"Grapevine Fires" - Death Cab For Cutie, 2009 (indie)

When the wind picked up the fire spread
And the grapevines seemed left for dead
And the Northern sky looked like the end of days
The end of days

The wake-up call to a rented room
Sounded like an alarm of impending doom
To warn us it's only a matter of time
Before we all burn

Before we all burn
Before we all burn
Before we all burn

We bought some wine and some paper cups
Near your daughters school when we picked her up
And drove to a cemetery on a hill
On a hill

And we watched the plumes paint the sky gray
But she laughed and danced through the field of graves
And there I knew it would be alright
That everything would be alright

Would be alright
Would be alright
Would be alright

And the news reports on the radio
Said it was getting worse
As the ocean air fanned the flames
But I couldn't think
Of anywhere I would have rather been
To watch it all burn away

To burn away

And the firemen worked in double shifts
With prayers for rain on their lips
And they knew it was only a matter of time.

Peaking at #21 on the Billboard Top Hot Modern Rock Tracks chart in March of 2009 was DCFC's soulful first-hand account of the events that ravaged the West Coast just two years prior to the song's release. Beginning October 20, 2007 a series of wildfires began burning across southern California. Seventeen fires raged hot and high enough to even be seen from space. In a state of emergency, California burned from Santa Barbara to the US-Mexico border. Thirty-two hundred homes and structures were destroyed as were 522,000 acres of land and forest. The fires left nine people dead and 85 injured, which included 61 firefighters.

California has always had a "fire season" just as Florida has "hurricane season" and the Great Plains states have "tornado season". However, the fires that ravage California today burn much hotter than in previous years due to many reasons, including increased population. The 2007 blazes were due in part to a severe drought that SoCal was experiencing that year. Adding insult to injury were the hot, dry Santa Ana winds that blow across the state in late fall and early winter. This phenomenon is destructive enough to be described by one reporter as "the weather of catastrophe, of apocalypse".

The Santa Ana winds are named after the Santa Ana Canyon. These vicious winds blow out across Southern California from the desert. While they form when the desert is cold, the winds are so hot and dry that as they blast across the landscape drying up vegetation. Once a fire starts, the wind fans the flames across the area and at the same time create more dry matter for the fires to consume. The winds during the fires of 2007 were clocked at speeds reaching 60mph and a total of 23 fires were counted. It is believed that the ignition of these fires began with power lines downed by the Santa Ana Winds.

Just as hurricanes and tropical storms have names, so do the fires of the west coast. The "Witch Creek" fire of 2007 was the largest fire in California history. Firefighters feared that the two largest fires burning in San Diego county would merge into and cause more damage than the Cedar fires of 2003 (280,000 acres). While these two largest fires did not merge as feared, they still each caused more damage individually.

Hundreds of thousands of regional residents were alerted to evacuate the area via Reverse 911, though the system was no match for the heat and flames, themselves, which drove many from their homes before they could be warned. Within two days of the emergency, over 500,000 residents were facing mandatory evacuation orders from 360,000 homes in San Diego county alone. All in all, over 900,000 people were displaced during the event, which was the largest evacuation in California history. The event was followed by frequent blackouts during which Mexico supplemented the area with electricity. As smoke filled the cities, concentrations of particulate matter, which are particles in the air that are small enough to embed themselves in lung tissue and perhaps even enter the bloodstream, reached unhealthy levels making the air unbreathable.
Finally, by November 6, 2007 the fires were brought under control with the help of 2400 National Guard Troops deployed with 17,000 waiting in reserve and 100 National Guard Medical personnel. The DoD provided 12 fire engines and six crews from the Navy's Helicopter Sea Combat Squadron 85 were assigned to the Witch Creek fire. Marine Corps Air Station Miramar provided firefighting ground and air vehicles and personnel as well as a 7,000 gallon air tanker.

"Grapevine Fires" - Death Cab For Cutie, 2009

~information gathered from:

http://www.atmos.ucla.edu/~fovell/ASother/mm5/SantaAna/winds.html

http://www.nasa.gov/vision/earth/lookingatearth/socal_wildfires_oct07.html

http://www.fema.gov/about/regions/regionix/ca_fires.shtm

"The Battle Hymn of the Republic" - Julia Ward Howe, 1862 (traditional patriotic)

Mine eyes have seen the glory of the coming of the Lord:
He is trampling out the vintage where the grapes of wrath are stored;
He hath loosed the fateful lightning of His terrible swift sword:
His truth is marching on.

Glory, glory, hallelujah!
Glory, glory, hallelujah!
Glory, glory, hallelujah!
His truth is marching on

I have seen Him in the watch-fires of a hundred circling camps,
They have builded Him an altar in the evening dews and damps;
I can read His righteous sentence by the dim and flaring lamps:
His day is marching on.

Glory, glory, hallelujah!...
...His day is marching on.

He has sounded forth the trumpet that shall never call retreat;
He is sifting out the hearts of men before His judgment-seat:
Oh, be swift, my soul, to answer Him! be jubilant, my feet!
Our God is marching on.

Glory, glory, hallelujah!...
...Our God is marching on.

In the beauty of the lilies Christ was born across the sea,
With a glory in His bosom that transfigures you and me:
As He died to make men holy, let us die to make men free,
While God is marching on.

Glory, glory, hallelujah!...
...While God is marching on.

Why is The Battle Hymn of the Republic heard playing at some point in nearly every war movie? Well, if you were to pay attention, you'd find that you'll never hear the Star-Spangled Banner played in any movie with a subject dated before 1889, and if you do it means that someone didn't do their homework. Even though the Star-Spangled Banner's words were written in 1814, until the Navy first officially used it in 1889 and President Wilson official use the song in 1916, the U.S. didn't have a national anthem. There were plenty of other patriotic tunes, though, including what Americans refer to as "The Battle Hymn", which was the closest thing the U.S. came to a national anthem in the mid-to-late 1800's.

