Don’t like to mention my dreams too often here but I woke up this morning from one where I had just put on an album on an old record player and the first song was Frank Sinatra singing the Aretha Franklin classic Chain of Fools, a song I am pretty sure Sinatra never covered. He did a pretty good job with it in my dream.
I didn’t have to think too much about where this dream originated. Watching the craziness that goes along with this completely dysfunctional White House and everything that is related to it, especially the ongoing Russian investigation, is mind-boggling. The ineptitude, greediness and sheer ignorance that reveals itself on a daily basis is totally nuts, especially yesterday’s manic meltdown on national television by Sam Nunberg, a former aide to the person some folks still consider to be the president of these United States.
You can see it all beginning to crumble and fall apart before your eyes. It’s like sitting in a huge stadium where the entire field is filled with standing dominoes. As you watch nothing seems to be happening for the longest time. Nothing is moving. Then at the edge you notice a tiny shift and suddenly dominoes are falling in what seems to be large chunks in every direction.
As all of this is happening, the obnoxious stadium announcer is yelling over and over, “Fake News!”
And in the blink of an eye, it is over.
I have a feeling that is what we are watching at the moment. The tiny shift at the edge of the pattern has taken place.
The dominoes are tumbling.
So, first thing this morning, I get into the studio and find a version of Aretha’s Chain of Fools with the lyrics shown. As it plays, I am struck how the words of the song could apply to the people who thought this was a good idea in the first place, those folks who voted to turn this country into the world’s largest dumpster fire. Fools backing a fool and a liar.
The chain of fools- and I think I am being kind to say that they are just fools- has been broken.
Couldn’t find a Sinatra version so give a listen to Aretha and pay attention to the lyrics.
You cannot beat Aretha when she’s belting out a song 🙂 And, yes, I do hope the chain is being stretched and broken, bit by bit…one can only hope for the future and a return to some decency and truth. The mendacity in the air is getting thicker than coal dust here in Kentucky.
Yes, Aretha is so good that it’s easy to take her for granted. And, double-yes to the idea that we break this crazy chain that is wrapping itself around all.