Music and the JFK Assassination

[John Trombetta]

Steve Perry, Captured by the Moment, "Jackie's alone She lost him one November day"

[William Kelly]

My friend Michael Tierson does a show every Friday night on local college station WBBC, each show having a theme. He also does a show on Sirus Radio but I don't know when.

In any case, his show tonight, Friday, July 18, has a number of songs about the JFK assassination, but none that I've heard before, beginning with The Byrds, He Was A Friend of Mine.

Traditional with additional lyrics by jim mcguinn

He was a friend of mine

He was a friend of mine

His killing had no purpose

No reason, or rhyme

He was a friend of mine

He was in dallas town

He was in dallas town

Form a sixth floor window

A gunner shot him down

He died in dallas town

He never knew my name

He never knew my name

Though I never met him

I knew him just the same

Oh, he was a friend of mine

David Crosby and Roger McGuin sing it at Monteray:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=noswW9LtXGU

MT also played a blues song about Dallas hate, and then a Phil Ochs song.

"Systems, not men, are the enemies," - Phil Ochs quoting Fidel Castro.

Jim Clover? Jim and Jean.

Jack Ruby Camper Van Beethoven

I remember his hat tilted forward

His glasses are folded in his vest

And he seems like the kind of man who beats his horses

Or the dancers who work at a bar

We saw on the screen his face for a moment

No time to plead or even ask why

Jack Ruby appears from out of nowhere

Then disappears in broad daylight

'Cause he's a friend of that cloven-hoofed gangster the devil

He's been seen with the sheriff and the police

Drinking whiskey and water after hours, saying

"Let's do business, boys. The drinks are on me."

So draw the box along quickly

Avert your eyes with shame

Let us stand and speak of the weather

And pretend nothing ever happened on that day

Grant us the luxury, 'cause all our heroes are bastards

Grant us the luxury, 'cause all our heroes are thieves

Of the innocence of the afternoons

Now we think it's a virtue to simply survive

But it feels like this calm it's decaying

It's collapsing under its own weight

And I think its your friend the hangman coming

Choking back a laugh, a drunkard swaggering to your door

Now do you feel that cold, icy presence ?

In the morning with coffee and with bread

Do you feel it in the movement of traffic

And days are terrible, simply forget

Jack Ruby Deep Purple

There's no method in my madness, no craft, no guile

No expertise, no self assuring smile

No wizardry or witchcraft, no crass deceit

No dark conspiracies, I stand on my own two feet

I'm coming through just like Jack Ruby

I ragged around the edges but I got control

There's no way around it and I got control

I reach out for my program, still got control

Straight down to business, who needs control

I've got panache just like Jack Ruby

I don't beg forgiveness, I don't beg at all

But I beg to differ cos I got the ball

There was no invitation, you're not my type

And what's gone, it ain't worth having, kiss it all

goodbye

Right on the money just like Jack Ruby

[Ken Pierce]

quote name='William Kelly' date='Jul 19 2008, 05:00 AM' post='150083']

My friend Michael Tierson does a show every Friday night on local college station WBBC, each show having a theme. He also does a show on Sirus Radio but I don't know when.

In any case, his show tonight, Friday, July 18, has a number of songs about the JFK assassination, but none that I've heard before, beginning with The Byrds, He Was A Friend of Mine.

Traditional with additional lyrics by jim mcguinn

He was a friend of mine

He was a friend of mine

His killing had no purpose

No reason, or rhyme

He was a friend of mine

He was in dallas town

He was in dallas town

Form a sixth floor window

A gunner shot him down

He died in dallas town

He never knew my name

He never knew my name

Though I never met him

I knew him just the same

Oh, he was a friend of mine

David Crosby and Roger McGuin sing it at Monteray:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=noswW9LtXGU

MT also played a blues song about Dallas hate, and then a Phil Ochs song.

"Systems, not men, are the enemies," - Phil Ochs quoting Fidel Castro.

Jim Clover? Jim and Jean.

Jack Ruby Camper Van Beethoven

I remember his hat tilted forward

His glasses are folded in his vest

And he seems like the kind of man who beats his horses

Or the dancers who work at a bar

We saw on the screen his face for a moment

No time to plead or even ask why

Jack Ruby appears from out of nowhere

Then disappears in broad daylight

'Cause he's a friend of that cloven-hoofed gangster the devil

He's been seen with the sheriff and the police

Drinking whiskey and water after hours, saying

"Let's do business, boys. The drinks are on me."

