by slinging feces in the comments section of an obscure website.

  64. 64.

    bemused

    Not too far OT, Randi Rhodes was talking about an article “Republicans fit the profile of a classic abuser” by Julie Driscoll. The behaviors abusers and the far right tea party Republicans share is striking.

    No compromise ever, his way or his other way.
    Never wrong, look what you made me do.
    Uses fear tactics, bullying, threats and intimidation to get his way.
    Never shares responsibility for breakdown of relationships.
    Uses the kids as pawns.
    Winning at all cost no matter who gets harmed in the process.

    Driscoll said a classic abuser uses sexually derogatory slurs against his victim and compared that to Republicans using racial slurs against the President.

    I hadn’t made the connection with the Republican bullying and spousal abusers but I think Driscoll has it right.

  67. 67.

    Frankensteinbeck

    @bemused:
    I have, and I’ve mentioned it before. I use narcissistic personality disorder as a predictive model for the current GOP and particularly the Tea Party, and it’s AMAZINGLY good. Narcissism, alcoholism, and domestic abuse are all tightly associated with each other. Notice the ‘I’m always right, even when I’m wrong’ and ‘My personal rights and privileges are sacred, and no one else has any because they infringe on my right to get my way’ and ‘Rudeness is defined as not giving me what I want’ elements. That’s narcissistic personality disorder, right there.

    DougJ at the top:
    As for what comes next, I’ve been wondering about that. How many hostage scenarios are left? I know the debt ceiling deal included a budget deal that removed the next crisis. What absolutely crucial legislation, like a budget, do we know will have to be passed before the election?

  69. 69.

    Brachiator

    A few years back, 60 Minutes did a great profile of Dolly Parton. Transcript and video should still be available here. Yep. Definitely an amazing talent.

  70. 70.

    Southern Beale

    I love Dolly Parton. You know, she re-recorded this song in 2001, released it on “Little Sparrow” — and the later itieration contains a verse that was cut from the original 1970 version.

  71. 71.

    Bubblegum Tate

    My ex girlfriend was a recording studio engineer and thus ended up meeting/working with a lot of artists, who varied wildly in genre, disposition, and talent. She was never shy about praising the good ones and ripping the bad ones, but never was her praise more effusive than when she talked about Dolly Parton. She said that ol’ Dolly is a genuinely amazing singing talent and, on top of that, “probably the sweetest person in the world.”

  72. 72.

    gbear

    Just wanted to post a link to the most-read story in the Minneapolis Star-Tribune today. Definitely worth the read. I think it fits in with the timbre of this thread…

  73. 73.

    Berial

    It always amazes me that her FANS would love the song, think it was very sad and understand the feelings of the subject of the song, then, that very same day, treat some unwed mother EXACTLY like they heard described in song.

  74. 74.

    Linda Featheringill

    @bemused: #64

    The behaviors abusers and the far right tea party Republicans share is striking.

    “Look what you made me do” is classic.

    I had noticed some similarities but when they bubble up into the public domain I’m frequently hit with something akin to flashbacks and by the time I have myself together again, the opportunity to comment has passed.

    Sigh.

    But you’re quite correct. Abusive motherfuckers.

  75. 75.

    Comrade Baron Elmo

    Marianne Faithfull does a superb (yet completely different from Dolly’s) rendition of “Down From Dover.” She brings a great world-weariness to the song with that tobacco-cured, whiskey-marinated voice of hers.

    It’s on her magnificent 2009 all-covers album “Easy Come Easy Go.” Not to be missed, that one…

  76. 76.

    bemused

    @Linda Featheringill:
    Driscoll says abuse is a character disorder that is learned social behavior. Another reason to hate Fox and crowd. They’ve done a bang up job of perpetuating the behavior among their groupies and creating a new batch of abusers.
    Now when I read these teaparty goons’ letters to newspapers, I’m going to be wondering if every one of them is a spousal abuser or an abused spouse.

  77. 77.

    Steeplejack

    @Ol’ Dirty DougJ:

    Night shift checking in early (after a rare day shift).

    No need to temper the love for Dolly Parton, DougJ. She’s a gifted performer and a hell of a songwriter. Wish I could find the YouTube clip of “Jolene” with just her and (incredible) fingerpicking guitar accompaniment, but I’ll submit this: Alison Krauss doing it at some awards thing (with Parton in the audience).

    Highly recommend Parton’s album The Grass Is Blue.

    Having said all that, I just got home from work, and what I really need is a frosty and some phat bass, old-school: Boz Scaggs, “Lowdown.”

  80. 80.

    Gloria from Canada

    I have “always loved” Dolly. I also really like her duets with other artists, they are some of my favorites. She just keeps on and on singing. Her voice hasn’t changed from day one, still just perfect.

Comments are closed.