To thine own self be true

(2020: left to right–Rickenbacker electric 12, McKenzie-Marr acoustic from Montreal, Gibson ES 335 TD)

Next stage is moving from the vintage SONY cassette tapes to computer files and thence to CDs.

The decline of the two left digits on my left-chording hand necessitated (“One day it will be otherwise.”–Jane Kenyon poem) this pre-emptive move involving all three guitars to accommodate the 7 1/2 hrs. of 146 songs selected from my catalogue. Songs range from the 1950s to 1990s. Most of the songs are romantic about relationships/love. Most of the songs originate from Bob Dylan and The Beatles (My ‘intake heyday’ was the 1960s.)

Herewith the tunes:

The Acoustic Folk Years

*Original cassette side1:
Afternoon Tea (excerpt)-The Kinks
All Along the Watchtower-Bob Dylan
As I Went Out One Morning-Bob Dylan
As Tears Go By-Rolling Stones
Catch the Wind-Donovan
Colours-Donovan
Take Me Home, Country Roads-John Denver
Daydream-The Lovin’ Spoonful
Did You Ever Have to Make Up Your Mind?-The Lovin’ Spoonful
Don’t Let the Sun Catch You Cryin’-Gerry and the Pacemakers
Four Strong Winds-Ian and Sylvia Tyson
Girl-The Beatles

Side 2:
The Gypsy Rover-Traditional
I Need You-The Beatles
I Shall Be Released-Bob Dylan
If I Were a Carpenter-Bobby Darin
If You Could Read My Mind-Gordon Lightfoot
I’ll Be Back-The Beatles
In My Life-The Beatles
It Ain’t Me Babe-Bob Dylan
Jamaica Farewell-Harry Belafonte
Leavin’ on a Jet Plane-Peter, Paul and Mary/John Denver

Side 3:
Lemon Tree-Trini Lopez
The Look of Love-Dusty Springfield/Burt Bacharach
Lord I Hope This Day Is Good-Don Williams
Love Me Tender-Elvis Presley
Lovin’ Sound-Ian and Sylvia Tyson
Margaritaville-Jimmy Buffet
The Mighty Quinn-Manfred Mann/Bob Dylan
Monday, Monday-The Mamas and Papas
Moonshadow-Cat Stevens
Polly Von-Peter, Paul and Mary
Scotch and Soda-The Kingston Trio
Solitary Man-Neil Diamond
Spin, Spin, Spin-Gordon Lightfoot
Sundown-Gordon Lightfoot
Turquoise-Donovan

Side 4:
Walk Right In-The Rooftop Singers
A Well-Respected Man-The Kinks
Where Have All the Flowers Gone? (excerpt)-The Kingston Trio
With a Little Help from My Friends-The Beatles
You’ve Got to Hide Your Love Away-The Beatles

12 String Electric: A Rickenbacker Interlude

Side 5:
Carry Me-The Stampeders
Coconut-Harry Nilsson
Every Day-Buddy Holly
Everywhere-Fleetwood Mac
5 D (Fifth Dimension)-The Byrds
Fields of Gold-Sting
I Call Your Name-The Beatles
I Can’t Explain-The Who
If I Needed Someone-The Beatles
Jennifer Eccles-The Hollies
The Kids Are Alright-The Who
Little Things-Bobby Goldsborough
Love Her Madly-The Doors
Mr. Spaceman-The Byrds
Mr. Tambourine Man-The Byrds/Bob Dylan
My Back Pages-The Byrds/Bob Dylan
So You Want to Be a Rock and Roll Star-The Byrds

Side 6:
Sunshine Superman-Donovan
That’s the Way It Goes-The Shadows
The Times They Are-A-Changin’-Bob Dylan
Too Much on My Mind-The Kinks
Turn, Turn, Turn-The Byrds
What Have They Done to the Rain?-The Searchers
When You Walk in the Room-The Searchers
Who’ll Stop the Rain?-Creedence Clearwater Revival
You Can’t Do That-The Beatles
You Showed Me-The Turtles

Electric Six: The Pop Era

Side 7:
All I Have to Do Is Dream-Everly Brothers
Bad to Me-Billy J. Kramer and the Dakotas/The Beatles
Brown-Eyed Girl-Van Morrison
Can’t Help Falling in Love with You-Elvis Presley
Can’t You Hear My Heartbeat-Herman’s Hermits
The City of New Orleans-Arlo Guthrie
Cry Baby Cry-The Beatles
Cryin’ in the Rain-Everly Brothers
The Dangling Conversation-Simon and Garfunkle
Do You Believe in Magic?-The Lovin’ Spoonful
Doesn’t Anybody Know My Name-The Kingston Trio/Rod McKuen
Eight Days a Week-The Beatles
Every Night-Paul McCartney
Evil Grows-The Poppy Family
The Gambler-Kenny Rogers
Garden Party (incomplete)-Rick Nelson

