'Green River'

I run hot or cold on Creedence Clearwater Revival. When their songs sound like The Band or something out of Gram Parsons' catalog, it's as good as it gets. When it's that 1960s Bayou, jamboree stuff, it sucks.

Green River has two of their better songs, "Lodi" and "Wrote a Song for Everyone," the latter being my favorite CCR song in their entire catalog.

Basically, at this moment, much of the world is in upheaval. For about four weeks, a number of countries in North Africa and the Middle East have held revolts protesting and overthrowing detestable, despotic governments that strangled its peoples and withheld certain human rights.

Naturally, it's a scary time (terrifying for these people, of course), but a fascinating one. The world remakes itself constantly. This is the snake molting, leaving its old skin behind. Soon, we'll run upon the remains and hold up that old skin and wonder just how big that snake was.

Listening to "Wrote a Song for Everyone," I thought of those people fighting for their rights as human beings:

Met myself a comin' county welfare line.
I was feelin' strung out, Hung out on the line.
Saw myself a goin', down to war in June.
All I want, All I want is to write myself a tune.

Wrote a song for everyone,
Wrote a song for truth.
Wrote a song for everyone,
And I couldn't even talk to you.

Got myself arrested,
Wound me up in jail.
Richmond 'bout to blow up, communication failed.
If you see the answer, now's the time to say.
All I want, All I want is to get you down to pray.

Saw the people standin' thousand years in chains.
Somebody said it's diff'rent now, look, it's just the same.
Pharoahs spin the message, round and round the truth.
They could have saved a million people, How can I tell you?

Pretty poignant, even if its from John Fogerty.