Power to the People

I'm resurrecting an golden oldie for song of the day today. These tough economic times have hit us hard, with my business folding quietly under its own weight (read: my expenses slightly exceeded my income more times than not and I saw this depression coming) and my husband on the short list awaiting layoffs if things don't turn around, like, yesterday.

We have become a nation of whiners, softies and navel-gazing infants compared to the elders who saw the previous Dust Bowl and great depression. Whether we can adapt is a matter of will and of tapping into some dormant pioneer and tribal DNA which found hard times the norm and survived handily. This song from the raucous sixties was labelled a Black Power mantra, but in truth it also is a strong reminder that We The People are the backbone of this country and not the mega-corporations, advertising megaplex and government wankers.

In Power to the People, jazzman Joe Henderson improvises and carves out a Celtic-knot-like wreath of affirmation of the power of one man, one woman, one citizen who is not and will never be a "consumer". Unfortunately I can't find the Henderson version up on YouTube. So here's Mike Gravel, which is just silly as a substitute for Joe, but kind of neat.

The power of the person is much less about brute force than it is about elasticity, flexibility and the ability to reform difficult circumstances on the run, to improv a better world.

Power to the people. Right on.


a sample of Henderson...