John Henry said, "That ain't no storm, captain. That's just my hammer in the air, Lord, Lord."

[rolanni]

...from which you may deduce that I've been listening to Springsteen's Seeger album.

More and various office stuff accomplished, and other chores according to their needs. kinzel brought home my birthday present -- a gorgeously framed Narbonic strip, surrounded by gerbils. 's beautiful. Now all I need to do is to find a place to hang it.

I remember learning John Henry in elementary school, and weeping with frustration because the music teacher, poor soul, "wouldn't" tell me WHY John Henry had decided to race the steam hammer, knowing that the contest would kill him. She kept saying, "It's just a song, honey," but I knew she was holding out on me, because even I could tell it was a story, and I knew even then that stories tell you WHY.

Adults put up with a lot.

The story, it grows in bits and patches, non-linear. I'm used to that sort of thing when I'm writing a novel, but don't really expect it in a short story. On the other hand, who am I to argue with a system that seems to be working?

Progress on
"There's a Star in the East on Christmas Morn"

3,636 / 10,000 (36.4%)

Comments

John Henry

[jack_calls_dances]

You might be interested in this page (and sound file). It's from the NPR series Present at the Creation, which they're replaying as a podcast this year. It gives some good background on the story behind the song John Henry.

Re: John Henry

[rolanni.livejournal.com]

Ooh! Thank you!