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| First time I've tried painting a cow. Not so easy. |
Right now, "Cool, Clear Water," wanders into my head anytime I have a spare moment. That old cowboy song first crept in as we drove down Vasco Road towards Brentwood in California's Central Valley. We stopped for a herd of cattle as they crossed the road, cowboys on motorbikes, not horses, herding them along. I could almost hear them calling, "Yippee Yi Yo. Yippee Yi Yah."
"Cool Water" and Ghost Riders in the Sky" are the first two songs I remember hearing as a kid. The lyrics tell good, somewhat spooky stories which pricked my imagination. I could see the ghost riders thundering overhead and feel the dry, parched heat that caused hallucinations out on the trail as two cowboys searched for water.
After a week of cowboys wandering in my head, I heard the news that the singer Judy Henske died. I'm partial to male singers, but something about her voice and her choice of songs resonated with me. She sang the blues at about the same time as Janis Joplin and she had a crying, world-weary voice like Bessie Smith, Aretha Franklin, and Edith Piaf. As soon as I saw Henske's obit, my mind turned to "High Flying Bird" and "Till the Real Thing Comes Along" and stuck there for a couple of days.
Without too much trouble, I began to trove through other songs that grab my mind: "Memories" from Cats, "(can't you just see the plaintive eyes of Grizabella, the old cat, as she sings this song), "The City of New Orleans" sung by Arlo Gutherie, with a bush of white hair, strumming his guitar, "The Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald" by Gordon Lightfoot and the storm he sings about, and "Me and Bobby McGee" from Janis Joplin with her raspy, whiskey-filled voice. As soon as I thought of the names of the songs, their tunes came back into my head, and have stayed there waiting for a quiet moment to catch my attention.
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| I used the app Halftone to make this pixelated version of my photo. |
Are you singing a song right now? Since it so close to the first summer heat wave and just in case you forgot the lyrics to "Cool Water," here's a tidbit:
"Dan, can you see that big green tree
Where the water's running free
And it's waitin' there for you and me?
Water, cool, clear water."
(lyrics by Bob Nolan)
Or try listening to these:
Check out Elaine Page as Grizabella:
I love those old story songs! I've got Townes Van Zandt's, "Pancho and Lefty" stuck in my head, right now. Thanks for sharing your beautiful artwork, as always
ReplyDelete"Pancho and Lefty" is another good one to keep singing. I've got a full medley of songs going right now.
DeleteFrom Mary by email: OK, now it’s stuck in my head! I like your cows.
ReplyDeleteThanks for singing along with me, Mary!
DeleteFrom Judy by email: Love it! I have that album of Cool Water. My uncles would play it
ReplyDeleteAnd sing along. If they drank too much beer, they would nearly yodel with a Slim Whitman album. Fun memory.
Thanks for telling the good memory with your uncles. Yodeling, that's a lost art, isn't it?
ReplyDeleteFrom Cheryl by mail: You did a GREAT JOB on that cow! Look at the face.
ReplyDeleteThanks for the comment about the painting of the cow. It was fun to do.
DeleteFrom AW via FB: Google sent me on such a goose chase I’ll just post my response here, Martha: I love Judy Henske whose singing I first met by way of the late children’s advocate lawyer and novelist Andrew Vachss. At one point when Judy was making a comeback in blues clubs/LA I had lunch with her.
ReplyDeleteMy, my, how time slips away
You have led such an interesting life. One more good chapter to write. Thanks for reading my post.
DeleteFrom SR on FB: Music has always been important to me. Thanks for sharing Judy Henske. What an interesting voice!
ReplyDeleteThanks for reading my post today. Judy Henske's voice is extraordinary.
DeleteFrom SE via FB: My husband took me to see Cats in LA for one of my birthdays. At the time I had an old cat who was getting a little worn and shaggy. That song made me cry!
ReplyDeleteThat's one of those musicals that create tears. Cats -- especially for anyone with a cat.
DeleteFrom JB via Facebook: Thanks for the introduction to Judy - I will be searching for her work!
ReplyDeleteYou are welcome once again. Thanks for reading my posts each week.
DeleteFrom SG via FB: if you like country swing (era--30's) its gotta be Patsy Montana
ReplyDeleteThanks for another singer to find on UTube!
DeleteFrom LD via FB: h, “Cool Water.” It’s one of those unimaginable childhood memories. It’s a rather haunting & disturbing song which I will never forget.
ReplyDeleteYep!!! You and me both, sister!
DeleteFrom SM via FB: Somehow I didn’t recall Judy Henske but she’s great. Always a Joplin fan, though I think it’s more than whiskey in her Bobby McGee delivery
ReplyDeleteYes, Judy Henske kinda slipped through the cracks. And J Joplin had a lot more in her system than just whiskey. Great voice though!
ReplyDelete