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A sweet little version of a sweet little song.  Actually, “Here Comes The Sun” may be one of the great alltime songs;  still sweet, but not so little.  Yellow Dubmarine has a great website at yellowdubmarine.com, and their slogan is “All you need is Dub.”  The band is 7 guys playing reggae Beatles music.  I think they formed the group in 2010 and they live in the Washington, D.C. area.  Keep it up guys. - Harry Lipson, posted 5-21-13

My heart keeps breaking and my feelings are often in tatters.   I shutter and wince when a ferry goes down in waters off Bangladesh.   I moan for every entombed miner, I grieve when trains collide, and I curl up in a ball when headlines of violent crimes keep streaming across the internet, day after day; month after month.

So my heart requires daily transfusions of trees and flowers and the breeze on my face.  My heart gets energy from babies and dogs, from Sam & Dave, Paul Simon, and the Southern Rock of Little Feat and The Allman Brothers Band. 

I draw upon shows like “Call The Midwife,” and actors like Denzel Washington and John Goodman.   That is why I need the Red Sox, the Patriots, and the Crimson Tide.  Certainly, love from my own children fills my heart with happiness and pride.  But like all parents, I worry for them.  I worry about them.  I try not to, but… I am their father and that is simply part of the job description.

My heart is bolstered by every kindness and appreciation in all forms.

My heart usually tells me that I am safe and things are all right.  I know where my kids are.  In my heart I know that fathers and mothers in Moore, Oklahoma felt just fine two days ago.  It can all change in a heartbeat.

So I am thankful.  Meanwhile, tragedies keep happening.  The News is one bad thing after another.  Congress is crippled by partisan meanspiritedness.  The floods, the earthquakes, the gas leaks, the rejections; the wishes that go ungranted, the prayers that go unanswered.  I swallow it all in.  I look for grace and for miracles.

I live in a world that turns and burns.  It is cruel and wondrous, bitter and sweet, impossible and entirely possible.   It is probably the same for you as well.  We write our own stories, to the extent that we can.   But 2013 belongs to us all, and we catch the starfish with the seaweed.  The bitter herb and the harosis.   Poverty kills.  Joblessness kills.  Stupidity kills.  We all want security and opportunity.  We want a fair shake in life.  My heart is full of hope and despair -  Harry Lipson III, 5-21-13

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The now defunct XM radio channel, “Cross Country,” would play this now and again.  Here from Bowling Green, KY is Dry Land Fish with “Homemade Boat.”

This is one of my favorite “pep me up” songs.  When you need a little get up and go, this baby does the trick.  Turn it up pretty loud, and it will change your mood.   A cure for depression, well temporarily, yes, I’ll make that claim.  This is a free sample from the doctor.

This is The Black Crowes doing a live version of Dave Mason’s “Feelin Alright.”

If you are really low on energy, may I suggest playing the Isley Brothers, “Shout” followed by J.J. Jackson’s “It’s alright.”   Follow those instructions and you will be good to go.   – Harry Lipson

Sid Selvidge passed away today and tonight I am thinking about his legacy, and how much I liked almost everything I ever heard from him.  As a recording artist, Sid was a fine interpreter of songs and one can tell that he chose those songs with care.   My Ipod library has half a dozen of his sweet songs.

Sid Selvidge, like me, was born in the Mississippi Delta and we both shared a lifetime’s love for folk and Americana music.

Here is Sid singing Fred Neil’s “A Little Bit of Rain“   The song begins “If I should leave you, think about the good times.”   We will.
By the way, Memphis, Tennessee was Sid’s home for much of his adult life, and it was where he produced his acclaimed weekly NPR radio program “Beale Street Caravan.”   Sid Selvidge.  1943-2013.  Godspeed.   – posted on May 5, 2013 by Harry Lipson / harryShots.com

Boston has picked itself up, dusted itself off.

We are more than grateful for amazing outpouring of concern and support.

To us, this is personal.  And thank you for feeling exactly the same.  We are all Bostonians.

We are all Marathon runners.

In the face of terrorism, it feels vulgar for me to devote my weekly scribble to the fine weather we’re enjoying.  There is an elephant in the living room.  There is a fucking elephant in here, and the weather is only the weather. -  Harry Lipson – harryShots.com

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