democracyroad

https://feed.podbean.com/democracyroad/feed.xml

travels to the Mountain, and the Dark Tower, on EnlightenRadio.org

Episodes

7 days ago

The Poetry Show: War Letters and Murder Most Foul

7 days ago

Enlighten Radio Presents

War Letters and Murder Most Foul

Murder Most Foul

From the trenches of WWI to the Grassy Knoll -- a poetry of violence and its pall

Broadcast LIVE Wednesdays, 10 AM on https://player.enlightenradio.org

Hosts: John Case

This Episode Recorded 11/15/2023

Murder Most Foul

by Bob Dylan

'Twas a dark day in Dallas - November '63
The day that will live on in infamy
President Kennedy was riding high
A good day to be living and a good day to die
Being led to the slaughter like a sacrificial lamb

Say wait a minute boys, do you know who I am?
Of course we do, we know who you are
Then they blew off his head when he was still in the car
Shot down like a dog in broad daylight
'ÜTwas a matter of timing and the timing was right

You got unpaid debts and we've come to collect
We're gonna kill you with hatred and without any respect
We'll mock you and shock you, we'll grin in your face
We've already got someone here to take your place

The day that they blew out the brains of the king
Thousands were watching, no one saw a thing
It happened so quickly - so quick by surprise
Right there in front of everyone's eyes

Greatest magic trick ever under the sun
Perfectly executed, skillfully done
Wolfman, oh wolfman, oh wolfman, howl
Rub a dub dub it's murder most foul

Hush lil children, you'll soon understand
The Beatles are coming they're gonna hold your hand
Slide down the banister, go get your coat
Ferry 'Ücross the Mersey and go for the throat
There's three bums comin' all dressed in rags
Pick up the pieces and lower the flags
I'm going to Woodstock, it's the Aquarian Age
Then I'll go over to Altamont and sit near the stage

Put your head out the window, let the good times roll
There's a party going on behind the grassy knoll
Stack up the bricks and pour the cement
Don't say Dallas don't love you, Mr. President
Put your foot in the tank and step on the gas
Try to make it to the triple underpass

Black face singer - white face clown
Better not show your faces after the sun goes down
I'm in the red-light district like a cop on the beat
Living in a nightmare on Elm Street

When you're down on Deep Ellum put your money in your shoe
Don't ask what your country can do for you
Cash on the barrel head, money to burn
Dealey Plaza, make a left hand turn

Go down to the crossroads, try to flag a ride
That's the place where Faith, Hope and Charity died
Shoot 'Üem while he runs, boy, shoot 'em while you can
See if you can shoot the Invisible Man

Goodbye, Charlie, goodbye Uncle Sam
Frankly, Miss Scarlet, I don't give a damn
What is the truth and where did it go
Ask Oswald and Ruby - they oughta know

Shut your mouth, says the wise old owl
Business is business and it's murder most foul

Tommy can you hear me, I'm the Acid Queen
I'm ridin' in a long black Lincoln limousine
Ridin' in the back seat, next to my wife
Heading straight on into the afterlife
I'm leaning to the left, got my head in her lap
Oh Lord, I've been led into some kind of a trap

We ask no quarter, no quarter do we give
We're right down the street from the street where you live
They mutilated his body and took out his brain
What more could they do, they piled on the pain
But his soul was not there where it was supposed to be at
For the last fifty years they've been searching for that

Freedom, oh freedom, freedom over me
Hate to tell you, Mister, but only dead men are free
Send me some loving - tell me no lie
Throw the gun in the gutter and walk on by
Wake up, Little Suzie, let's go for a drive
Cross the Trinity River, let's keep hope alive

Turn the radio on, don't touch the dials
Parkland Hospital's only six more miles
You got me dizzy Miss Lizzy, you filled me with lead
That magic bullet of yours has gone to my head
I'm just a patsy like Patsy Cline
I never shot anyone from in front or behind
Got blood in my eyes, got blood in my ear
I'm never gonna make it to the New Frontier

Zapruder's film, I've seen that before
Seen it thirty three times, maybe more
It's vile and deceitful - it's cruel and it's mean
Ugliest thing that you ever have seen
They killed him once, they killed him twice
Killed him like a human sacrifice

The day that they killed him, someone said to me,
'Son, The age of the anti-Christ has just only begun'.

