Our esteemed fellow blogger Rol has been stirring up debate recently through his excellent 'Cancel Culture Club' posts, in which a (now) controversial song from the past is held up for scrutiny by various contributors to either cancel or keep. I'm really enjoying this feature although taking part does brings its own anxiety, a reflection of how scrutinised we can feel too in even expressing an opinion on them! But thankfully, however strongly (or not) you might respond to the lyrics of an old song, I think we all know that we're good people who abhor racism, sexism and all the other isms in real life. One thing that really comes through, though, is just how many lyrics from past decades would be contenders for cancellation now.
All this got me wondering - what about the flipside to that? What about all the songs which expressed things, perhaps forty, fifty or more years ago, that are still as relevant now, maybe even more so? So just to redress the balance a little I've been thinking about some of those which should get the opposite of the cancellation treatment. They should be resurrected. A possible, occasional series is brewing...
To kick off here's something by John Gary Williams, who was perhaps best known for being a founding member of the R&B vocal band, The Mad Lads. But around the height of The Mad Lads' success in 1966 he was drafted into the military, serving in Vietnam, and on his return two years later a newly found political consciousness was stirring within him. 'The Whole Damn World Is Going Crazy' appears on his eponymous solo album, recorded in 1973.
It's a breezy slice of '70s soul, with upbeat instrumentation and that easy, innocent voice - not what you might expect when you hear the lyrics. I think this is often a deceptively powerful way to get a message across, contrary to angry, shouty, uncommercial songs which might alienate a wider audience.
'The Whole Damn World Is Going Crazy' could hardly be more apt right now.
Now this is a series I can get behind, unlike that cancelling business.
ReplyDeletePS This song from Swamp Dogg about George W is only 20 years old not 40+ but comes from an album called "Resurrection" and meets all your other criteria I think.
Deletehttps://youtu.be/n8gnbaHyvW0?si=k-9dISJiSPArnC6e
Thanks Ernie, I hope Rol won't mind me borrowing from his main idea. One thing just led to another!
DeleteGreat contender there too, thank you (I had a quick search for the lyrics but couldn't find them and couldn't quite get them all from just listening - do you have them?)
There are a couple of lines I'm not completely sure about but here they are. "When the smoke cleared from cities on fire/ His illusion of greatness kept rising higher" seems particularly apt at the moment:
DeleteWhen the smoke cleared we woke up to the news
We couldn’t believe our eyes
Then the Fox spoke from another point of view
The whole world was surprised
We found ourselves inside a coup
And no one said a thing
The Fox slipped through the henhouse door
That’s how it all began
They crowned an idiot king
They kissed his ring
Bowed down to the corporation
Waved their flags and they sang (It don’t mean a thing)
Cos he’s up high laughing at ‘em
Didn’t take no heat or feel the sting
What kind of fools are we to let ‘em
Crown an idiot king
When the smoke cleared from cities on fire
His illusion of greatness kept rising higher
Nobody knew what kind of idiocy he would bring
When they crowned him king
Fear was the donkey that turned a great wheel
That set in motion every silent deal
Someone opposed the blood on the hands
It wasn’t the wolf just the silence of the lamb
They crowned an idiot king
They kissed his ring
Bowed down to the corporation
Waved their flags and they sang (It don’t mean a thing)
Cos he’s up high laughing at ‘em
Didn’t take no heat or feel the sting
What kind of fools are we to let ‘em
Crown an idiot king
Your Mama told you about good and evil
The preacher told you about greed
But the biggest power you have to battle
Is stupidity
They crowned an idiot king
They kissed his ring
Bowed down to the corporation
Waved their flags and they sang (It don’t mean a thing)
Cos he’s up high laughing at ‘em
Didn’t take no heat or feel the sting
What kind of fools are we to let ‘em
Crown an idiot king
Thanks Ernie, that must've taken a lot of work, I wasn't expecting you to do all that! But well worth seeing in full, thanks again.
DeleteThat's quite a set of lyrics. Yes, liking the idea of this series too.
DeleteMore Resurrection Club please, C.
ReplyDeleteThanks Martin. The list is growing!
DeleteLoving this
ReplyDeleteOh good - it's kind of heartwarming in one way that people have been rallying against things in song for so long, but despairing in another in that we still need it.
DeleteThe sense that some battles had been won and the permanent bend towards, I dunno, justice, rightness is long over. History going in loops and cycles rather than a line.
