tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2323390334328181301.post1666119551484173337..comments2024-03-26T18:56:46.561-04:00Comments on 2 or 3 lines (and so much more): Bobby Bare -- "Detroit City" (1963)Unknownnoreply@blogger.comBlogger1125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2323390334328181301.post-22847469024133987352013-02-18T04:07:36.446-05:002013-02-18T04:07:36.446-05:00I mentioned earlier the radio station I listened t...I mentioned earlier the radio station I listened to while delivering the LA Times in the mid-1960s, and how their early-AM programming consisted of five to ten pre-recorded shows that I heard so often that I could almost predict what would come up next. I'm reasonably sure "Detroit City" was part of their playlist. "By day I make the cars/By night I make the bars" is one of the all-time winners of the "lyrics that really resonate" awards. Not quite Noel Coward or Cole Porter, but memorable after 45 years. Another song of that era that I remember is "Right or Left at Oak St." by Roy Clark. I call it a "Suburban and Western" tune, because the lyrics are the lament of a working man: His wife is a nag, his kids are brats, and everyone he knows seems to be doing better than he is, financially and emotionally. To borrow a line from the Punk era of 10 or 15 years later, "Life Sucks Then You Die" sums up his lot in life. Every morning, he gets into his old beat up car and drives to work. When he gets to Oak Street, he has a choice: One way to his workplace for another eight hours of soul-deadening toil, the other to an Interstate on-ramp and ???. We don't know. If this were a real person, he probably would have keeled over long ago--when a rut gets deep enough, it turns into a grave. He was probably smart enough to never find out. First of all, going on a road trip in a car that was normally used for errands and commutes is not a good idea. A few hours of steady highway speed might be more than the weary old engine could take. Then there's the problem of lodging; even at Motel 6 rates, unless you have friends and/or relatives who will let you crash at their abodes, travel isn't cheap. Also, unless you have an easily marketable skill, finding another job could make your present employment the much safer choice. The other other option is illustrated in Johnny Cash's "Understand Your Man", in which the protagonist does hit the road. There's even a plug for a charitable group I admire and support: "You can give my other suit to the Salvation Army/and anything else I leave behind. I don't want nothin' to slow down my travelin'/while I'm untanglin' my mind...."<br />Getting back to the original theme of homesickness, one of the songs that shows up on Adam Marsland's 70s Shows is "Midnight Train to Georgia".<br />davistrainhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11665337626953845254noreply@blogger.com