190502 warren zevon

Warren Zevon was a singer/songwriter that slipped away while I wasn’t looking. I knew him from “the Werewolves of London.” He was also known for “Roland, the Headless Thompson Gunner,” and “Money, Guns and Lawyers.” These and other songs on his  Excitable Boy were forthright politico-socio-historical commentary, intended to make you think and ask questions, and thinking and questioning are out of vogue these days. Just parrot the pap of the political propagandists of your choice and vote the way they tell you to. Excitable Boy still has much to say, though I doubt anyone is listening. Zevon died of Mesothelioma in 2003.

 Much more poignant and passionate were My Ride is Here and The Wind. My Ride is Here was premonitory as it seems to be from the standpoint of someone reviewing their life as it draws to a close and anticipates moving on to that which awaits. The Wind was written after Zevon learned of his diagnosis and is a frank assessment of life as he “thinks about [his] dirty life and times.” As Mr. Zevon says, “Some days I feel like my shadow’s casting me. / Some days the sun don’t shine.“ i agree.