So draw the box along quickly

Avert your eyes with shame

Let us stand and speak of the weather

And pretend nothing ever happened on that day

Grant us the luxury, 'cause all our heroes are bastards

Grant us the luxury, 'cause all our heroes are thieves

Of the innocence of the afternoons

Now we think it's a virtue to simply survive

But it feels like this calm it's decaying

It's collapsing under its own weight

And I think its your friend the hangman coming

Choking back a laugh, a drunkard swaggering to your door

Now do you feel that cold, icy presence ?

In the morning with coffee and with bread

Do you feel it in the movement of traffic

And days are terrible, simply forget

Jack Ruby Deep Purple

There's no method in my madness, no craft, no guile

No expertise, no self assuring smile

No wizardry or witchcraft, no crass deceit

No dark conspiracies, I stand on my own two feet

I'm coming through just like Jack Ruby

I ragged around the edges but I got control

There's no way around it and I got control

I reach out for my program, still got control

Straight down to business, who needs control

I've got panache just like Jack Ruby

I don't beg forgiveness, I don't beg at all

But I beg to differ cos I got the ball

There was no invitation, you're not my type

And what's gone, it ain't worth having, kiss it all

goodbye

Right on the money just like Jack Ruby

Thank you for posting this Bill. I am a fan of CVB.

[Greg Parker]

You can play several songs relating to the assassination here:

http://reopenjfkcase.dockearth.com/reopenjfkcasetv/

Enjoy, and any feedback on them welcome.

[Cigdem Göle]

I Am Just A Patsy - Manic Street Preachers

I am just a patsy

The Oswald in Lee Harvey

Made of my own misery

The footprints of history

I am just a patsy

I sell vague conspiracy

I'm slow and I'm easy

And I'm waiting for delivery

I'm just a patsy for your love

I need an angel from above

To a life depraved and lost

Inevitable like scars and dust

I'm just a patsy for your love

...

from the album Send Away The Tigers

[Robert Howard]

I Am Just A Patsy - Manic Street Preachers

I am just a patsy

The Oswald in Lee Harvey

Made of my own misery

The footprints of history

I am just a patsy

I sell vague conspiracy

I'm slow and I'm easy

And I'm waiting for delivery

I'm just a patsy for your love

I need an angel from above

To a life depraved and lost

Inevitable like scars and dust

I'm just a patsy for your love

...

from the album Send Away The Tigers

This piece posted on youtube is a rather unusual piece of work.....But I really liked it....

[David Andrews]

Lou Reed - "The Day John Kennedy Died"

(From the superb album, "The Blue Mask." I think there was a video link to this earlier in the thread, but the video's gone now, so...)

I dreamed I was the president of these United States

I dreamed I replaced ignorance, stupidity and hate

I dreamed the perfect union and a perfect law, undenied

And most of all I dreamed I forgot the day John Kennedy died

I dreamed that I could do the job that others hadn't done

I dreamed that I was uncorrupt and fair to everyone

I dreamed I wasn't gross or base, a criminal on the take

And most of all I dreamed I forgot the day John Kennedy died

Oh, the day John kennedy died

Oh, the day John kennedy died

I remember where I was that day, I was upstate in a bar

The team from the university was playing football on TV

Then the screen want dead and the announcer said,

There's been a tragedy

There's unconfirmed reports the President's been shot

And he may be dead or dying.

Talking stopped, someone shouted, What!?

I ran out to the street

People were gathered everywhere saying,

Did you hear what they said on TV?

And then a guy in a Porsche with his radio hit his horn

And told us the news

He said, the President's dead, he was shot twice in the head

In Dallas, and they don't know by whom.

I dreamed I was the president of these United States

I dreamed I was young and smart and it was not a waste

I dreamed that there was a point to life and to the human race

I dreamed that I could somehow comprehend that someone

Shot him in the face

Oh, the day John kennedy died

Oh, the day John kennedy died

* * *

Bob Dylan, "Dignity"

(Many assassination research-appropriate lines; the ones below are best, though out of context - watch the video.)

"Somebody showed me a picture and I had to laugh -

Dignity's never been photographed..."

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pY7tErBvxS0

Edited June 24, 2009 by David Andrews

[Robert Howard]

Lou Reed - "The Day John Kennedy Died"

(From the superb album, "The Blue Mask." I think there was a video link to this earlier in the thread, but the video's gone now, so...)

I dreamed I was the president of these United States

I dreamed I replaced ignorance, stupidity and hate

I dreamed the perfect union and a perfect law, undenied

And most of all I dreamed I forgot the day John Kennedy died

I dreamed that I could do the job that others hadn't done

I dreamed that I was uncorrupt and fair to everyone

I dreamed I wasn't gross or base, a criminal on the take

And most of all I dreamed I forgot the day John Kennedy died

Oh, the day John kennedy died

Oh, the day John kennedy died

I remember where I was that day, I was upstate in a bar

The team from the university was playing football on TV

Then the screen want dead and the announcer said,

There's been a tragedy

There's unconfirmed reports the President's been shot

And he may be dead or dying.