"The Battle Hymn" was the unofficial anthem of the Union, although the tune and the words we know today weren't put together until 1861. The tune was transcribed in 1855 by William Steffe, and as is typical of American folk music, there were many different sets of lyrics; however, the most famous version of this song was sung by the soldiers in the Union Army, whose version of the song was known as John Brown's Body. When an Americans hear the name "John Brown", they immediately think of the famous abolitionist and hero of Harpers Ferry, and it would seem that a rousing tune with his name on it would be so fitting to represent the abolitionist American North. Surprisingly, though, the John Brown in the song really isn't the same person. It's about a Scotsman, John Brown of the Second Battalion, Boston Light Infantry Volunteer Militia - who just happened to share the same name, and who had an intermittent punctuality problem.

When Sgt. Brown finally did show up he was ribbed by the others, who jabbed that they thought he'd never show up because they'd heard he was dead. So, who was John Brown and what happened to him? John Brown's campaign on Harpers Ferry is considered to be a major catalyst that propelled the U.S. into civil war. He led the raid with 32 men (including his own sons) in an effort to lead an arm slaves and lead them in revolt. His first order of business wast to lay siege to the arsenal at Harpers Ferry, Virginia. However, news of his actions quickly reached Washington, and he was then shortly met by General Robert E. Lee and a detachment of U.S. Marines who quickly cut off the bridge out of town (and subsequently Brown's only means of escape). He was tried in Jefferson County and found guilty and hanged for treason against the Commonwealth of Virginia. His execution caused a great deal of stir as such a drastic punishment was perceived by anti-slavery supporters to indicate the government's support of slavery. And so, this is the premise behind the chastising of Sgt. John Brown of Boston - that his tardiness was a result of his death (and also quite possibly a slight-of-hand joke that his lack of punctuality was slightly treacherous in itself).

All joking aside, the country still had no national anthem, and early on in the Civil War, some well-respected Union gentlemen proposed a national contest to see who could write a song that was worthy of the title. The idea was a smash most likely due to the hefty prize sum of $500 (which was a lot of money back then). Even though over a thousand songs were submitted, none were found to be suitable.

In 1862, two volunteers from the US Sanitary Commission were invited to visit President Lincoln in Washington. The US Sanitary Commission was a government watchdog agency that was set up as a means to ensure sanitary conditions within U.S. POW camps. As part of their trip, the visitors, Julia and Samuel Howe made a visit to a Union army camp in Virginia, just across the Potomac. Interestingly enough, rumor has it that Samuel Howe was a member of the Secret Six...who were the men responsible for bankrolling the real John Brown's raid on Harpers Ferry. That night, the Howe's heard the soldiers singing the song, John Brown's Body. In her autobiography, Julia Howe recalls how she lay awake listening to the song playing over and over in her head, but how she felt that such a noble and inspiring tune had such unfortunate lyrics. In the morning, she awoke with a new words echoing through her brain. She lay there in her bed until she had written them all, then scrawled them onto an old piece of paper. Using forceful words and images like “As he died to make men holy/let us die to make men free,” Julia used Biblical images to urge people to adhere to their principals and end slavery.

In 1862, her poem The Battle Hymn of the Republic was published in the Atlantic Monthly. The poem was set to the music of John Brown's Body, and if the Billboard Music Charts had been keeping score at the time, it would have gone straight to the top and been a No. 1 Single for four years running. The tune was so popular it became the most instantly recognized Civil War song of all time. In its popularity it became the unofficial anthem of the Union, and at the same time obviously became the most infuriating and hated song in all of the South.

As far as the contest to find a national anthem goes, no song was ever chosen as a result of it, and no person received the $500 prize...not even Julia Ward Howe, who's Battle Hymn of the Republic came the closest - her poem was used by the North's military and military supporters until the Star-Spangled Banner's official inception in 1889. She was paid a whopping sum of $4.00 for her contribution.
Omitted third and sixth verses:

I have read a fiery gospel writ in burnished rows of steel:
"As ye deal with my contemners, so with you my grace shall deal;
Let the Hero, born of woman, crush the serpent with his heel,
Since God is marching on."

Glory, glory, hallelujah!...
...Since God is marching on.

He is coming like the glory of the morning on the wave,
He is Wisdom to the mighty, He is Succour to the brave,
So the world shall be His footstool, and the soul of Time His slave,
Our God is marching on.

Glory, glory, hallelujah!...
...Our God is marching on.

"The Battle Hymn of the Republic" - Julia Ward Howe, 1862


~Had to raid the Virginia Commonwealth area site for some information...
http://www.wvculture.org/History/jnobrown.html

"Calypso" - John Denver, folk (1975)

To sail on a dream on a crystal clear ocean
To ride on the crest of a wild raging storm
To work in the service of life and the living
In search of the answers to questions unknown
To be part of the movement and part of the growing
Part of beginning to understand

Aye, Calypso, the places you’ve been to
The things that you’ve shown us
The stories you tell
Aye, Calypso, I sing to your spirit
The men who have served you
So long and so well

Like the dolphin who guides you
You bring us beside you
To light up the darkness and show us the way
For though we are strangers in your silent world
To live on the land we must learn from the sea
To be true as the tide
And free as the wind-swell
Joyful and loving in letting it be

Aye, Calypso, the places you’ve been to
The things that you’ve shown us
The stories you tell
Aye, Calypso, I sing to your spirit
The men who have served you
So long and so well

One of my hobbies is SCUBA diving. I am a certified PADI diver - and not just the crash course certification you get when you go on vacation. Nope, I spent the money and the time in class to receive my honest-to-goodness certification. That's me in the pictures. I've been diving in the British West Indies and Mexico. I live very close to Lake Erie, one of the Great Lakes. The Great Lakes hold the largest concentration of shipwrecks in the world. I've been on many of those wrecks, from modern steel sand suckers to 19th century schooners (tall ships). I have been in underwater caverns with 100 feet of solid bedrock above me and no way out but to follow a winding narrow corridor at a depth of over 100 feet, and I have been diving in the middle of the night with nothing but a Sabre Light to show the way. I've swam with barracuda, eels, sea sponges, loggerhead turtles, rays, skates, scratched the belly of a manatee or two, and miles upon miles of beautiful coral fields, and I've also been followed around and studied intensely by curious Yellow Snapper. I own several wet suits, air tanks (one looks like a bottle of Dad's rootbeer), buoyancy compensators (BCs), masks, fins, snorkels, dive cameras and housings...and if I need anything else, I'm sure I can borrow it from a buddy of mine. All of this that I have done and all of the equipment that I (and the rest of the SCUBA diving world) uses is all thanks to one man: Jacques-Yves Cousteau. Without his discoveries and contributions to marine science, none of this would be possible. Without his research we would still know next to nothing about what lies beneath the ocean surface. His first research vessel, the RV (research vessel) Calypso is the topic of this John Denver hit.


