When you think rain is talking to you, it’s time to see a doctor.
Listen to the rhythm of the falling rain Telling me just what a fool I’ve been I wish that it would go and let me cry in vain And let me be alone again
Rain please tell me now does that seem fair For her to steal my heart away when she don’t care? I can’t love another when my hearts somewhere far away
I believe that is the hidden commandment behind the story of the sons of Aaron who die offering “Strange fire” (and you can tell your pastor I said so) in Leviticus, 10:1-3 (it was in my bat mitzvah portion).
I scraped together a drash about how even legitimate authority can err, so the general population has an obligation to be informed-- as Jews, we need to study Torah & Talmud, and as Americans, the Constitution.
But really, I’m thinking, it’s a cautionary tale about READING THE FREAKING INSTRUCTIONS!
‘The Devil Went Down to Georgia’ is a fun song, but makes no sense, even if you accept it as fact that The Prince of Darkness is moving among mankind, actively recruiting souls.
"He was in a bind because he was way behind, so he was willing to make a deal."
The devil has quotas?
"I’ll bet a fiddle of gold…"
I understand the symbolism of the prize being a fancy fiddle, but a fiddle of gold would be unplayable and too heavy to hold up for long. Better to make the prize either the best real fiddle ever made, the Stradivarius of fiddles, or gold in much more practical brick form. What’s Johnny going to do with a fiddle of gold-- pawn it?
"I’ll take that bet, and you’re going to regret it…"
Even a country bumpkin like Johnny should be aware that no literal deal with the devil has ever gone well for the other person. There’s always a catch. Also, who’s judging the competition-- is Johnny just taking it for granted that the devil will impartially judge their playing?
And as for the actual playing, I always thought the devil won. Johnny’s playing was competent but utterly conventional. The devil’s playing was spookily cool and avant-garde. I think the devil really sold himself short.
The theme song from Mr. Ed is nobody’s favorite song, and it comes pre-ruined, but I have to always point out that “no one can talk to a horse, of course” is just stupid. You can talk to a horse, but (except in the case of Mr. Ed, it never talks back.
Missed the edit window for adding this to my previous post, but another song that comes pre-ruined, for your convenience, is the one with the refrain “You and I, march to the beat of a different drum.”
If you listen to the song, it’s clearly saying that you and I do not belong together. However, if you and I are marching to the beat of a different drum, we should be great together. We are both marching to the beat of one drum. It is somehow different in some way, by which, I infer, different from the one most people march to, but we are both marching to it. Kinda like Sheldon Cooper and Amy Farrah Fowler. Or my last ex, and his current lady, who are meant for each other. Like “paranoid” and “schizophrenic.”
What I think the songwriter was reaching for, and missed, was “You and I march to the beats of two different drums.” Or maybe, “You and I march to the beats of our own separate drums.” OK. So I’m not a songwriter. I am a proofreader. I would never have let that song slip through.
THANK YOU. Love the song, but the lyrics bug the hell out of me. I try to imagine him drunk in the afternoon, which is why he messed up what he was trying to say.
It’s up there with many works of art with how iconic it is. It grabs your attention, it’s compelling and memorable. That is a monstrously successful album cover. . .but I get it if you also find it a little disturbing.