Side 8:
Garden Party(complete)
Greenback Dollar-Johnny Rivers/The Kingston Trio
Happy Together-The Turtles
Help-The Beatles
Help Me Rhonda-The Beach Boys
Hit the Road Jack-The Stampeders/Ray Charles
I Can’t Let Go-The Hollies
I Guess It Doesn’t Matter Anymore-Buddy Holly

Side 9:
If I Had a Hammer-Trini Lopez
I’ll Be Back-The Beatles
I’ll Keep You Satisfied- Billy J. Kramer/The Beatles
I’m Gonna Knock on Your Door-Eddie Hodges
I’m Gonna Love You Too-The Poppy Family/Buddy Holly
Jenny-Tommy Tutone
Lady Madonna-The Beatles
Let It Be-The Beatles
Let Me Be-The Turtles

Side 10:
Little Deuce Coupe-The Beach Boys
Love Potion #9-The Searchers
Nadine-Chuck Berry
No Reply-The Beatles
Not a Second Time-The Beatles
Nova Scotia Farewell-Ian and Sylvia/Traditional
Paint It Black-Rolling Stones
Pretty Flamingo-Manfred Mann
Revolution-The Beatles
Rock Around the Clock-Bill Haley and The Comets
Ruby Tuesday-Rolling Stones
Sad Lookin’ Moon-Alabama
Scotch and Soda-The Kingston Trio
Secret Agent Man-Johnny Rivers
Sister Golden Hair-America
Song for a Winter’s Night (excerpt)-Gordon Lightfoot

Side 11:
Song for a Winter’s Night (complete)
Stop Teasin’ Me-Chad Allan and the Reflections/pre-Guess Who
Stop! Stop! Stop!-The Hollies
Summer Breeze-Seals and Crofts
Summer Holiday-Cliff Richard
Summertime Blues-Leon Helm (of The Band)/The Who
Sunny Afternoon-The Kinks
Take It Easy-The Eagles
Take Me for What It’s Worth-The Searchers
Tears in Heaven-Eric Clapton
That’ll Be the Day-Buddy Holly
This Diamond Ring-Gary Lewis and the Playboys
This Wheel’s on Fire-Ian and Sylvia/Bob Dylan
Tired of Waiting-The Kinks

Side12:
Walk Away Renee-The Left Banke
Walk Right Back-Everly Brothers
Wild World-Cat Stevens
Wreck of the John B.-Jimmie Rodgers/ Beach Boys
Yes It Is-The Beatles
You Didn’t Have to Be So Nice-Lovin’ Spoonful
You Really Got Me-The Kinks
Young Love-Sonny James
Outtakes on various guitars:
And I Love Her-The Beatles
Feelin’ Groovy-Simon and Garfunkle
The Long and Winding Road-The Beatles
The Bells of Rhymney-The Byrds
I’ll Be Alright-Gordon Lightfoot
Lady Godiva-Peter and Gordon
Carrie Anne-The Hollies

(the ver-ry beginning, yet another Dylan wanna-be; 1964-66–learning to play acoustic guitar; best thing my parents ever bought me)

(playing for other friends/high school students: ’65-’67; here, 1967, Woodhaven Church, Wpg., gr. 12 with Ed Greene, who likewise became an English teacher and Eric Crone on harmonica)

(starting to perform in public–1967-69; how I looked at the time of my first folk trio playing folk clubs with Glen Hall, (lead guitar, now an avante-garde jazz saxophonist in Toronto) Ian Gardiner (bass, former bassist with The Guess Who)

(Clover, 1969-70; the U of Wpg. years: Wayne Fraser on bass; Chris Harman now a Baltimore women’s dr,/he and I did duets in gr. 12 singing at Manitoba Theatre complex on an alienation theme; I also sang at a Viet Nam demonstration; “Where Have All the Flowers Gone”; Sept. 1967 with another duet-pal Bob Mowbray who later formed the ’90s Edmonton band Any Wonder)

(first electric guitar and amp; the Betty Plus Four years, ’73-’75, when I started teaching in Cold Lake area, playing evenings and weekends)

(playing with many students along the way; 1975-1990; here @ McNally in late ’70s doing a noon-hr.show of Dylan songs)

(the recording years, ’81-84, Calgary with high-school buddy/close friend Wayne Fraser)

(Cap. Fudge playing the annual Scona stags: providing band and music with an SR 16 drum machine with ‘phantom bass’; 1986-1994)

(the Fudge years: 1990-2013, Scona, Edmonton; press coverage)

(In the late 1990s, performing my poems and song lyrics with jazz legend Tommy Banks here in Edmonton; we co-created the music backgrounds, he played them)

(Sept. 2017: my last public gig at a park in Edmonton; an AB govt. lunch playing songs in the background from the sixties on my 12 string Yamaha acoustic)

RD: 52 years of performing publicly.

