Asymmetric Music

Very ungroovy

My favorite columnist, Mark Steyn, mentioned "Brother, Can You Spare a Dime" in his National Review column, which I've posted below. Steyn contrasts the lyrics of the song with the modern British attitude towards work. What the singer of "Brother" wants is the ability to work again, the "restoration of dignity," while the modern British dole-takers wish to avoid work.

The song was written at a time when calling somebody 'non-productive" would produce shame within the target. Today, for many societies, producing is optional, if not a bad thing altogether. Why should people produce in the first place? Isn't production a source of pollution?

People have always had a sense of societal obligations between ruler and ruled, classes, Church and state. These change over time. Brits may have, at one time, cared about the glory of the empire or spreading their beliefs around the world. The able-bodied were expected to help both themselves and society, regardless of their situation. In a way, society has become more individualistic.

At the same time, it seems understood now that society doesn't expect people to be able to take care of themselves- to pay for their own health care, say. Society operates as a whole, with those functioning parts compensating for the economically non-valuable. In a way, more social.

I won't get into the effects of such decisions- on to the music.

"Brother" is a wonderful combination of good music and poignant lyrics (also below). The song touches on the theme of "fair-weather" friends, the accounting of good works, and the interesting economic idea that people will just run out of things to do after building a certain amount of them. It's the opposite of planned obsolescence.

There are many versions of the song. Certainly the best singer whose sung "Brother" is Bing Crosby. He's the podcast.

I always find it interesting when events collide. Mary Travers, the original "hippie chick" and part of the Peter, Paul, and Mary trio; died this week. P,P, and M were a fantastic group that symbolized a certain aspect of their era. The irony of Mary singing this particular song is that policies like the ones she supported her whole adult life inevitably lead to the most brothers asking for the most dimes with the least social approbation.

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