Air Force One coming in through the gate
Johnson sworn in at two thirty-eight
Let me know when you decide to throw in the towel
It is what it is and it's murder most foul

What's New Pussycat - wha'd I say
I said the soul of a nation been torn away
It's beginning to go down into a slow decay
And that it's thirty-six hours past judgment day
Wolfman Jack, he's speaking in tongues
He's going on and on at the top of his lungs

Play me a song, Mr. Wolfman Jack
Play it for me in my long Cadillac
Play that Only The Good Die Young
Take me to the place where Tom Dooley was hung

Play St. James Infirmary in the court of King James
If you want to remember, better write down the names
Play Etta James too, play I'd Rather Go Blind
Play it for the man with the telepathic mind
Play John Lee Hooker play Scratch My Back
Play it for that strip club owner named Jack

Guitar Slim - Goin' Down Slow
Play it for me and for Marilyn Monroe
And please, Don't Let Me Be Misunderstood
Play it for the First Lady, she ain't feeling that good
Play Don Henley - play Glenn Frey
Take it to the Limit and let it go by

And play it for Carl Wilson, too
Lookin' far, far away down Gower Avenue
Play Tragedy, play Twilight Time
Take Me Back to Tulsa to the scene of the crime
Play another one and Another One Bites the Dust
Play the Old Rugged Cross and in God We Trust

Ride the Pink Horse down that Long, Lonesome Road
Stand there and wait for his head to explode
Play Mystery Train for Mr. Mystery
The man who fell down dead, like a rootless tree

Play it for the Reverend, play it for the Pastor
Play it for the dog that's got no master
Play Oscar Peterson and play Stan Getz
Play Blue Sky, play Dickie Betts

Play Art Pepper, play Thelonious Monk
Charlie Parker and all that junk
All that junk and All That Jazz
Play something for The Birdman of Alcatraz
Play Buster Keaton play Harold Lloyd
Play Bugsy Siegel play Pretty Boy Floyd

Play all the numbers, play all the odds
Play Cry Me A River for the Lord of the Gods
Play number nine, play number six
Play it for Lindsey and Stevie Nicks
Play Nat King Cole, play Nature Boy
Play Down in the Boondocks for Terry Malloy

Play It Happened One Night and One Night of Sin
There's twelve million souls that are listening in
Play the Merchant of Venice, play the merchants of death
Play Stella by Starlight for Lady Macbeth
Don't worry Mr. President, help's on the way
Your brothers are comin', there'll be hell to pay

Brothers? What brothers? What's this about hell?
Tell 'em we're waitin'- keep coming - we'll get them as well
Love Field is where his plane touched down
But it never did get back up off of the ground
Was a hard act to follow, second to none
They killed him on the Altar of the Rising Sun

Play Misty for me and that Old Devil Moon
Play Anything Goes and Memphis in June
Play Lonely at the Top and Lonely Are the Brave
Play it for Houdini spinning around in his grave
Play Jelly Roll Morton, play Lucille

Play Deep in a Dream and play Drivin' Wheel
Play Moonlight Sonata in F sharp
And Key to the Highway by the king of the harp
Play Marchin' Through Georgia and Dumbarton's Drums
Play Darkness and death will come when it comes

Play Love Me or Leave Me by the great Bud Powell
Play the Blood Stained Banner - play Murder Most Foul

Our Blog Our Player Our Podcasts

questions, comments: jcase4218@gmail.com

7 days ago

The Poetry Show -- Ars Poetica

7 days ago

Enlighten Radio Presents

The Blank Page Confronts You: Ars Poetica

Essay on Craft

Poems About Poetry.