Some fifty years before the first significant ‘modern’ terrorism and assassination madness in North America and abroad.

Listening last night again to a complete reading of The Secret Agent when the following quote turned up as the mad Professor-bomber was talking about the U.S. to a wanna-be revolutionary in a seedy London cafe :

“They have more character over there, and their character is essentially anarchistic. Fertile ground for us, the States–very good ground. The great Republic has the root of the destructive matter in her. The collective temperament is lawless. Excellent.”

This might have been spoken by forces in Russia or China nowadays about an s-hole country in the process of imploding with its many irreparable divisions.

The relevance of Huxley and Orwell’s classics are perhaps more obvious, but Conrad preceded them in his wisdom and perspicacity gained from his seafaring days around the world. And Heart of Darkness (1902) preceded The Secret Agent in its prescience about colonial exploitation and the essential corrupt source of many of humankind’s ongoing, recurring problems and conflicts. Yes, Conrad as much as those other two others–very prophetic. (And if one desires more insights–Shakespeare: Hamlet, Macbeth, King Lear, Romeo and Juliet, Othello, and his other tragedies.)

Finally, I am reminded again of how literature, especially great literature shows us as we really are and articulates how the species’ self-destructive processes work and unfold. Recurring chaos, madness, and evil all thanks to our potential, inner hearts of darkness.

I scream, you scream, we all scream, for ice cream.

Fuzzy Wuzzy was a bear
Fuzzy Wuzzy had no hair
Fuzzy Wuzzy wasn’t very fuzzy
Was he?

How much wood would a woodchuck chuck
If a woodchuck could chuck wood?

She sells sea shells by the seashore
And the shells she sells by the seashore are sea shells for sure.

Peter Piper picked a peck of pickled peppers
A peck of pickled peppers Peter Piper picked
If Peter Piper picked a peck of pickled peppers
Where’s the peck of pickled peppers that Peter Piper picked?

Better Botter bought a bit of butter
But, she said, this bit of butter’s bitter
But a bit of better butter mixed with this butter might just make my bit of bitter butter better
So Betty bought a bit of better butter to make her bitter butter better.

After Kenney blessed 2 MLAs supporting anti-vaxxers raising Nazi comparisons, they quickly resigned from that group when this fact became public.

Also in UCP’s curriculum document “Recognizing Diversity and Promoting Respect”, UCP rubber-stamped the “good” the genocidal regime had done despite their main achievement of killing 6 million Jews and many other prisoners of different backgrounds!

La Grange moved quickly today to cover up and deny this unconscionable, egregious bold-face defence of Nazis which UCPs seem to have an affinity for. (c.f. 1st sentence of this blog entry).

I think Kenney should just cut to the chase and rename his party UNP.

at the end of Agatha Christie’s A Caribbean Mystery spoken by Miss Marple’s unexpected collaborator Jason Rafiel (played adroitly by Antony Sher):

“We who are about to die salute you.”

the worst person to host the Remembrance Day coverage on CBC. (Even Peter Mansbridge, warts and all, was better.)
No sense of context and appropriateness bringing up sexual assault with the new head of the military, asking multiple questions and re-raising the issue later.
Insulting the old vet, calling him “troublesome”. And she also immediately criticized (“who’s to blame?”) for the Governor-General showing up late past 11 a.m. (!?) Followed by her mangled (she can’t read) “post-hummus” tribute to the deceased rabbi! (The reporter that spoke of the “post-humorous” award to the rabbi should also be sacked.)
Her bored “yeah” answers. As usual, self-focused (“On behalf of me, my team”) and heavily politically agenda-ed.
Let this be the last year she ever destroys the solemnity of this very serious occasion.

*We also did not need the political agenda-ed Bonita Mason who got up to talk about “inclusion” and the pandemic. Today’s political correctness politics has no place in this timeless traditional ceremony.

Clifford William Reade (my wife’s Dad)–army reserve

Vernon Delmar Davies (my Dad)–navy in WWII

Tomorrow/Nov. 11 is their day, the day to remember them and all the other brave and selfless men who fought for Canada in the too-many wars.

“Presidents are not kings, and the plaintiff is not president.”

Quite simple really in the world of physical reality, facts, and laws.

Merrick Garland should make his move on Bannon a.s.a.p.

Fans will have their favorites of the curly-headed actor, but I liked him in Compulsion, Paris Texas, Sons and Lovers, and Long Day’s Journey into Night.

We were all young once…