Calypso was originally a Minesweeper belonging to the British Royal Navy. In 1950, Irish millionaire Thomas Loel Guiness purchased the ship and leased it to Cousteau for one franc a year. Cousteau converted the ship into a research vessel, a mobile laboratory for ocean exploration. The ship was outfitted to be a support base for diving as well as for filming and other forms of oceanic research. Calypso carried some of the most advanced exploration equipment. On board were both one and two man submarines (also developed by Cousteau). There were diving saucers and underwater scooters, and the ship's bow had a transparent nose cone - an underwater observation area three feet below the water line. Calypso also had a helicopter pad on deck. In 1996, Calypso was accidentally rammed by a barge in Singapore. She was raised by a 230-foot crane, patched, pumped dry, and put into shipyard. The following year, Jacques-Yves Cousteau passed away, having flung open the doorway to the bottom of the ocean and everything in between. His contributions include:

The invention of SCUBA in 1942. On a small Riviera beach, Cousteau entered the water with his rubber flippers and some new-fangled completely autonomous diving gear - the aqualung, a compressed air device invented in 1925 by Captain Yves Le Prieur. The problem with the aqualung was that air continuously flowed from it, which put limits on how long a diver could use it. Cousteau modified the device based an idea he got from the Germans during WWII. The Germans requisitioned gasoline, and engineer Emile Gagnan invented a demand regulator that would feed the gas into the engine in just the precise amount the vehicle needed. Cousteau modified this device to work with air, placed it at the top of his aqualung, and the Self Contained Underwater Breathing Aparatus was born. Now a diver could move around more quickly with less fatigue, which meant less air consumption and longer bottom time (and consequently more time for undersea observation).

The development of Denise the diving saucer in 1959. Denise was a permanent part of Calypso's standard research arsenal. This SP-350, aka Denise, nicknamed "diving saucer" because of its resemblance to the sci-fi UFOs of the period, was the first underwater vehicle designed and equipped expressly for scientific research. She sat a crew of 2 in her cabin, which she could take as deep as 1148 feet and could remain there for 4-5 hours. Cousteau designed this little submarine around the squid's propulsion system. It sucked in water from the front and spit it out the back. The crew inside looked through portholes that brought them to within centimeters, but more importantly, since the deeper one dives the darker it gets, Denise was equipped with 3 special underwater lights. These lights were movable by the crew inside, and could light up objects as far as 108 feet away (and at different angles). Denise's lights lit up a world filled with creatures that no man had ever seen before. Luckily, Denise's standard equipment included a radio and tape recorder and 2 cameras. The crew, however, were not limited to just observation. Denise had a sampling arm, which was a sort-of robotic extension of the vessel that could be operated by controls within. The operator could pick up objects as well as look at them. Because of Denise, more development was made of this technology, and today "Sea Fleas" (single-man diving devices) can dive to a depth 1640 feet.


In 1942, Cousteau began tinkering with what would be come a submarine camera. It started with a regular Kinamo 35mm camera in a watertight case. The first problem he encountered was light. Everything looks blue under the surface, and objects quickly fade into obscurity. So, in 1948 Cousteau began stringing powerful lights on long cords linked to the surface by an electric cable, and the first in-color film footage was shot. Cousteau and his team studied the behavior of light in the water. They noticed that reds were absorbed first, then yellows, then greens, then blues. The behavior of the light rays led them to develop an artificial light source that was capable of behaving according to the water, and as a result the colors captured on film were not only more accurate but were more vibrant and distinct. And since sea critters can move incredibly fast, he invented underwater scooters, which were basically lawnmowers with propellers, in order that a camera could follow them.

Believe it or not, in the early 1960's Jacques Cousteau also made a hefty contribution to NASA's space program, but he didn't do it in the air. He did it between 30 and 300 feet underwater with his Conshelf experiments numbers I, II, and III. In these successive experiments, steel cylinders were placed on the bottom of various sea floors and Cousteau's "oceanauts" were placed inside to see if man could live under the sea. These guinea pigs were given every luxury - TV, radio, library, and bed. In Conshelf I, at 30 feet down off the coast of Marsielle, two men successfully lived for one week. In the Conshelf II experiment, at 50 feet under the Red Sea, an entire village was placed inside and lived for a month. In Nice, France, the Conshelf III experiment housed 6 oceanauts at a depth of 328 feet for three weeks. While the experiments were a smashing success, they also proved that man had too many physical limitations and was just simply not meant to live in a world devoid of sunlight. It was the training that these oceanauts received prior to their Conshelf installation that NASA adopted and still uses today.

Visit http://www.cousteau.org/ to read all about Jacques Cousteau and his work, which has continued even after his death. If you go to the menu and click "Expeditions" you can see Calypso's "places she's been to" and read "the stories she tells".

"Calypso" - John Denver, 1975


Here are a couple of my own SCUBA videos.

"Hot Rod Lincoln" - Commander Cody & His Lost Planet Airmen, pop (1972)

My pappy said, "Son, you're gonna' drive me to drinkin'
If you don't stop drivin' that Hot Rod Lincoln."

Have you heard this story of the Hot Rod Race
When Fords and Lincolns was settin' the pace.
That story is true, I'm here to say
I was drivin' that Model A.

It's got a Lincoln motor and it's really souped up.
That Model A Vitimix makes it look like a pup.
It's got eight cylinders; uses them all.
It's got overdrive, just won't stall.

With a 4-barrel carb and a dual exhaust,
With 4.11 gears you can really get lost.
It's got safety tubes, but I ain't scared.
The brakes are good, tires fair.

Pulled out of San Pedro late one night
The moon and the stars was shinin' bright.
We was drivin' up Grapevine Hill
Passing cars like they was standing still.

All of a sudden in a wink of an eye
A Cadillac sedan passed us by.
I said, "Boys, that's a mark for me!"
By then the taillight was all you could see.

