(Part 55) "The Places, Times, And The People"

THURSDAY, APRIL 17, 2008


SO MANY THINGS TO REMEMBER
AND SO MANY MORE TO FORGET
AND ALL THAT I REMEMBER
IS ALL THAT I'M TRYING TO FORGET

THE PLACES TIMES AND THE PEOPLE
A TANGLE OF MISFORTUNE I HAVE FOUND
LORD THE EAGLE CRIES HIGH ABOVE THE STEEPLE
TO THE PLACES TIMES AND PEOPLE ON THE GROUND

WHEN WILL THE PEOPLE
GO WHERE THEY'RE GOIN'
WHEN WILL THEY ALL COME BACK
THE PLACES THEY GO TO
THE TIME THAT IT TAKES THEM
MAYBE THEY'LL NEVER COME BACK

STANDIN' LOOKIN' OUT OF MY WINDOW
THE RAIN IS LIKE THE TEARDROPS I HAVE CRIED
LORD THERE'S NOTHIN' BUT A ROOM AND A WINDOW
AND THE TIMES IN THE PAST I HAVE TRIED

THE PLACES TIMES AND THE PEOPLE
A TANGLE OF MISFORTUNE I HAVE FOUND
AND THE EAGLE CRIES HIGH ABOVE THE STEEPLE
TO THE PLACES TIMES AND PEOPLE ON THE GROUND

Robert Parker Jameson 1966-67



This song as much as anything on "Color Him In" clarifies the questions of the times and the possible futility felt by many of the people, such as myself, who looked out across America and tried to explain the "Vietnam War" and their displeasure with what the "Establishment" was doing. It also is one of the pure reflections of myself personally, at the time, and my growing distaste with the world I saw before me. Coupled with the song "Jamie" which I wrote about and to my brother Bill, who had gone insane earlier in 1966, these 2 songs exemplified for me a bitterness toward fate and the questions I had regarding the stupidity of the war and my purpose on the planet.

The loss, to mental illness, of my brother Bill was a cruel reality that still haunts me today and has always been a source of anger for me. "Jamie" was a futile attempt, by me, to call my brother back from insanity and see him as whole once again. "Jamie", his nickname, was the most important song on "Color Him In" when the album was being recorded. I tried to believe, that if I could just will it hard enough, it would bring him back to reality.