Talking stopped, someone shouted, What!?

I ran out to the street

People were gathered everywhere saying,

Did you hear what they said on TV?

And then a guy in a Porsche with his radio hit his horn

And told us the news

He said, the President's dead, he was shot twice in the head

In Dallas, and they don't know by whom.

I dreamed I was the president of these United States

I dreamed I was young and smart and it was not a waste

I dreamed that there was a point to life and to the human race

I dreamed that I could somehow comprehend that someone

Shot him in the face

Oh, the day John kennedy died

Oh, the day John kennedy died

* * *

Bob Dylan, "Dignity"

(Many assassination research-appropriate lines; the ones below are best, though out of context - watch the video.)

"Somebody showed me a picture and I had to laugh -

Dignity's never been photographed..."

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pY7tErBvxS0

FROM TRANSCRIPT OF BOB DYLAN'S REMARKS

AT THE BILL OF RIGHTS DINNER

at the Americana Hotel on 12/13/63

I haven't got any guitar, I can talk though. I want to thank you for the Tom Paine award in behalf everybody that went down to Cuba. First of all because they're all young and it's took me a long time to get young and now I consider myself young. And I'm proud of it. I'm proud that I'm young. And I only wish that all you people who are sitting out here today or tonight weren't here and I could see all kinds of faces with hair on their head - and everything like that, everything leading to youngness, celebrating the anniversary when we overthrew the House Un-American Activities just yesterday, - Because you people should be at the beach. You should be out there and you should be swimming and you should be just relaxing in the time you have to relax. (Laughter) It is not an old peoples' world. It is not an old peoples' world. It has nothing to do with old people. Old people when their hair grows out, they should go out. (Laughter) And I look down to see the people that are governing me and making my rules - and they haven't got any hair on their head - I get very uptight about it. (Laughter)

And they talk about Negroes, and they talk about black and white. And they talk about colors of red and blue and yellow. Man, I just don't see any colors at all when I look out. I don't see any colors at all and if people have taught through the years to look at colors - I've read history books, I've never seen one history book that tells how anybody feels. I've found facts about our history, I've found out what people know about what goes on but I never found anything about anybody feels about anything happens. It's all just plain facts. And it don't help me one little bit to look back.

I wish sometimes I could have come in here in the 1930's like my first idol - used to have an idol, Woody Guthrie, who came in the 1930's (Applause). But it has sure changed in the time Woody's been here and the time I've been here. It's not that easy any more. People seem to have more fears.

I get different presents from people that I play for and they bring presents to me backstage - very weird, weird presents - presents that I couldn't buy. They buy - they bring me presents that - I've got George Lincoln Rockwell's tie clip that somebody robbed for me. (Laughter) I have General Walker's car trunk keys - keys to his trunk that somebody robbed for me. Now these are my presents. I have fallout shelter signs that people robbed for me from Philadelphia and these are the little signs. There's no black and white, left and right to me anymore; there's only up and down and down is very close to the ground. And I'm trying to go up without thinking about anything trivial such as politics. They has got nothing to do with it. I'm thinking about the general people and when they get hurt.

I want to accept this award, the Tom Paine Award, from the Emergency Civil Liberties Committee. I want to accept it in my name but I'm not really accepting it in my name and I'm not accepting it in any kind of group's name, any Negro group or any other kind of group. There are Negroes - I was on the march on Washington up on the platform and I looked around at all the Negroes there and I didn't see any Negroes that looked like none of my friends. My friends don't wear suits. My friends don't have to wear suits. My friends don't have to wear any kind of thing to prove that they're respectable Negroes. My friends are my friends, and they're kind, gentle people if they're my friends. And I'm not going to try to push nothing over. So, I accept this reward - not reward, (Laughter) award in behalf of Phillip Luce who led the group to Cuba which all people should go down to Cuba. I don't see why anybody can't go to Cuba. I don't see what's going to hurt by going any place. I don't know what's going to hurt anybody's eyes to see anything. On the other hand, Phillip is a friend of mine who went to Cuba. I'll stand up and to get uncompromisable about it, which I have to be to be honest, I just got to be, as I got to admit that the man who shot President Kennedy, Lee Oswald, I don't know exactly where —what he thought he was doing, but I got to admit honestly that I too - I saw some of myself in him. I don't think it would have gone - I don't think it could go that far. But I got to stand up and say I saw things that he felt, in me - not to go that far and shoot. (Boos and hisses) You can boo but booing's got nothing to do with it. It's a - I just a - I've got to tell you, man, it's Bill of Rights is free speech and I just want to admit that I accept this Tom Paine Award in behalf of James Forman of the Students Non-Violent Coordinating Committee and on behalf of the people who went to Cuba. (Boos and Applause)

