Power is the underwriter

Tuesday, dark, slightly wet, and post-wind storm blown.  It was a limbs-down windstorm last night, to be sure. 50 MPH gusts were recorded over the general lowlands, though I am positive we felt some house-rocking gusts that were higher than that last night.  Power outages all over the place.  Now the forecast is for snow late on Thursday and possibly again on Sunday.  Oy.

Only one tune for this morning's commute because I was giving Bruce Cockburn's new single, Call Me Rose, a test drive on the way in.  Cockburn's newest album (studio album number 31 in his long and rich musical career!) is due out this March and this is the first taste of what is coming.  Friends and family already know that I'm a long-time fan of this Canadian poet, humanitarian, activist, and consumate guitarist (often, in fact, referred to as a musician's musician, he was inducted into the Canadian Music Hall of Fame by musician Gordon Lightfoot and scientist/environmentalist David Suzuki in 2001).

This is an odd song.  Though immediately recognizable with a very Cockburn rhythm and sound, the lyrics tell an interesting tale.  Cockburn says the song has to do with the Bush (W.)-era attempted redemption of Richard Nixon as a possible political reference for conservatives.  Cockburn attempts to envision what it would take to redeem Nixon and finds him re-living his penance as a single mother in the projects:

My name was Richard Nixon only now I am a girl

You wouldn't know it but I used to be the king of the world

I'm back here learning what it is to be poor

To have no power but the strength to endure 

I'll perform my penance well

Maybe the memoir will sell 

It's not what I would of chose

Now ya have to call me Rose 

As I would expect of Cockburn, he manages to drill down to the underlying issues of poverty and power here, as in the above reference to the lack of empowerment and in this verse:

I was boss of bosses the last time around

I lived by cunning and a mission unbound

The suckers said they stand behind me right or wrong

As if they thought that hubris was the mark of the strong

Power underwrites privilege, and we certainly continue to see plenty of examples around us.  Congress is moving to reduce funding for the poorest among us while continuing to subsidize corporate interests.  The wealthiest are growing their wealth at record-breaking rates while most of the rest see a correspondingly steep drop in wealth, access, and, of course, power.  A stint living the experience of the disenfranchised might just go a long way toward helping some folks understand the humanity of their actions.

A good song, a great musician, and I am looking forward to the new album.  Bruce passes through Seattle this June, and I hope to catch the show.

Today's full playlist:

 - Bruce Cockburn: Call Me Rose