Now the fellas was ribbin' me for bein' behind,
So I thought I'd make the Lincoln unwind.
Took my foot off the gas and man alive,
I shoved it on down into overdrive.

Wound it up to a hundred-and-ten
My speedometer said that I hit top end.
My foot was blue, like lead to the floor.
That's all there is and there ain't no more.

Now the boys all thought I'd lost my sense
And telephone poles looked like a picket fence.
They said, "Slow down! I see spots!
The lines on the road just look like dots."

Took a corner; sideswiped a truck,
Crossed my fingers just for luck.
My fenders was clickin' the guardrail posts.
The guy beside me was white as a ghost.

Smoke was comin' from out of the back
When I started to gain on that Cadillac.
Knew I could catch him, I thought I could pass.
Don't you know by then we'd be low on gas?

We had flames comin' from out of the side.
Feel the tension. Man! What a ride!
I said, "Look out, boys, I've got a license to fly!"
And that Caddy pulled over and let us by.

Now all of a sudden she started to knockin',
And down in the dips she started to rockin'.
I looked in my mirror; a red light was blinkin'
The cops was after my Hot Rod Lincoln!

They arrested me and they put me in jail.
And called my pappy to throw my bail.
And he said, "Son, you're gonna' drive me to drinkin'
If you don't stop drivin' that Hot... Rod... Lincoln

We're long overdue for a good car song - not the kind of song that just happens to mention a car while singing about something else but an song that pays homage to actual, physical, honest-to-goodness American heavy metal. The song was written and first performed in 1955 by Charlie Ryan, and later Johnny Bond recorded the song with some minor changes to the vehicle's specifications. However, the most popular version, which is the closest to the Charlie Ryan recording, was released in 1972 by Commander Cody and His Lost Planet Airmen (and how all of that name fit onto a 45 rpm record label, we'll never know).

The hot rod race between coupe Fords and Lincolns mentioned at the beginning of the song is a section of southern California's "Ridge Route Highway", which winds over the San Gabriel and Tehachapi Mountains between Castaic Junction on the south. "Grapevine Grade" was a 6 1/2 mile section of Ridge Route Highway that was popular among young American motorists with a need for speed. While many people believe that this highway segment is named because of its many winding turns and switchbacks (resembling a giant grapevine), it was actually named Grapevine Grade because the early wagoners had to cut their way through thick patches of Cimarron grape vines. Even today, while travelling this famous stretch, off the road you will see patches of what appear to be ivy. These are actually Cimarron grape vines that date back to the 1800s. California was the birth place of the hot rod, thanks to the landscape of open country, dry lake beds, and to challenge the vehicle's handling...grades just like the Grapevine. And just like Santa, M&Ms, and The Grapevine, Hot Rod Lincolns do exist.

At the time the races on the Grapevine were popular, the Hot Rod Lincoln was a 1931 Ford Model A coupe over a cut-down Lincoln Zephyr chassis. This Ford had a 12-cylinder Lincoln engine and a 4.11 rear-axle ratio and overdrive. The popularity of hot rod Lincolns gained so much momentum that they even became the getaway vehicle of choice of bootleggers and gangsters. In fact, if it wasn't for the Lincolns, we might not enjoy extensive vehicle modification like we do today - they were the first hot rods; and while this 1931 Ford has plenty of its own specs, it certainly didn't come off the assembly line that way.

Even while the motor car was in its infancy, gear heads across the country were tinkering with their toys to achieve greater vehicle performance. "Hot rod" was a term that first appeared in the American language around the 1930's and early 1940's. While it's uncertain exactly where it came from, we do know that it specifically refers to the modification of an American car for the purpose of gaining linear speed. The term "hot rod" was the new, hip term to replace "gow job" and "soup-up". One theory behind the term "hot rod" is that it is a contraction of the words "hot roadster".

Traditionally, a "roadster" is defined as a vehicle that only seats two people and does not have a roof, side windows, or a rear windshield. The absence of these features made their bodies light, and because of this (and because of their cool and sporty look) roadsters were a prime target for tinkering with. The early Model A's, however (which is the vehicle specified in our song) had only a single seat for the driver. (Other theories behind "hot rod" include: the practice of leaving the exhaust pipes exposed, which of course are quite hot while the vehicle is running; or referring to the connecting rods, cams, push rods inside the engine, or exposed frame rails of the car).

To increase vehicle performance, mechanics would install larger tires in the rear than in the front, which raised the gear ratio for high speed. Leaving the standard size tires in the front lowered the vehicle to the ground and raked it forward, which decreased wind resistance and made the vehicle more aerodynamic. Mechanics would also cut louvers along the sides and into the hood to release trapped air and to help with engine cooling.

Ford was usually the chop vehicle of choice because their 85-hp engines were being mass produced by the millions. These engines were relatively inexpensive, and their configuration made it very easy to modify, not to mention that this same configuration provided the opportunity for an infinite number of enhancement. One of the earliest modifications to coax more speed out of these Fords was to remove the muffler and straighten out the pipes. Later, multiple carburetors were added on top of that, and the result was an engine that would zip these cars across open country and dry lake beds at speeds of more than 100 mph.

Eventually, the body work caught up with the hot rod engine. Body modifications helped the vehicle's overall handling and performance. A favorite technique was "top chopping", lowering, or channeling the entire frame of the vehicle to within inches of the ground. Seams were frenched (smoothed and filled in) and skirts (smoothed out fenders put over the rear wheel openings). It was also popular to install lakes (exhaust that sticks out the side instead of the back). Of course the car had to look good, so chrome was in abundance as were elaborate paint jobs. However, as the cars got better, the parts got more expensive and junkyard parts just couldn't deliver what the mechanics were looking for.