Robert:

Supposedly, it was Dylan’s statement that he saw “some of myself” in Oswald that caused the furor. With regards to Dylan's souvenir's, he was just being his usual enigmatic self, although I wish I knew for sure......A notable afterthought is the fact that Philip Luce of course, was of the famous Luce family, and was later mentioned by Gaeton Fonzi regarding what some might call wild-goose chases he was sent on during the HSCA investigation, Fonzi needs no explanation as far as his credibility goes, Fonzi he simply saw the same sickness, that Bob Dylan did, only in a more subtle form. The sad part if you keep up with the Birther's and the Deather's, is that it's as if it never left.

Edited August 5, 2009 by Robert Howard

[David Andrews]

I'm very familiar with that Dylan speech at the Tom Paine Award dinner, Robert - and I've always wondered how much of the Oswald-in-custody footage BD saw. Oswald certainly displayed (there and in the WDSU interview) an autodidactic's feisty intellect, similar to Dylan's. His small frame, "workingman" appearance, resistance to authority, and alleged rootless background emitted a few things BD could identify with.

As did LHO's voice, with its melange of accents - their sources and purposes today argued. Whenever I hear LHO say, "A policeman hit me," the tone and manner sound like BD delivering a tossed off complaint from the stage, in his latter-day Okie voice. It's probably Oswald's purported leftist politics BD was reacting to - but you never know about BD's perception of their shared "wandering boy" qualities.

* * *

And, lest we forget - folksinger and sometime Dylan friend Phil Ochs was in Dealey that day, or claimed to have been.

http://educationforum.ipbhost.com/index.php?showtopic=10194

http://www.prlog.org/10135477-jfk-conspira...-phil-ochs.html

Has Ochs ever been even tentatively pointed out in pix of the front of the Dal-Tex?

Edited August 5, 2009 by David Andrews

[Michael Hogan]

"I can't remember if I cried,

when I read about his widowed bride,

but something touched me deep inside

the day the music died

From Don Mclean's "Bye, Bye Miss American Pie" - around '73

That song was about the deaths of Buddy Holly, Ritchie Valens and the Big Bopper. The "widowed bride" was "Mrs. Buddy Holly" (can't remember her name) they gotten married only a few months earlier. Holly had recently split up with the Crickets and Waylon Jennings was the guitar player in the backing band but staid on the tour bus......

“People always lock onto Buddy Holly, but really the Kennedy assassination is underneath all of ‘American Pie." (Don Mclean)

http://saratogian.co...wmode=fullstory

[Len Colby]

I looked at lyrics again the Kennedy angle doesn't fit:

"...And I knew if I had my chance

That I could make those people dance

And maybe they'd be happy for a while

But February made me shiver"

With every paper I'd deliver

Bad news on the doorstep

I couldn't take one more step

I can't remember if I cried

When I read about his widowed bride

But something touched me deep inside"

Holly, Valens and the the Big Bopper died in February but JFK of course died in November and there are various reference to music which wouldn't fit Kennedy.

And there's

"Now, for ten years we've been on our own..."

The song was recorded in May 1971 12 years after Holly's death and less than 8 after JFK's the logical assumption is that McLean 2 years earlier.

[Frankie Vegas]

Tommorow Wendy by Andy Prieboy

Underneath, the chilly grey November Sky

You can make believe that Kennedy is still alive

They're shooting for the moon and smiling Jackie's driving by...

Also one for researchers by Robert McFadden. I would check out his youtube channel, he has a whole bunch. "Ike was right" "Unspeakable" etc..

[David Andrews]

In the rush to anatomize Oswald's library withdrawals, too little attention has been paid to his collection of Patsy Cline records.

[Len Colby]

In the rush to anatomize Oswald's library withdrawals, too little attention has been paid to his collection of Patsy Cline records.

LOL and reliable sources indicate he'd go for slices at this place not far from John Pic's apt.

[Rodney Rivers]

American Pie Don McLean - I know it's about Buddy Holly / Richie Valens but this part Is speculated to be about JFK Assassination :

Now, for ten years we've been on our own

And moss grows fat on a rolling stone

But that's not how it used to be

When the jester sang for the king and queen - oswald

In a coat he borrowed from james dean

And a voice that came from you and me

Oh and while the king was looking down - JFK Assassination

The jester stole his thorny crown - JFK Assassination

The courtroom was adjourned -Warren Commission

No verdict was returned -Warren Commission

And while lenin read a book on marx

The quartet practiced in the park

And we sang dirges in the dark

The day the music died

We were singing