now is the time for all good men to come to the aid of their paid holiday

"Listen my children and you shall hear
Of the midnight ride of Paul Revere,
On the eighteenth of April, in Seventy-five;
Hardly a man is now alive
Who remembers that famous day and year."

--Henry Wadsworth Longfellow

In honor of Patriots Day, MK will be running the Marathon!  Or going to look at art, whichever's easier.  But for your edification and delight, we are providing two songs by the favorite son of Natick, MA, Jonathan Richman.  I, for one, think some enlightened citizen of that town should begin a campaign for road signs to be placed along prominent roads leading into it declaring "Welcome to Natick, Hometown of Jonathan Richman", with perhaps a picture of him dancing on the side.  Until that happy day comes, we shall spend part of this great day reflecting on the contributions that he, and so many other heroes, patriots and artists, have made to the Commonwealth.

So below find one of the finest tracks from Jonathan's classic record, Rockin' and Romance, about that marshy string of the Emerald Necklace, the Fenway.  If you are not familiar with this song and have any affection for the city of Boston (and even if you don't), do yourself a favor and listen.  As we celebrate great acts from history today, it seems apt to note that this brilliant record only remains available by special order; if the good folks at Rhino Records, or any other similar company, were true patriots, they would re-release it in a deluxe edition, with liner notes and bonus tracks, as befits its status.  In the meantime, dig that toy piano.

I can't resist also including, in the spirit of the season we are all itching for, a song from another of Jonathan's best records.  Listen, and if you enjoy, buy.

(Sorry, time's up.)

Comments

[alan]

you're so right, and thanks for posting these 2 fantastic tracks.