Eventually, Detroit entered the hot rodding arena and began to manufacture normal cars with get-up-and-go --muscle cars. While these cars had more than one seat, a roof, and all of the windows, they were made with huge displacement engines such as the Chevy 396, 409, and 427. Chrysler came out with the 440 and later the 426 hemi, which was racing-engineered (with hemispherical combustion chambers). Of course, the fuel crisis of the 1970s brought an end to the era of the whomping v8 performance engine, which put hot rodding on haitus for almost 20 years. Muscle cars and hot rods rarely saw the light of day except to make an appearance at a special day at the races, a car show, or the slow Sunday drive down Main Street. Hot rodding dwindled and became the hobby of those who could afford it - the parts to build it and the gas to drive it. However, in the 1990's, once again California revived hot rodding among youth. Young Latinos from California's Chicano culture found an interest in the modification of vehicles from the 1960s, particularly Chevy Impalas. Thus, the lowrider was born, and although these vehicles aren't designed around increasing linear speed, the spirit of their design and modification remains true to the character of the hot rod.

Figure out what famous hot rods are pictured? They are (from top to bottom)
1.) Munster Koach, three Ford Model T bodies and a 289 Ford Cobra engine (from the TV series The Munsters)
2.) Milner's Coupe, a 1932 Ford Deuce Coupe (from the movie American Graffiti)
3.) Drag-U-La, a 1964 real coffin (molded from) with a Ford Mustang engine (also from The Munsters)
4.) The original Batmobile, a 1955 Lincoln Futura (from the original TV series Batman starring Adam West and Burt Ward)
5.) ZZ Top's Eliminator, a 1933 Ford Coup
6.) Greased Lightning, an imaginary 1948 Ford (from the movie Grease)



"Hot Rod Lincoln" - Commander Cody and His Lost Planet Airmen, 1972



~information gathered and modified from places like:
http://www.californiahistorian.com/articles/ridge-route.html
http://auto.howstuffworks.com/hot-rod.htm
http://www.hotrod.com/
http://ezinearticles.com/?The-History-Of-Hot-Rodding-Power-and-Performance&id=572727

"Whiskey In The Jar" - Metallica version, 1998 (heavy metal)

As I was goin' over the Cork and Kerry Mountains
I saw Captain Farrell and his money, he was countin'
I first produced my pistol and then produced my rapier
I said, "Stand and deliver or the devil he may take ya"

I took all of his money and it was a pretty penny
I took all of his money, yeah, and I brought it home to Molly
She swore that she loved me, no, never would she leave me
But the devil take that woman, yeah, for you know she tricked me easy

M'uishe rinne me me don amada,**
Whack fol the daddy O,
Whack fol the daddy O,
There's whiskey in the jar.

Being drunk and weary I went to Molly's chamber
Takin' Molly with me but I never knew the danger
For about six or maybe seven, yeah, in walked Captain Farrell
I jumped up, fired my pistols and I shot him with both barrels

M'uishe rinne me me don amada,
Whack fol the daddy O,
Whack fol the daddy O,
There's whiskey in the jar.

Now some men like a fishin' but some men like the fowlin'
Some men like to hear, to hear the cannonball roarin'
But me, I like sleepin', 'specially in my Molly's chamber
But here I am in prison, here I am with a ball and chain, yeah

M'uishe rinne me me don amada

Whack fol the daddy O,
Whack fol the daddy O,
There's whiskey in the jar.

**Please note that four years of German has not improved my Gaelic any, and if this part was completely butchered, I do apologize. Nobody is for sure if this is just what the Irish call "lilting" (American's call it 'scat singing') or if it's misspoken Gaelic (as in...drunken, slurred). If those are the correct words, then it's possible that it means "Whiskey has made a fool of me"...or something like that. "Whack fol the daddy, O" sounds like drunken Gaelic for "The work of the devil", which also makes some sense.

Usually I try to use the original recorded artists when making these posts, but for this song I just HAD to use the 1998 Metallica version. First, there wasn't a whole lot of great "something to say" music that came out of the late '90s, and secondly, up until recently there wasn't a great deal of fusion of actual, tradional folk songs and rock-n-roll (especially heavy metal) as there is now.

Although the original song predates modern recording methods by a couple hundred years, the recording of this song is usually credited to The Dubliners who recorded it in the 1960's and gave it more exposure than any other group. However, it wasn't until 1998 that Metallica's cover of Thin Lizzy's 1972 cover brought the song to a huge music audience, blasting the song to #4 on Billboard's Mainstream Rock Tracks chart. Finally, the best reason to use the Metallica cover as the representative of this song is because we naturally expect nationals to cover songs of their homeland, and such is the case of The Dubliners and Thin Lizzy; yet, we never expect foreigners to cover their folk songs. Metallica pulled it off, and they did it extremely well. The song contains the subject matter that is the entire basis of rock-n-roll music - "Stick it to the man", which is perhaps why our American "metallurgists" shot this song higher on the charts than anyone else ever had.

This is a traditional Irish folk song (of course it is). Many of the song's lines bear a strong resemblance to a traditional ballad concerning the execution of Patrick Fleming in 1650. Regardless of when it first made its appearance, "Whiskey In The Jar" is the classic hero-is-the-villain story. You see, Patrick Fleming was a highwayman. Highwaymen were robbers who travelled on horseback, as opposed to those who travelled on foot. They were also socially superior to any other robbers, so much so that in fact they were often referred to as "knights of the road" or "gentlemen of the road". They were romanticized and became the stuff that legends are made of...just like Robin Hood.

Highwaymen were heroes that transcended the boundaries of societal class. They were secretly applauded by the poor as well as the rich who opposed the ruling royalty. Highwaymen first made their appearance during the Elizabethan period and lasted well into the 19th centuries. Their "rob from the rich" philosophy caught on very quickly and spread to other countries as well. In America, they were called "road agents". In Australia, they were called "bushrangers". You'll notice that these two countries have one thing in particular in common - they were both colonized by the British, but the practice of road robbing didn't spread merely because of colonial efforts.

In colonial America, this song and others like it became extremely popular because highwaymen had become more than just muggers. They represented a stealth rebellion to all things imperial. They were the raspberry seeds in the wisdom teeth of British aristocracy and the British Empire. Under imperial rule, one's criticism of government or talk of revolution often met with harsh punishment and was mainly spoken in hushed undertones and in cautious familiar circles. There were many royal subjects who were highly dissatisfied with the government but who feared repercussions if any change was attempted or even discussed. In this way, the government leaders would control many would-be revolutionaries simply with fear.

