Hi everyone.  Hope you are all well and continue to stay that way during this global health crisis we are facing.  But in addition to protecting your physical wellness, what are you doing to stay mentally healthy today?

(Image found online.  Original source unknown.)

I know we are still facing a serious situation but a new year gives us hope for the new days, seasons, opportunities & moments ahead. Still, music is something that will never change for me. It is my refuge, the most comforting part of my life & the one thing I consistently count on. So until a more normal semblance of life returns, I am going to share a song I listen to that helps me escape the current state of things, if only for a few minutes each day. And if this helps anyone else, even better.

Woody Guthrie gave us more than just some of the best folk/roots music in the history of the genre. He also gave us his son, Arlo Guthrie, who was born 74 years ago on July 10, 1947 in Coney Island, New York. Like his father, Arlo was known for protest music, including his spoken word 18 minute satire song, “Alice’s Restaurant Massacree”. It was from his 1967 debut album of the same name & released when he was 20 years old. That was the same year his father died from Huntington’s Disease. The song has become an underground classic.

But Arlo’s most well known track is from his fourth album, 1972’s Hobo’s Lullaby, named for one of the folk songs his father made famous. Arlo’s cover of today’s tune became a Top 20 hit. I used to hear it a lot when I was a kid as I lay in bed in the morning not wanting to escape the cocoon of my cozy blankets.

My mother would have the radio on and I would listen to the lyrics and wonder what it was like to ride the rails rolling “past houses, farms and fields”. And when it came on in the car, I would close my eyes and pretend I was on a train on my way to some beautiful place I had yet to discover. Whether it is by car, bike, bus or train, songs about the road are pure magic. And Arlo Guthrie gave us a great one. Here’s to 100 more birthdays for Woody’s son.

“And the sons of Pullman porters
And the sons of engineers
Ride their father’s magic carpets made of steel
Mothers with their babes asleep
Are rockin’ to the gentle beat
And the rhythm of the rails is all they feel“.

Arlo Guthrie: “City Of New Orleans” (1972, written by Steve Goodman).

I do not own the rights to anything.  I am just sharing what I love and how I am coping with you.

Stay well.