Friday, November 3, 2017

Ode to Billie Joe

During the tumult of 1967 over an unpopular war and other issues plus the public despair over the assassination of several political figures, Bobbie Gentry released a recording of Ode to Billy Joe. It won the Grammy for best song of the year probably, in part, because it was a cross over hit, played on both country and soul stations. And while I make no claim to be a music critic I find the song unexceptional and Ms. Gentry herself seems ready to fall over from the weight of her eye makeup. But I also find the lyrics running through my head like a haunting.

Today we are living through massive technological changes, Muslim terror and political violence. The Jeffersonian basis for America, a strong middle class, is vaporizing as I write. In 1967, a simple song reminded us that we are all just folks consumed with the joys, tasks and tragedies of everyday life. One song didn’t turn the tide, but it helped.

For many their song is prayer. To be humble before God reminds us who we are. Another great awakening can be part of the strategy to save America’s soul. Must watching the news maintain itself as a masochistic ritual? Will some people around here consider me a white supremacist or worse for having God in my life?


Copyright 2017, Mark L. Bennett 

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