Full Frontal Nelson

Willie Nelson will test his crossover appeal with a newly penned protest song, "What Ever Happened to Peace on Earth."

Nelson has grown chummy with Democratic presidential candidate Dennis Kucinich and will be part of a fund-raising concert for the candidate on Saturday.

Comments

[This_weapon_protects_fascists]

Willie was asked if he was worried about the backlash, as if it takes even the slightest amount of bravery to write a protest song against the war. The proper question is "are you afraid to show your face now that you've outed yourself as a clueless moron?" I didn't think it was possible, but his song is actually dumber than Merle Haggard's.

[linden]

Did you read the actual song? Hilarious. The older the Boomers get the more and more a joke they become.

[bardp]

Boomer? Willie was born in 1933.

[s.m. koppelman]

I suppose since Nelson is an ornery old man rather than a dimple-cheeked young woman, his lefty political statements won't be met with nasty personal attacks and a patronizing sneer.

[linden]

Hmmm, he's much older than I thought. The song still blows.

[Douglas Fletcher]

Maybe Kucinich promised Willie he could head up the Department of Reefer.

[Kwazy Kow]

Franklin Harris said:
"The only thing I know about his politics is that he has a beef with the IRS."

The IRS has a pound of flesh from all of us.

The beef we have is with the Dept. of Ag.

[Eric the .5b]

"And the bewildered herd is still believing / Everything we've been told from our birth"

It's kind of shooting fish in a barrel for me to point this out, but has telling the voters that they're mindless drones (by putting this on his site) ever worked for a candidate?

[Jesse Walker]

Nelson backed Nader in 2000 and Perot in '92. His politics are hard to pin down, but I suppose you could call them green-populist. Or hippie-redneck.

[Cecile]

I heard him at a fundraiser in San Antonio TX one time, his music is superb, but I always try to separate the politics from artists I appreciate.

[Franklin Harris]

The only thing I know about his politics is that he has a beef with the IRS.

[Kevin Carson]

I suspect that, unlike Natalie Maines, Willie won't backpedal when the howls of outrage start. He'll just give it to them harder.

[Ruthless]

Kucinich looks a little like Nelson when he was younger and cleaned up better.

[Steve in CO]

As far as message songs go, I like XTC's "Dear God," not so much political as anti-monotheism... I loved it when the 700 club did an expose on the group, really reaching for the Satanic cult vibe where there was none...

[Douglas Fletcher]

An expose of XTC? What an idiotic idea. I wonder if you can find it on video anywhere.

[Andrew]

Eric

You are right. "You blocks, you stones, you less than senseless things..." is not the kind of rhetoric that plays in a democracy-- nobody likes to be the sap in somebody else's conspiracy theory.

And it is off point anyway. Maybe Halliburton had a good idea? Maybe a bunch of patriots had a bad one? What difference does it make?

That is why the 60's protest style is such a conspicuous failure-- Americans aren't going to believe the decision to go war was meretricious, or senselessly bloody minded--
Sure, we spend 200 billion for...what?
Yeah, we level Saddam's palaces and don't kill anybody?--
and it doesn't matter anyway. Ordinary Americans know THEY went to war because the rationale made sense to them, and feel the decision will be justified by its outcome...not the motives of any of the actors.

[Howard Owens]

"And the bewildered herd is still believing
Everything we've been told from our birth"

Yeah, like "thou shall not kill" means we should passively allow tyrants to reign without worry, murdering and slaughtering and raping. Yup, I've been getting the hippie-dippie "truth" since birth. I don't believe it any more. Thanks for clearing that up, Willie.

[Angus Jung]

Jean Bart est tr?s pompeux et involontairement amusant.

[Willie's PR Firm]

Remember that by not buying his album you are censoring him, like the warmongers did with the Dixie Chicks. Buy his shitty album and support the First Ammendment.

[AJMB]

Willie's flack: Doesn't he still owe the IRS? If we buy his 'shitty album (sic)' are we not, in effect, supporting the IRS? If so, up yours! In this one particular instance I will support stealing it online. That is, if anyone's dumb enough to buy it first.

[Gene]

Just like to go on record as being offended by Willie?s song lyrics. We are citizens and emphatically not a ?HERD?.

[Gene]

Just like to go on record as being offended by Willie?s song lyrics. We are citizens and emphatically not a ?HERD?.

[Rebecca]

Censorship is if you were arrested for trying to buy, sell, or otherwise disseminate his song. Not buying a record because you don't like the song or don't want to support an actor is exercising your right to choose. It's how the free market functions. The First Amendment still stands in this case - Nelson can spout off all he wants - but I am under no obligation to spend money on such nonsense.

In fact, it takes more courage these days to support the government's actions, as there are ever so many people ready to accuse one of mindless acceptance of "propaganda".

Hey, Andrew, where is that quote from? ("You blocks, you stones, you less than senseless things....") I'm sure I heard it in a movie somewhere, but I can't recall where, and it's going to knaw at my brain until I can remember.....

[AJMB]

Rebecca: It comes from Shakespeare. Julius Ceasar, I think. But don't quote me.

