Wednesday, June 18, 2025: Peter, Paul and Mary - Puff, the Magic Dragon

It's "In Memoriam" week on CSOTD. 

You may have heard about the Mother of Dragons, but today we're all about the Father of our Forever Favorite Dragon.  

Peter Yarrow (May 31, 1938 – January 7, 2025) was born in Manhattan on May 31, 1938, graduated from Cornell University with a Bachelor of Arts in Psychology in 1959, and was active in the Greenwich Village folk scene in the early 1960s.

While Peter Yarrow is a folk singer, songwriter, and activist in his own right, obviously he is best known as a member of the iconic 1960s folk trio Peter, Paul and Mary, alongside Paul Stookey and Mary Travers. The group played a crucial role in popularizing folk music and became closely associated with the civil rights and anti-war movements of the 1960s.

Yarrow was the group’s most prolific songwriter, contributing both original songs and arranging traditional material. One of his key contributions included “Puff, the Magic Dragon” – Co-written with Lenny Lipton - it became one of the group’s most beloved and iconic songs. Despite persistent rumors, it's not about drugs, but rather about the loss of childhood innocence.

After an incredible and influential run, the group initially disbanded in 1970 (they would later reunite frequently), Peter Yarrow pursued a modest solo career that combined music with activism.  While he would never eclipse the group’s success, he remained an engaged and visible figure in both music and advocacy,  staying faithful to his beliefs, and to his musical vision.

Peter, Paul and Mary's enduring legacy is one of musical idealism, where art met activism to gently challenge injustice, comfort the soul, and inspire a better world through harmony—both literal and figurative.

 

Tuesday, September 10, 2024: TWOfer Tuesday - The "Ghosts Of 9/11" Edition

It's the anniversary of 9/11 tomorrow. And, as usual, I have mixed feelings.

So, I have a mix of songs to illustrate.

"Courtesy of the Red, White and Blue (The Angry American)" is a song by country music artist Toby Keith. Rleased in May 2002, it became one of Keith’s most famous songs, largely due to America's response to the September 11, 2001, terrorist attacks and the subsequent War on Terror.

The song was written following the attacks on 9/11. Keith's father, who was a U.S. Army veteran, had passed away just six months before the attacks, and the song was inspired by both his father's patriotism and the national response to the tragedy. Keith has described it as a reaction to the emotions he felt during that time, expressing anger and pride in America.

And I get it.  I think time has dulled what that day, and that time felt like.  There was chaos and confusion, and there was anger and grief, panic and pain and a thirst for justice.  And vengeance.

And, yeah, the world got ugly.  For the next decade.  Or more.

If I'm honest, I like this song precisely because it is so defiant and unapologetic, an anthem of American patriotism.  Thousands died, and we were going to make those responsible pay, by God.  And pay dearly.  It's the most primal of responses, but that shouldn't mean that it should be dismissed.

The road to the hell that became the War On Terror was paved with all the good intentions of bringing justice back home.  

And, boy, did we fuck all that up.

Mary Chapin Carpenter takes a different approach to recording her thoughts about the aftermath of the 9/11 attacks.

Quoting from her interview with NPR, "Carpenter was inspired to write the song "Grand Central Station" after hearing an interview with an iron worker on the first anniversary of the attacks. The man, one of the first at the scene after the towers fell, worked at Ground Zero for days afterward. The iron worker said that at the end of each shift, he felt impelled to go to the train station so the souls of the victims could follow him.

"He'd find himself just going to Grand Central Station and standing on the platform and thinking whoever wanted to go home could catch the train home," says Carpenter."

Source: Mary Chapin Carpenter's 'Grand Central' Song

Monday, November 26, 2012: Mary J. Blige - No More Drama (Live)

And, welcome back, gentle readers!

We have a pretty sweet break here at CSOTD, hope you did as well.  

Let's get right back on that Cool Song Soul Train with Mary J. Blige, from the BBC's Live With Jools Holland, one of the best places to catch established and emerging acts.  And this stellar performance is no difference.

Now that all the traditional family get togethers are done for now, and the door buster sales are busted flat - we can count on no more drama for the rest of the year, right?

Right?

Tuesday, October 11, 2011: Mary Chapin Carpenter - I Was a Bird

There are songs that just give you chills, goosebumps up and down your skin.

This is one of those.

Yes, I've blogged Mary Chapin Carpenter before, but she is one of those artists who I just can't get enough of.

Besides, It's my blog, and I've been doing CSOTD for well over a year now, so I think I'm entitled to repeat myself occasionally.

Saturday, February 19, 2011: Mary Chapin Carpenter - Down At The Twist And Shout

Saturday night and the moon is out
I wanna head on over to the Twist and Shout
Find a two-step partner and a Cajun beat
When it lifts me up I'm gonna find my feet
Out in the middle of a big dance floor
When I hear that fiddle wanna beg for more
Gonna dance to a band from a-Lou'sian' tonight

Sounds good to me.

Who's in?