Highwaymen were fearless. They stood toe to toe and eye to eye with their victims and directly engaged them. These men were highly confrontational and were not afraid to fight for what they wanted. Their offensive posture and demanding demeanor was often enough to intimidate the victim, who was probably not used to being treated in such a manner, let alone spoken to with such force that obviously accompanied any threatening movements of the robber. "Stand and deliver!" became the first "franchised" demand, beginning somewhere around 1677. Later, somewhere in the 18th century "Your money or your life!" also became a famous line that announced a hold-up.

Highwaymen became symbols of bravery, courage, and strength. It was their practice to lay in wait for their victims at the most dangerous stretches of road. If the road was dangerous for one traveller it was dangerous for all, but these men demonstrated that the payoff and success would be much greater if one took a calculated risk instead of playing it safe. This tactic alone gave them a high success rate. Successful pursuit and capture was highly improbable often due to the status and location of that part of the road and the environment around it. In fact, the strategies of the highwaymen were the very same strategies that the American colonies adopted to fight off unwanted intruders...including the British during the American Revolution. "Militia" as they were called were small groups of average civilians who banded together to defend their towns and homes. While the militia men weren't very good at standing up to regular forces, they were particularly good at hiding in the landscape and ambushing the British supply lines and small detachments of enemy troops moving from one place to another.

The occupation of highwayman began to fizzle out during the 19th century with the beginnings of mounted police patrols. Where the highwaymen had once relied on the speed and agility over various terrain thanks to their horses, police on horseback, unencumbered by bulky coaches or pedally impassable terrain, could now freely pursue the highwaymen after their attack with the same speed and agility. The possibility of a clean getaway became extremely remote, and in the end the practice was futile ( not to mention the impending punishment was death by hanging...for treason).

Check out this really cool "highwayman" hobby site: http://www.stand-and-deliver.org.uk/



"Whiskey In the Jar" - Metallica, 1998 (heavy metal)

~This information wasn't "hijacked"...I simply remembered what I learned in 7th grade history and 12th grade AP European History...and I borrowed a little from these folks:
http://www.ushistory.org/people/minutemen.htm
http://www.historyisfun.org/militia-in-the-Revolutionary-war.htm
http://www.contemplator.com/history/highwaymn.html

"La Bamba" - Ritchie Valens, 1958 (rock)

Para bailar la bamba,
Para bailar la bamba,Se necesita una poca de gracia.
Una poca de gracia para mi para ti.
Arriba y arriba
Y arriba y arriba, por ti sere,
Por ti sere.
Por ti sere.
Yo no soy marinero.
Yo no soy marinero, soy capitan.
Soy capitan.
Soy capitan.

Bam-ba-bamba,
Bam-ba-bamba,
Bam-ba-bamba,

Para bailar la bamba,
Para bailar la bamba,
Se necesita una poca de gracia.
Una poca de gracia para mi para ti.
Arriba, arriba.

Is there anyone who doesn't know the words (or at least what sound like the words) to this one, even if they don't speak Spanish? Thanks to Ritchie Valens' most famous rendition, this 300 year old folk song from Veracruz, Mexico lives on, even though the tradition behind the song is mostly lost.

In English...

In order to dance the Bamba
In order to dance the Bamba
A little humor is needed
A little grace for me and for you
Faster and faster
Faster and faster
I'll be for you
I'll be for you
I'm not a sailor
I'm not a sailor
I'm captain
I'm captain
I'm captain

It doesn't quite have the same amount of "cool" as it does in Spanish. That's because the lyrics just don't quite translate into English. Like most folk songs, La Bamba came about while commemmorating a specific event, but unlike the tunes we are used to, this one's lyrics have very little to say about the actual event. Surprisingly, the song doesn't tell you how to do the dance, either.

Veracruz was becoming quite wealthy with gold and silver, much of which was being stockpiled, awaiting ocean transport back to Spain. In 1599, because of frequent flooding, the port of Veracruz was moved to the island of San Juan de Ulua. There a fort was built to protect the state from maritime assault on their riches. San Juan de Ulua was nearly impregnable. In fact, in 200 years, there was only successfully assaulted once.

While the fort was safe, the village of 5,000 people was not. On a night in May of 1683, Lorenz de Graaf, who was a Dutch pirate who was locally known as Lorencillo, stole into the village and did exactly what pirates do. He and his men rounded up all of the villagers and locked them all in the village church while he and his men ransacked, burned, and pillaged the town, doing whatever it was they felt like doing. This lasted three days. It was especially hot this time of year, and rather than wait out the onslaught, the some of the villagers climbed to the top of the church's bell tower and leapt to their deaths to escape the heat, confinement, and lack of food and water. When the rampage was over, the pirates took 30 of the villages prettiest girls to Isla de los Sacrificios before returning to ther lair in Laguna de Terminos. The girls were left there for another five days without food and water before help arrived to rescue them.

After that, the villagers of Veracruz and others up and down the Spanish Colonial Empire in the Caribbean lived in fear of further pirate attack. Lorencillo had left the villagers trembling at their own defenselessness and at the possibility of repeat performances from marauding privateers. Most people threatened to leave the colonies and go back to Spain, so the King spent a fortune to wall up the city for their protection. While they had their wall to hide in, there wasn't much of an army or navy to defend it. Consequently, many young men and slaves were conscripted into military service. This makeshift military set up a defense system of bells, alarms, and maueuver drills. In these drills, civilian participation was mandatory. The only problem in all of this was that while it was so elaborate and intricate, it was a response to a single event that had already happened. This kind of invasion had only happened once, and it wasn't likely to happen again. So, essentially they were attempting to prevent something that already happened. The word "Bamba" comes from the Spanish word "Bambarria", which means "to try and prevent something after it has already happened."

Thus, the song was born as a poke in the ribs of the local officials who had become quite pompous in their efforts. The tune caught on and spread among the locals, too, and *poof* instant folk song! The "Arriba, arriba!" part of the song is supposed to suggest the furor of the governmental efforts. The phrase means, "Faster, faster!" which was the attitude of the officials for many years after - build and train faster and faster, hurry up before the pirates strike again! After a few years, however, the people grew weary of the increased drilling (that they still had to participate in) and the vigor of more building, and we have the somewhat suddenly banal repetition of the word, "Bamba" at the end of the chorus, as if to shake one's head and say, "Yeah, yeah, yeah..." As it turns out, the villagers were correct. Veracruz never did experience another pirate attack, and in fact, just 100 years after the Lorencillo incident, Veracruz was instead occupied by foriegn military troops.

