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California Stars
The other night I got together with my brother for our weekly jam session. My brother plays and sings fairly well and I like to thump along on bass and we learned a new song called “California Stars” that I can’t get out of my head now. It’s a Woody Guthrie lyric with music by Billy Bragg and Jeff Tweedy (Wilco) and it’s such a sweet love song, I wish I could sing so I could sing it to my wife…but I can play it on bass so I will serenade her with this tune when we play at our next Open Mic performance (29th of February). Here’s a nice rendition of the song:
Here’s the lyrics too:
"California Stars"
I'd like to rest my heavy head tonight
On a bed of California stars
I'd like to lay my weary bones tonight
On a bed of California stars
I'd love to feel
Your hand touching mine
And tell me why
I must keep working on
Yes I'd give my life
To lay my head tonight on a bed
Of California stars
I'd like to dream
My troubles all away
On a bed of California stars
Jump up from my starbed
Make another day
Underneath my California stars
They hang like grapes
On vines that shine
And warm the lovers' glass
Like friendly wine
So I'd give this world
Just to dream a dream with you
On our bed of California stars
I'd like to rest my heavy head tonight
On a bed of California stars
I'd like to lay my weary bones tonight
On a bed of California stars
I'd love to feel
Your hand touching mine
And tell me why
I must keep working on
Yes I'd give my life
To lay my head tonight on a bed
Of California stars
I'd like to dream
My troubles all away
On a bed of California stars
Jump up from my starbed
Make another day
Underneath my California stars
They hang like grapes
On vines that shine
And warm the lovers' glass
Like friendly wine
So I'd give this world
Just to dream a dream with you
On our bed of California stars
So I'd give this world
Just to dream a dream with you
On our bed of California stars
(Dream a dream with you)
(me in San Francisco, January 2002)
Many may not know this about me, but I am something of a California Man because, aside from living in both Northern and Southern California several times over the course of my life, it’s a symbolic place of where I want to get to in terms of my writing/art career. I want to be able move there again, before I die, for a little while or, if I become fantastically wealthy, sitting in that 1% bracket, I would have a 2nd home there in California. I don’t know where, I like both Northern and Southern California but the place I often feel best is in the mountains, perhaps around Tehachapi so I could be close to Hollywood or, perhaps North, Marin County has always captured my imagination too. I like California on many levels, despite the weirdo things that go on there, I think California, like it’s name itself, is something of a mystical, magical place where dreams are born and broken. I will be visiting theHollywood area this year, come late spring (I hope) and I’m really looking forward to being back there again. Love to see those California Stars…
Today is day four of my wifey’s vacation and we’ve got the place to ourselves until the kids come from school (around 3pm); we spent the evening last night at the local Laundromat and did 12 loads of laundry! It cost over $50 and took a solid 2 hours plus to complete but at least now everything, all our sheets and blankets, everything is clean. This is yet another reason why we need a house; we wouldn’t have to wait until we have this much laundry to take it to the laundry mat because we could stay on top of it by doing laundry on an almost daily basis. We did a quick tour of this house yesterday and I like it a lot; wifey is not as sure, she’s afraid the cost and responsibility of having a house will be too much for us to handle. I disagree, I think we could not only manage the situation better, it would put us in a better position in terms of both the financial aspects as well as our basic level of comfort andquality of life. We are going to try and sub-let our apartment, which seems to be the best option for getting out this lease and think about this house a couple of more days before going back for a 2nd look on Friday morning (and possibly put in an application on it). I will try to take some pictures of the place to share, but until I have my wifey completely convinced that this move is not only a good, positive move but an essential one, I will curb my enthusiasm and bide my time.
Another thought floating around my bean this morning is regarding this SOPA/PIPA issue and how it will impact our future Internet usage. I was thinking of making my two sites (www.dphilipchalmers.net & www.mrmd.co ) go dark for the day in protest of this needless, corrupt bill. It’s a ploy to get us to pay for things that we shouldn’t have to pay for because the entertainment industry (of which I consider myself a part of) can’t deal with the new and emerging trends in the distribution of their products. I hope this bill fails and the industry can go screw themselves and simply try to figure out how to better distribute and control their content on-line. This is not to protect the artists as much as it is to protect thecompanies who profit from the artists. These are the same companies that have been screwing the artist since the dawning of mass media distribution. I would rather let my work get out there, seen and read and experienced by the public for free than to have my rights further limited and protect these companies with more needless regulations. This country has far more important issues to wrestle with than this silly bill and to me, it smells like a red herring.
Lastly, before I end this blog for today, I want to give a shout out to the many new friends and visitors I have been enjoying lately. I love when new people come to blogster and start to get into it the same way we “older members” have been hooked for years. I whole-heartedly believe this website community can continue to grow and thrive with the influx of new members, of all ages and varieties, but it take participation; we thrive as a community through the interactions we share on one another’s comments threads…so, please, by all means, leave me whatever comment you like, even a little smiley face is nice, just do it and in return you will see your blog getting more visits, you will find other like minded individuals (and some not so like minded people too) and the next thing you know, you’re hooked and you’ll find this place,blogster, to be more fun than Facebook sometimes! Yeah, imagine that, blogster has more to offer I some ways than Facebook! I am very Grateful for your visit today, I appreciate it and as always, please take care, be well and stay cool!
