Brothers Abraham, Martin & John + Neil Young's Song "My Pledge" #MLKDay
Frame from Neil Young's video for "My Pledge" - Director: David Braun
It's Martin Luther King, Jr. Day, so we thought this might make an appropriate posting for the day.
In 2016, Neil Young released the album Peace Trail with a song titled "My Pledge", which contains some enigmatic lyrics. These lyrics refer to a song by Dion from 1968 titled "Abraham, Martin and John".
In the song "My Pledge", Neil sings about the alienating side effects of modernization, including cell phones and the monetization of Jimi Hendrix's music. The song also references Abraham Lincoln, Martin Luther King Jr and John Kennedy.
"Dressed in white like a nightingale
Her name was Florence, Florence of the land
I knew I'd seen her somewhere
But she was busy with him gone
She came with three different brothers
Abraham, Martin & John
I heard a song about that once
And I never knew what it meant"
The above lyrics are followed by another line about 3 rock stars who died in a plane crash. The lyrics -- of course -- refer to Buddy Holly, Big Bopper, and Ritchie Valens -- The Father, Son and Holy Ghost or The American Pie.
Back to Abraham, Martin & John.
"Abraham, Martin and John" is a 1968 song written by Dick Holler and first recorded by "Dion" DiMucci. It is a tribute to the memory of four assassinated Americans, all icons of social change, namely Abraham Lincoln, Martin Luther King, Jr., John F. Kennedy and Robert F. Kennedy. It was written in response to the assassinations of King and the younger Kennedy in April and June 1968.
The struggle continues and the dream never dies. "But I do see what I see, And I want to do my duty." #WT1sWBWO "That's my pledge, judge."
Dion - "Abraham, Martin and John" - 45 RPM Single Picture Sleeve, 1968
Dion sing “Abraham, Martin and John” on The Smothers Brothers Comedy Hour in 1968
“Has anybody here, seen my old friend Abraham?
Can you tell me where he’s gone?
He freed a lot of people, but it seems the good, they die young
You know I just looked around and he’s gone.”
“Didn’t you love the things that they stood for?
Didn’t they try to find some good for you and me?
And we’ll be free
Some day soon, it’s gonna be one day.”
The Best Of Dion
℗ 1994 Capitol Records LLC
"Abraham, Martin & John" by Ray Charles
"Abraham, Martin & John" by Moms Mabley
Neil Young - Peace Trail
More on Meta Reviews: Neil Young's "Peace Trail".
Labels: @NeilYoungNYA, #MLKDay, dion, lyrics, neil young
by thrasher@PermaLink: 1/18/2021 07:26:00 AM
4 comments
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4 Comments:
To my ears, Peace Trail is far and away the best Neil album since Psychedelic Pill, and it's not even that close.
My Pledge is definitely one of the better tunes on that record.
right. Like much of Neil's post '70's work, a lot of it is under-rated.
That has always been baffling how many critics and fans never really moved on from 70's or forgave him for "weak" '80's output.
But if you listen closely, Neil was putting out a lot of solid songs and albums, like Peace Trail and My Pledge.
it's always kind of a minor joy to pull out some of these underrated albums and go, hey, this is really good.
The other day listening to Big Time off of Broken Arrow. wow. so good.
anyway, stay on that peace trail our friend and don't get lost on that human highway since there is no hidden path when there's a fork in the road.
I've never understood the hate by some for the Broken Arrow album. It's not Ragged Glory, but it was still pretty good. The first 3 songs are epic Crazy Horse tunes that I listen to quite regularly.
Broken Arrow is one my favorite Crazy Horse albums. I wish I could afford a copy on vinyl, but they’re going for big money on EBay. Perhaps Neil will get around to rereleasing it someday. 🤞
Peace 🙏
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