It's kind of a shame, but this song's tradition and story have been lost over the years. Traditionally, it was a song that was performed at weddings. The bride and groom would start by slowly stepping in unison. The song would get faster and faster, and their feet would appear to be making the movements of tying a ribbon together. This dance, however, has not been performed traditionally for many years, though, and the history of it is really only preserved in the dances of folk dancers.

Along with this wedding tradition, many of the original lyrics and verses have been lost as well. We know the first verse, which begins "Para bailar la bamba...". Although it doesn't come right out and say it, is a jibe at the pompous officials. Here are the other missing verses:

The second verse is about the people being locked up in the church. The climb to the bell tower (to throw one's self off the roof) required a long climb up a long ladder, and then a shorter climb to the top of the roof.

Para subir al cielo(to go up to heaven)
Para subir al cielo
Se necesita (you need)
Una escalera grande (a big ladder)
Una escalera grande
Y otra chiquita (and another small one)
Ay arriba y arriba (and up and up)
Y arriba y arriba,
Arriba iré (I will go)
We also know the third verse, which begins "Yo no soy marinero". This verse is about the youth and slaves being against the military draft. "Marinero" means "sailor", and nobody in their right mind wanted to be a sailor during the golden age of piracy. Pirates may not have come into fortified ports to do their dirty work, but seagoing vessels were always fair game and almost always taken advantage of. So, no one wanted to be forced into the navy (pirates didn't take prisoners...hint, hint). The recruits would have rather been captains in the army...on land where it was safe. This verse is also repeated in the song, although it has a slight twist at the end, and the words, "Soy Capitan" are replaced with "Pero por tí seré", which means "But for you I will be (one)". These lyrics are possibly to indicate a show of force by the recruitment officer, and the draftee reluctantly resigns himself to service in the navy.

Finally, the last verse of the song follows the repetitive singing of "Bamba", and also reflects how the drilling and attack preparations had gotten old, and the public felt ready to move on:


Ay te pido, te pido! (Oh, I ask, Oh, I ask)
¡Ay te pido, te pido por compasión(Oh, I ask, Oh, I ask out of compassion)
que se acabe la bamba! (that the bamba be finished)
¡Que se acabe la bamba y venga otro son! (that the bamba be finished and start another song)
Y arriba y arriba, (and hurrah and hurrah)¡Ay! arriba y arriba y arriba iré, (and hurrah and hurrah, and up I will go)
After the alternate occupations of French and US troops in Mexico, during the 1800s this song was reborn and the people of Veracruz began to serenade the foreigners with a new version of it. Not speaking any Spanish, these troops thought it sounded like a quaint little folk song. As the tune was catchyby foreigners, the joke was on them as they walked around singing it - this time, the song's lyrics protested the occupation of Mexico by these foreign invaders.

Here's the song the way it would sound originally, played as a folk tune.


"La Bamba" (Gipsy Kings)


"La Bamba" - Ritchie Valens, 1958 (original Valens version)

And here's a bit of a rattlesnake...the version you might be more familiar with. It's the Los Lobos version that was used in the movie, La Bamba. It's a just a little faster with a little less "Mexico" and a lot more "rock".

"La Bamba" - Los Lobos, from the 1987 movie "La Bamba",starring Lou Diamond Phillips as Ritchie Valens.

And now, let's clear up a couple misconceptions about the movie:

1.) NO - that is NOT Lou Diamond Phillips singing "La Bamba" or any of the other songs in the movie. The singing voice you hear is that of David Hidalgo, guitarist for Mexican-American rock band Los Lobos. Los Lobos performed all of Ritchie's music for the movie, including "Donna".

2.) NO - that is NOT Lou Diamond Phillips playing the guitar in the song. The lead guitar parts there are being played by a woman, Carol Kaye, who is a famous studio recording session musician from the Los Angeles area, who also played for Phil Specter's studio band, The Wrecking Crew.

~Information found from 'cruz-ing the internet and finding ports of call like this:
http://www.johntoddjr.com/143%20Bamba/bamba.htm
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0093378/
http://www.spanish-translation-help.com/la-bamba-translation.html

"Immigrant Song" - Led Zeppelin, rock (1970)

We come from the land of the ice and snow,
from the midnight sun where the hot springs blow.

The hammer of the gods
Will drive our ships to new lands,
To fight the horde, singing and crying:
Valhalla, I am coming!
On we sweep with threshing oar,
Our only goal will be the western shore.

We come from the land of the ice and snow,
from the midnight sun where the hot springs blow.

How soft your fields so green,
Can whisper tales of gore,
Of how we calmed the tides of war.
We are your overlords.
On we sweep with threshing oar,
Our only goal will be the western shore.
So now you'd better stop and rebuild all your ruins,
For peace and trust can win the day
Despite of all your losing.

I come from the land of the ice and snow to tell you all about how Led Zeppelin adds their two cents worth to the annals of history, beginning with Robert Plant famously wailing what sounds awfully familiar as the song "Bali Ha'i" from the Rogers & Hammerstein musical "South Pacific", but don't get too cozy just yet. While that opening hook may have you hooked on Tahiti, the rest of the song has nothing to do with any island paradise and everything in common with Ohio (where I live) in January...ice, cold, snow, and brrrrr!

"Immigrant Song" wasn't actually written around any particular historic event, really. It was inspired by a concert tour of Led Zeppelin's that kicked off in Reykjavik, Iceland. Long story short, the Icelandic government was on a bit of a cultural diversity kick. Zeppelin wasn't very well received by the working class, and the event was almost cancelled, but the local university made a way for them to play and Zep was blown away by remarkable response they received from the kids. Six days after that memorable concert, the song was written, inspired by that trip to Iceland. It is this inspiration that concerns us today.

Robert Plant wrote the song to reflect the travelling perspective of the Vikings. The song was dedicated to Icelander, Leif Ericson aka "Leif the Lucky". If you're not quite sure who Leif is, well, he's the reason Americans celebrate Columbus Day...er...at least he should be. After all, he was here 500 years before Columbus (who wasn't even here at all, but...).

