Step into my time machine Memorial Day special

I came up with the idea for a Memorial Day special as a special countdown within the regular Time Machine for this week, but as this grew into a life of its own it became obvious to me that for a variety of reasons- not least of which being the debt we owe those whose ultimate sacrifice we honor (or should be) this weekend- this needed to be a stand alone.  So, with a disclaimer that I know that others of you might have other fitting songs that you'd have put here- and if you want to, I'd be delighted if you'd post some of them in the comments- here are the songs that came to me for the occasion.

10. Living In America- James Brown.  Perhaps the furthest off-track of the group, but rmember how good you felt about America when Apollo Creed came out in his star-spangled shorts and all the hoopla- and how far the fall when Clubber Lang laid him low for the last time.  And the line: "You might not be looking for paradise/ but you might find it anyway/ under one of those old familiar names: New Orleans! Detroit City! Dallas! Pittsburgh PA! New York City! Kansas City! Atlanta! Chicago and L.A.!"

9. The Ballad of Davy Crockett- Bill Hayes.  Adventurer. Lawmaker. Explorer. And ultimately, died for freedom's sake.  What more can you ask?

8. A Long Road (Theme From First Blood)- Dan Hill.  I love that movie, probably Stallone's best, but the moment that makes the whole experience for me- "There's a real war / right outside your front door, I tell you..."

7. The Night They Drove Old Dixie Down- Joan Baez.  The simplest truth of war- "You can't raise a Cain back up when it's in the feed..."

6. Billy Don't Be A Hero- Bo Donaldson and The Heywoods.  His hand went up first. 'Nuff said.

5. God Bless The USA- Lee Greenwood.  The night Desert Storm started, I was at Wrigley Field Bar and Grill.  The News came over the loudspeaker, the dj played this song, and an entire room of Americans stood ON their chairs and sang along.  Many were crying, and I'm ready to thinking about it.

4. Born In The USA- Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band. "I had a buddy at Khe Sahn/ fighting off the Viet Cong/ they're still there/ he's all gone..."

Now here's where the countdown takes a bit of a typical TM turn...

3. The Little Barefoot Boy- Bobby Vinton.  You might not remember this song- it was the flip side of I Love How You Love Me- But it might capture the spirit better than any of the others so far.  Have a listen!

2. The Ballad Of The Green Berets- SSgt Barry Sadler.  The ultimate Memorial Day song.  So naturally I have it in the runner up slot.  And mainly because I wanted to put another song you might not know- and a video- in the top spot.


And #1 on my Memorial Day list...





1. Johnny Come Lately- Steve Earle.  The saddest part of this day, to me.  Once we were a nation proud of ourselves and of our fighting men.  Then a bunch of bleeding heart, maggot-infessted hippies and their leftist mentors in universities around the nation turned us into something else.  Something that would cause a vet to sing this song.  To all of those leftist pinkos in the media, on the protest lines, in the lecture halls, I have one wish for you this day:

And for everyone else, have a happy and safe weekend.  Time Machine's regular episode comes next!