A glorious earworm

[pjthompson]

All day long I've had an earworm playing through my mind, making me teary if I think about it too much rather than just letting the music run through me. But I don't mind. The earworm is My Country 'Tis of Thee as sung by Miss Aretha. Never has that song—which I've taken for granted much of my life—sounded as sweet or as right.

The euphoria will undoubtedly fade. How can it not? Hopes and dreams are soon outstripped by reality; cynicism and irony reassert themselves as the minor gods of the modern age, jealous of being pushed out of the way even for a little while. But for now it feels good to feel good: a huge contrast from the last time this song was haunting me. Another day, another election, and I didn't think it could get any worse. But it did.

Now we've all got to put our backs into the job and clean up the mess. As the man said, it isn't going to be easy. We'll have to make some hard decisions and take responsibility for ourselves and our country. But for the first time in a long, long time I feel proud to be part of something again.

Ask not what your country can do for you.
O Sweet 'Tisafee,
what can I do for you?

Comments

[kmkibble75.livejournal.com]

You know what really eats at me?

If Obama does well... like, really well... we'll actually have to thank Bush for making his presidency possible. Because without the war still going on, the economic collapse and the general hopelessness of the past 4 years, odds are this country takes a chance on a 4 year senator -- we'd probably have gone with a more generic candidate (Clinton, maybe).

Weird how that works.

[pjthompson]

So many strands went into the making of this mosaic. If one of them had pulled loose...Every once in awhile the country decides to take a big chance—like the chance on the Junior Senator from Massachusetts and the only Catholic elected president. Or the dumb ass frat boy from Texas. Sometimes it works out, sometimes not, but when the country is in the collective mood for a change, we're sometimes big gamblers.

[darkspires.livejournal.com]

I wish Obama well, although this doesn't have a direct impact on us,as it does on you.

He certainly is unique. The man is half white an half black, a nice sort of milk chocolate look to him. Wouldn't it be nice if all races took this as an opportunity to make a fresh start over and pull together for the greater good, getting rid of the them and us theme forever? We are all brothers and sisters under the skin and it shouldn't matter how sunkissed or not a person is. They are a wonderful, unique person deserving of respect.

[helios137.livejournal.com]

Yes, it was soooo moving. I really had tears welling up in my eyes. She did an excellent job as well, I might add.

The other musical standout for me was "Air and Simple Gifts" which was a new arrangement by John Williams and featuring Itzhak Perlman, Yo Yo Ma, Gabriela Montero and Anthony McGill. Although the version at the inauguration was instrumental, the words of this old Shaker hymn shine like an invocation for our country's new presidency:

'Tis the gift to be simple, 'tis the gift to be free,
'Tis the gift to come down where we ought to be,
And when we find ourselves in the place just right,
'Twill be in the valley of love and delight.
When true simplicity is gain'd,
To bow and to bend we shan't be asham'd,
To turn, turn will be our delight,
Till by turning, turning we come round right.

"Simple Gifts" by Elder Joseph Brackett

[pjthompson]

I wish Obama well, although this doesn't have a direct impact on us,as it does on you.

Except that he's "the leader of the free world," of course. :-)

[pjthompson]

Yes, it's a lovely spiritual and a lovely sentiment.

[darkspires.livejournal.com]

It would be nice, but I think, if you dig down deep, you will find it is a society called the bilderburgers.