[AJMB]

P.S. - Does this get me a reprieve for the Boston Creme slander? Just curious.

[Mike Force]

As a boomer I resent being "herded" in with the 60's fools. Just who do you think served in that war anyway? It's the upper class Prep school cats like Oliver Stone and John Kerry who became strident "establishment" critics after doing time as Asshole Lieutenants. And I gotta tell ya, they gave Bronze Stars to Officers with their breakfast, so you have to take ANY officer's decorations with a certain amount of credulity. Don't lump in all the working class men who did combat time with the middle class college boys who protested only as long as the draft was in force. As for Nelson, he's like every "liberal" friend I ever had (most of whom worked "off the books" or had creative accountants), spend the money?just not his. Fucking low life coward.

[Jean Bart]

Babel Fish,

Herodotus wrote in no language; he was an oral poet. His orature was later put down to writing. He spoke in Greek (or what we refer to as Greek at least).

The qoutation was in reference to the other posters here.

[Jean Bart]

Some of "The The's" political songs are quite good.

[Jean Bart]

Des mis?res de tout l'homme le plus amer est ceci; pour savoir tellement et pour avoir le contr?le de rien. - Herodotus

[AJMB]

JB: Please excuse my gauche unilingualism. Your posts are often very informative, but not if I need to take a Berlitz course. As with your Verdun ref. posted elsewhere, translation please?

[Babel_Fish]

I took high school French so let me help out. Herodotus (whom everyone knows wrote in English) seems to be saying "of all men's miseries this is the most bitter; to know a lot but control nothing."

Since this can't conceivably apply to Willie Nelson, I can only assume Jean Bart is referring to himself.

[AJMB]

Thanks, Babel Fish, now I just need to find out if the Boston Creme hit has been lifted.

[Andrew]

Rebecca

It was Shekespeare-- Julius Caeser scene 1. A patrician scolds the workies for fawning on JC.

The film was probably the excellent James Mason/Marlon Brando.

[dhex]

"failure" and "god forgive america" by the swans are really good songs and sorta political.

[Babel_FIsh]

"Herodotus wrote in no language; he was an oral poet."

Jean Bart, Jean Bart, what are we going to do with you. Herodotus an oral poet? You must be thinking of Homer. The Father Of History was most certainly a writer.

[Douglas Fletcher]

Eanjay Artbay, easeplay ixnay ethay enchfray.

[Rebecca]

Yeah, Herodotus wrote "Histories".

AJMB, for inquiring so sweetly, you are forgiven for the Boston creme slander. May you find great joy in another pastry. 😉

[Ron Hardin]

Well, I can tell you right away that your stance is all wrong. - Willie Nelson joke book

I forget the rest of the joke. Oh yeah, golf pro advice. Women stung by a bee between the first and second holes. I'll do a punchline first jokebook someday.

[Rebecca]

Oh, and thanks for telling me where the quote is from, AJMB and Andrew. I think I heard something similar to that, either on SNL or in a 30's comedy. I suppose it was an allusion.

[dhex]

political songs tend to suck. political people make good music, sometimes, often despite themselves. GYBE! comes to mind.

i mean, we've all heard the ridiculous country-western hee haw "i lurve americuh" football halftime show type shit, right? cringeworthy pap made worse by seeing people actually moved by something that sounds like a chevrolet commercial.

maybe overt political messages are just not that cool anymore?

speaking of overt public messages, the last really good political song i heard was dead prez's "they schools." and even that's 95% silly, but i can't shit on that chorus.

but uh, it's just a song, calm down people, calm down. nothing to see here.

[joe]

I was trying to talk a friend of mine out of supporting Kucinich, on the grounds that he's nuts. So I asked the cliched, "Would you want him to have his finger on the trigger of the nuclear football?" Then I thought, wait a minute...

Maybe he could run an updated "Daisy" ad against Bush 🙂

[trainwreck]

Political songs can be great and inspiring. But first they've got to be good songs. Think of something like "Fortunate Son" by CCR or "This Is Radio Clash" by the Clash.

[Jean Bart]

Babel Fish,

Of giant ants in India no less. Excuse me for my gaffe; my one pardon is that my wife was bothering me to go to Carrefour. And they were still written in Greek.

Rebbecca,

They are generally referred to as "The Histories."

[joe]

JB, I've seem them as "Heroditus' Histories" sort of like "Ovid's Metamorphoses." Not the usual (in America) format of "Title" by "Author," but rather the inclusion of the author's name in the title. Perhaps some complications in translating articles. Not having "'s" em francais, perhaps "Les Histoires d'Heroditus" was too confusing (The Histories of Heroditus? Did he lead a double life?)

[Jean Bart]

joe,

That was very clever. 🙂 Wish my flight back to the U.S. luck; or at least that I am not turned around in mid-flight!

[DFH]

Willie is just running with his new friends, the ultra-Liberal "herd" of Hollywood.

[Barba Richard]

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DATE: 05/20/2004 08:58:41
Every decent man is ashamed of the government he lives under.