DeleteThat is so very true - I keep hearing myself saying the same thing which is, "Have we learned nothing? I thought we'd got there / thought we were over all that..." etc., having lived through so many "battles" which seemed to have been pretty much won at one time. Only to find myself living in a world which feels like it's going backwards in so many respects.
DeleteTower Of Power - Only So Much Oil In The Ground (1974):
ReplyDeleteThere's only so much oil on the ground
Sooner or later there won't be much around
Tell that to your kids while you driving downtown
That there's only so much oil on the ground
Can't cut loose without that juice
Can't cut loose without that juice
If we keep on like we doing things for sure
Will not be cool - It's a fact
We just ai't got suffiecient fuel
There's only so much oil in the ground
Sooner or later there won't be none around
Alternate sources of power must be found
Cause there's only so much oil in the ground
There's only so much oil in the earth
It's a fact of life - for what it's worth
Something every little boy and girl should know since birth
That there's only so much oil in the ground
There's no excuse for our abuse
No excuse for our abuse
We just assume that we will not
Exceed the oil supply
But soon enough the world will watch the wells run dry
Such an excellent choice, Darcy, thanks. I love this - it's exactly right.
DeleteI love Rol’s Cancel Culture Club series and this is an inspired counter point, C!
ReplyDeleteMy immediate thought of a contender was I Can’t Tell The Bottom From The Top by The Hollies. I know it’s supposed to be about love, but honestly I can apply it to my ongoing grapple with making sense of the world and life in general!
I love Rol's CCC too, it was absolutely what inspired this too.
DeleteThat's an interesting contender, Khayem, thanks! I had only ever heard it as a personal/love thing so had to switch my thinking, but once you apply the lyrics to life and all the senselessness in the world it certainly resonates.
Swamp Dogg again and 1974 again. Not many people were writing about this back then. Could equally be a contender for the Cancel Culture Group as well I suppose.
ReplyDeleteIn any event the Dogg was, and continues to be, a genius in my book. He deserves to be much more well known.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BtYyiqufkEg&list=RDBtYyiqufkEg&start_radio=1
A daring sentiment for the time, I think. That pivotal line almost passed me by, probably because it's not such a big deal to my ears, now - but in 1974 must've been very controversial. Thanks, Darcy!
DeleteI'm not sure if this quite fits your theme, C, but is "What's so funny 'bout peace love and understanding" a contender? (opening lines As I walk through
ReplyDeleteThis wicked world
Searchin' for light in the darkness of insanity.)
It absolutely is, thanks George. And it could have been written yesterday, but it's (scary thought now) over 40 years old....
DeleteExcellent idea, C, and much more what the blogosphere should be about than the (albeit tongue in cheek) negativity of the CCC.
ReplyDeleteNot heard this one before, but I liked it a lot. Reminded me of Barry McGuire's Eve of Destruction.
Many thanks to you and the CCC for the inadvertent inspiration. Sadly there's plenty of negativity to be heard in these songs, just in a very different way!
DeleteEve of Destruction still said it all, didn't it, and yet here we are, over 60 years later....
Timmy Thomas, anyone? Why can’t we live together will forever be a question for the ages.
ReplyDeleteJM
Perfect, yes, thanks John.
DeleteIt shouldn't be that hard.
War by Edwin Starr springs to mind.
ReplyDeleteWhat is it good for?
Absolutely nothing!
A shoe-in, CC! Yes. Surely one of the most succinctly bang on lines ever.
DeleteSorry C, got here late so my suggestions have been bagsied already. It is more than frustrating that probably 99.99% of the global population just want to get up in the morning, contribute in some way to the common good and look after their families in peace and harmony. Yet... that just seems impossible, as time after time, decade after decade, situations develop that cause misery and hardship for many. I am also frankly aghast that in 2026 we have leaders who still think it's a good idea to send in weapons that literally kill people (total innocents included) but I suppose it makes money for the arms manufacturers and those who (nefariously) play the markets. Yes, the songs mentioned from so long ago are still relevant today which is so sad.
ReplyDeleteDon't worry, it's a rare thing for me to be blogging as frequently as I have this month! Your words are of course so true, I'll never fully understand quite how the dynamics of hate, prejudice, greed and war override so many of the good things we're capable of but... here we are.
DeleteLots of great songs being suggested and I already have a list of others with different themes but still relevant, so I'm going to have to figure out the best way to structure future instalments now... Good to have that challenge, though, and a series to think about, it should hopefully keep the posts coming this year!
Good luck with it. Something to aim for.
Delete