Janet selects a classic and new efforts. Why to people write poems about poetry. AS Janet (and Billy Collins) explain -- its the problem of the Blank Page -- tune in for more!

Broadcast LIVE Wednesdays, 10 AM on https://player.enlightenradio.org

Hosts: Janet Harrison, John Case

This Episode Recorded 11/22/2023

Essay on Craft

by OCEAN VUONG

Because the butterfly's yellow wing
flickering in black mud
was a word
stranded by its language.
Because no one else
was coming I ran
out of reasons.
So I gathered fistfuls
of ash, dark as ink,
hammered them
into marrow, into
a skull thick
enough to keep
the gentle curse
of dreams. Yes, I aimed
for mercy
but came only close
as building a cage
around the heart. Shutters
over the eyes. Yes,
I gave it hands
despite knowing
that to stretch that clay slab
into five blades of light,
I would go
too far. Because I, too,
needed a place
to hold me. So I dipped
my fingers back
into the fire, pried open
the lower face
until the wound widened
into a throat,
until every leaf shook silver
with that god
-awful scream
& I was done.
& it was human.
Source: Poetry (July/August 2017)

Our Blog Our Player Our Podcasts

questions, comments: jcase4218@gmail.com

Friday Dec 01, 2023

Enlighten Radio: The Storytelling Hour: November 20: Grateful for the now

Friday Dec 01, 2023

Friday Nov 17, 2023

Enlighten Radio: The Storytelling Hour: November 13: Local Heroes

Friday Nov 17, 2023

Monday Nov 06, 2023

Enlighten Radio: The Storytelling Hour: November 6: Gratitude & Thanksgiving

Monday Nov 06, 2023

The Sports-Comedy Attack: The Truth Hurts, just like Football.

Monday Nov 06, 2023

Enlighten Radio Presents

The Sports-Comedy Attack: The Truth Hurts, just like Football.

Pro Football in Germany? Pythagorean Sports?

The Sports-Comedy Attack: The Truth Hurts, just like Football.

Broadcasts LIVE Mondays, 7:30 AM

Hosts: Mike Cuccherini, John Case

A lot of Cuccherini knowledge-yardage covered here:

The Shepherd Rams, the Chicago Bears, The so-called Commanders, German Teams.

And not least -- a hard-learned truthy from ancient Pythagoras: "Truth is usually Perpendicular to the Plain, and all the Contests of Life that Emerge upon it"

This Episode Recorded November 6, 2023 at the Red Caboose Studio, Harpers Ferry, WV

Our Blog Our Player Our Podcasts

questions, comments: jcase4218@gmail.com

Friday Nov 03, 2023

The Poetry Show: Deborah Gerrish -- Light in Light

Friday Nov 03, 2023

Enlighten Radio Presents

"I made you a poem packed with galaxies "

The Gift

Poet Deborah Gerrish (of New Jersey) joins Janet and John and reads from her new book, Light in Light

Broadcasts LIVE Wednesdays at 10 AM

Hosts: Janet Harrison, John Case

This Episode Recorded 11/1/2023

The Gift

by Deborah Gerrish

The Gift
For Gerald Stern
by Deborah Gerrish.
The world is but canvas to our imaginations.
—Henry David Thoreau
I made you a poem packed with galaxies
out of map-green tint from the nettle tree—
swaddled in bark of birch silky scent,
twined in spirals with milk-white parchment.
I stitched in bright berries from holly
the high-pitched qui-qui of brown coqui,
wove diaphanous shells of cicadas
falling chimes of rain from La Paz,
robed it with flossy ribbons
of peony petals and phlox.
Another world of other worlds I place
on your doorstep in the evening’s haze.
Quietly. Listen past the music against
the scented page—Let it whisper.