NOTES FROM CAPTIVITY: WOULD YOU GO BACK?

Heard “The City of New Orleans” today, followed by “Yellow Coat”. Both were written and recorded by Steve Goodman, a late, great singer/songwriter, he of Chicago folk fame.

 Most of you would know the first song – Arlo Guthrie’s version was a big hit, and John Prine described it as the “best damn train song ever written”, but the second is pretty obscure. However, it is one of the most poignant songs ever written, a beautiful look back at a former relationship, focusing on the mundane details (Did you ever get to buy that yellow coat?) that get lost as time unfolds.

Stumbling upon these songs was courtesy of my IPOD, which I still actually utilize as my primary music source – me and some guy in Idaho are the 2 remaining users. (For you kids out there, it predated streaming, and was amazing technology at the time. A big upgrade from my transistor radio).  

But it prompted two thought streams (given that my brain is bit of a wayward kite, they’d been flying around in there for a while): Would you go back?, and What goes away (to be lost forever)?

Would You Go Back? Driving down Lake Shore Drive in Chicago in 1978, WLS played “Elsa the Amorous Lioness” by Shirley Bassey – my memory is sketchy on the artist name (actually, it is sketchy on anything before 2007) – but not sketchy on how amazing the song was. Maybe the most amazing thing I’d ever heard…

But  I’ve never heard it again, and am fearful that if I ever did, I would be massively let down. I’ve looked for it in record stores (for you kids out there, they predated CDs, which predated the transistor radio) and been relieved when I didn’t find it. I have contemplated an internet search, but never worked up the courage. Is this a character deficiency? Am I letting the past dictate my present?

But I also think about great meals in the same way – could it ever be as good as it was in the moment?  How many times have we returned only to be disappointed? How many restaurants have I needlessly avoided?

What Goes Away: Not that Steve Goodman was incredibly famous – he died in 1984, with his lasting claim to fame the songs “Go Cubs Go” and “A Dying Cub Fan’s Last Request” , but he is a disappearing treasure that will likely never be rediscovered by future generations. And he ain’t alone: The Marx Brothers, Big Band Music, WWII veterans, Arthur Eisenhower (Dwight’s brother – see, you’ve already forgotten him), and a trove of cultural treasures that you are probably listing in your head.  

Attempting to make current generations appreciate the past can be a frustrating chore, as I’ve learned with my own children. The Marx Brothers were pun heavy, their language was clean, they never cut a flatulence joke – and they just don’t connect today. While “Lydia the Tattooed Lady”, Groucho’s theme song, may be hilarious to the Medicare set, and excruciatingly clever, it’s a no go today. And kids today just don’t find the movie Psycho as hilarious as we did.

But I guess that’s life – – yesterday yields to today, things move along. And in many ways get better. But certainly get different.

In hindsight, I avoided re-listening to “Yellow Coat” due to that ‘would you go back’ thing, but upon re-listening, it has held up beautifully – as beautiful as the first time I heard it. So, maybe we can go home again…

In that spirit, tomorrow I might do an internet search for “Elsa” and enjoy a McRib for lunch.