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Actually we've been working on "The Lemon Song" and maybe something from The Presence lp...I love LedZep, but with a duet, there's only so many songs that work well...and though my brother can sing, he's no Robert Plant! Thanks for stopping by Sean, I appreciate it! |
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LOL, no one's no ''Robert Plant''...he's gotta voice of his own. Not anymore I bet. Safely retired...True...but what 'bout an instrumental? Some of their songs are acoustic. Don't gotta have vocals! Jus' another thought... Yep, glad tuh read yer stuff! |
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Actually, Robert Plant isn't retired at all, he toured and recorded with Alison Krauss and last year, he toured with "the Band of Joy" from January through June in the US and Canada and July through September they toured Europe. I guess he doesn't slow down much. |
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Ahh...didn't know that BD! No...not at all! It's jus' proof he loves tuh rock, no matter th' age! |
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I think I just found a new friend. You can write. You have great taste in music. You love California. And you respect your wife. My wife makes me respect her. She too is worth it. I lived in Lompoc as a kid for two years. I remember the valley filled with fields of flowers and riding my bike to the ocean. Cool place. You definitely need a second home in California and one in the Florida Keys. Don't forget the keys. I ended up in Oklahoma. Raised 4 little Okies. But still dream about the ocean and sandy beaches. I do live with in a bicycle ride of a lake but it's not the same. I'll check back and read some earlier posts of yours. You have great writing skills and are interesting. My new friend. |
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i didn't know you lived in california....I went to high school there. |
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Thank you for the many kind words, MY new friend! I've been through OK many times, lovely state...my eventual state, where I want to go to rest my dusty bones is in Arkansas, Hot Springs Village to be precise...so we'd be neighbors, so to speak! I too will be checking out your blog as well, I love your sense of humor and your style is very fluid...so a new friend and a new fan! Have a superlative week! |
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My wife and I spent our honeymoon in Hot Springs. It was the last day of the races and we couldn't get a room in a nice hotel. We spent our first night in an old civil war era hotel with no air conditioning or showers in the room. It's shut down now. It was called the Majestic Hotel. It was a dump. A historic dump. |
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wow....haven't heard this song in awhile....thanks for reminding me why i liked it. I grew up in california....don't miss the craziness but do miss the beauty of the state. |
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How cool is that. We all did time in California. I did 6th and 7th grade there. |
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Do you miss it at all? |
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Ah, not really. I was just a kid. I did enjoy boy scouts while I was there. No shortage of places for good camp outs. We live next to government land and wide open spaces. Had a Honda 90 dirt bike and miles and miles of canyons and trails. And the girls were wild but you got to remember, 6 and 7 grade girls. That was wild on a short leash. |
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ah yes. wild and crazy preteens. I don't miss it much at all. just the ocean....used to spend all summer at the beach. but i'm not leaving oklahoma.... |
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That's a nice song, isn't it? I just love it...it's very fun to play too! We lived in San Francisco when I was 5-7 years old (1966-68) and then LA for a year; I went back to live in LA during the early 80's and have many countless pilgrimages to San Francisco to see The Grateful Dead over the years...I love it there! |
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LOL...were you a Dead Head dp? i had friends who followed their concerts everywhere. |
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True story. Iron Butterfly played at my sisters 8th grade graduation. It that don't date me, nothing does. Carbon dating doesn't go back that far. |
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LOL....I hope they played "In-A-Gadda-Da-Vida".....I remember my cousins playing that song til we had every word memorized. How'd she rate having them play at her graduation?? |
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I don't think she really knew or cared. But I do know you couldn't go to a dance back then without the local band playing it for about an hour. We never got tired of it. |
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well thanks larry....now i have that song in my head.... |
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Hi Bev! |
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hey Sean. :) |
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How are you? |
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no complaints from my little spot in the world. :) |
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Commentin' further would jus' be redundant....continue via PM.... |
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okie dokie.... |
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I have been close to 200 shows between 1976-1995, spent 18 months at one stretch following them, selling burritos and grilled cheese sandwichs...yeah, I'm a recovering Deadhead! |
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whoa! i guess you were a full fledged Deadhead at the time....does one ever fully recover? :) |
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Nope. Now I listen to all these CD/bootlegs of various shows I have been to so I can remember how good the show was! |
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like your style dp.....and taste in music. |
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If you're gonna lay your head here, it'll be on a bed of California lettuce. No more stars available. |
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LOL...I could snack while I slumber too! |
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You are still responsible for the lease if you sublet dp, so check into it thoroughly before you do it. I hope you can find a way to get your house soon. I lived in San Bernardino for two years and enjoyed the mountains and trips to SF for fun. Glad I got to experience it, but when I win the lottery I am buying a beach house in Florida! I came to Blogster July '08, but left for over a year until recently. I need to update my friend's list. Delete those long gone and add others to it. I sent you a request because I do enjoy your blog! |
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Yeah, there is a provising that prohibits sub-letting without having the management do it because they do background screens/credit checks, etc...we're just going to terminate the lease and pay the penalty I think, we want out of here so badly! Thanks for the friends request and reading my blogs, you know I will be checking yours out too and I look forward to getting one another better! Have an awesome week! |
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Cool tune dP, I'd never heard it before. I hope all is well with you and yours! |
Nice tunes, DP! I like it....great tuh jam over! Do y'all do original pieces, or do y'all do some cover songs? If so, you should do somethin' from Led Zeppelin. Jus' a thought...
I, too, am irritated over that bill. Thought I'm notta professional, or am a paid artist, I can relate to th' artists that are. Ther creativity an' attitude are often put into the music, paintings, dances, etc; their whole bein's an' souls are bein' portrayed. An' tuh threaten tuh censor, or to limit their creativity an' passion is jus' senseless. Hope it never gets passed, DP.