Leif Ericson was a Norse explorer, and he was is officially the first European to set foot on North American soil. His father, well-known explorer (and sometimes outlaw) Erik the Red, had already begun to colonize Greenland. Following in his father's footsteps, Leif the Lucky set out in search of new and exciting places. According to Icelandic history, there are two stories surrounding his visit to the North American mainland. In 1000 AD, he visited Norway, where it is believed that he was converted to Christianity by King Olaf I. Olaf then sent Leif back home to Iceland to convert his fellow countrymen. On the way back, he accidentally sailed off course and eventually arrived at lush and fertile land which overflowed with an abundance of grapes. In the other story, the "Groenlendinga saga", it is believed that Leif heard about a rich western land from a passing trader and set out in search of it.

Regardless of which tell is true, the fact remains that Leif came to 'Vinland' (that's what he called it). He named it so because no matter which story one chooses to believe, when Leif got here, he found a rich and fertile land.

Because of Greenland's northerly location, we know for certain that in 998 AD he landed in Canada. More precisely, he visited Baffin Island, which he called "Helluland"; the Labrador Coast, which he called "Markland" (because of the trees he saw there); and Newfoundland, which is believed to be the area officially dubbed "Vinland", where he found wild grapes in abundance that just happened to make some highly palatable wine. He and his men even built a small colony and spent the winter in this new place.

While his Canadian detours are well respected, very little is known about his other ventures, including some ambiguity as to whether or not he actually did come to the area we now know as the United States. Nevertheless, in 1963, archaeologists discovered the remnants of ancient Viking settlements all up and down the US's eastern seaboard, which pre-date any other signs of European civilization. In fact, even though we cannot be certain what happened to the many Viking civilizations that occurred throughout eastern North America, there is much evidence of Viking influence as far inland as modern-day Minnesota, where pieces of wooden ships have been discovered; these ships follow the same building schematic as those of the Norse sailors and explorers.

The only other evidence of his mainland trek is the existence of a map. "The Vinland Map" dates circa 1300 AD and comes to us via Papal emissary to the Tartars. This map not only clearly outlines Vinland to include mainland USA, but it also has Leif's name on it. It might seem unreasonable that a map of Norse travels should surface in the Far East, but remember that at this point in time, the whole world was at Man's fingertips, and very little of it was known to any civilization. Thus, it was not uncommon for westerners to move east to explore the nether regions there, especially in the name of discovery. In doing so, there was much exchange of information and discovery (both willingly and by force). You can view this map HERE. Modern cartographers have carbon dated this striking piece of evidence and believe it to be the very first map ever drawn of the North American Continent, and it is quite accurate.

To commemorate the overwhelming evidence supporting the large Viking contribution in discovering these new lands that would eventually become the United States and Canads, in 2001, President George W. Bush formally declared that October 9 be officially designated a national holiday: Leif Ericsson Day.

"Immigrant Song" - Led Zeppelin, 1970

~information imported from places like:
http://www.bbc.co.uk/history/historic_figures/erikson_leif.shtml
http://www.whitehouse.gov/news/releases/2001/10/20011009-10.html

The Wreck of the Old 97, 1924 (country)

Well, they gave him his orders at Monroe, Virginia
said, "Steve you're way behind time.
This is not 38 this is old Ninety-Seven,
so put her into Spencer on time."

Then he turned and said to his black, greasy fireman
"Shovel on a little more coal
and when we cross that White Oak Mountain,
watch old Ninety-Seven roll"

And then the telegram came from Washington station
and this is how it read:
"Oh that brave engineer that ran old Ninety-Seven
is lying in old Danville dead"

'Cause he was going down the grade makin' ninety miles an hour
when the whistle broke into a scream
He was found in the wreck, with his hand on the throttle,
scalded to death by the steam

Now all you ladies you better take warnin'
from this time on and learn
Never speak harsh words to a true lovin' husband
he may leave you and never return

This is a cowboy song if I ever heard one. Better yet, it's a train song, and who doesn't love train songs?! It was originally recorded by G.B. Grayson & Henry Whittier in 1924, yet this ballad is revered by nearly every country music fan that has lived since then. It's easier to count the country music stars who haven't covered this song than it is to count the ones who have. It's a song about a train wreck, pure and simple. Better than that, though, it's not just a song about a train wreck, it's about a train wreck that actually happened in 1903.

"Steve" who is "way behind time" is engineer Joseph A. ("Steve") Broadey, who boarded the train at Washington with two other crewmen, destined for Monroe, Virginia where The Old 97 was to pick up the Fast Mail and put it in to Spencer, 166 miles away. There were only two things that stood in Steve's way: 1.) The Old 97 had a reputation for never being late; and 2.) that day, The Old 97 was already an hour behind schedule.

The terrain from Monroe to Spencer was a rolling terrain riddled with dangerous grades and tight curves. There were many signs posted for engineers to watch their speed. However, to uphold The Old 97s reputation in punctuality, Steve accellerate on the down grades so as not to lose speed on the way up the other side. This worked until he reached the 75-foot high Stillhouse Tressle bridge, which spanned Cherrystone Creek. The Stillhouse Tressle was a curved bridge, and sadly, Steve discovered he did not have enough air pressure to slow the train for the up coming curve. Nonetheless, he did what he could and reversed the engine to lock the wheels of the locomotive. The flange of the engine wheel broke, projected over the rails, and struck the underlying railroad ties. As a result, The Old 97 jumped the track and the entire train vaulted off the track, plunging into the ravine below. Steve's mistake cost the lives of 9 people, including his own.

The Southern Railway disavows all information that says that Steve was ordered to go faster to make up time. Eyewitnesses to the event estimate the train's speed to have been near 50 mph when the turn was attempted. The standard engine operating speed in this diffucult area was only 39 mph. However, the railway estimates his speed at closer to 70 mph. Fellow engineers partially blame the lucrative contract that was between the railway and the U.S. Postal Service, as a penalty clause caused the railway a monetary penalty for every minute the train was late. This put great pressure on mail engineers.

"The Wreck of the Old 97" (The Seekers)

(compiled from various sources)