Praise The Lord & Pass The Ammunition

[James Landau]

How good is the song "Roger Young"?  I'm not enough of a musician to want
to judge it, but I will note it is not a rousing song but more of a dirge.
The words basically repeat a single metaphor
     "In the everlasting annals of the infantry/ shines the name of Roger
Young"

A couple of ADS-L members have said they don't like "God Bless America"
that much.  I am curious whether they dislike the music, the words, the
sentiments, or the contexts in which it is encountered.

My pet peeve among US patriotic songs is "It's A Grand Old Flag" which (in
my humble opinion) has a great melody and words that are simply
embarrassing to listen to.  While on the subject:
"This land is your land" - a very nice song, but not a rouser and therefore
never a competitor to "God Bless America"
"My Country 'tis of Thee"- let's give it back to the British
"Star Spangled Banner" - great words (if you can still distingusih them
after ten million repetitions) married to the wrong tune.  It is, as far as
I know, the ONLY national anthem actually written on a battlefield by an
eyewitness.

my favorite US patriotic songs:
"O, Columbia the Gem of the Ocean" now forgotten, except for one bad joke
on West Wing
"Rally Round the Flag, Boys"

Speaking of political songs, or actually political singers, the cantor at
our synagogue last night told someone "Don't worry.  I teach bar mitzvah
kids all the time who have worse voices than Bob Dylan."  Well, I never
cared for Bob Dylan's voice, but it was jarring to hear a professional
musician be so critical.

Also from my synagogue: some Gentile asked the rabbi for a mezuzah.  The
rabbi asked why the person wanted it and was told "I want the luck of the
Jews".  (Everyone the rabbi told this story to agreed that the Gentile in
question must have been Irish.)

On TV last week I heard someone refer to Michigan as "the big mitten."  An
obvious nickname, but my wife, who is a native of Detroit and still points
to her hand when asked where she is from, never heard it before.

     - James A. Landau
 * * * * note new e-mail    JJJRLandau at earthlink.net * * * * *

Aside to Wilson Gray:  the only rendition of "Roger Young" I have ever
heard is by an African-American singing group, something called the "de
Paur Infantry Chorus" (formed from soldiers in some African-American unit
back in WWII)