March 29, 2012

"An’ for every hung-up person in the whole wide universe... we gazed upon the chimes of freedom flashing..."

One more Bob Dylan quote... one more post about freedom...

... because I just asked Meade what his favorite Bob Dylan song was, and he hadn't read my theme-of-the-day freedom posts yet, but he said "Chimes of Freedom".

I could expatiate about the connection to freedom, but I'll just say it simply: It's Meade's birthday. We're not big on special occasions. We love normal, everyday life. It's hard to stop and say something distinctive about a birthday, when every day is a beautiful gift.
Striking for the gentle, striking for the kind
Striking for the guardians and protectors of the mind

52 comments:

chickelit said...

Happy Birthday Meade!

Anonymous said...

Happy Birthday, Lawrence of Wisconsin.

Ann Althouse said...

Spell it Laurence.

Scott M said...

It's hard to stop and say something distinctive about a birthday, when every day is a beautiful gift.

Someone forgot to get a birthday present...

I'm going to remember that and copy/paste it into one of those Microsoft Word greeting card templates for the next time I forget my wife's birthday. If she doesn't buy it, I'm blaming you, AA :)

Anonymous said...

Gladly.

Happy Birthday, Laurence of Wisconsin.

SGT Ted said...

Happy Birthday, Meade!

Anonymous said...

Happy birthday, Meade. May today be as wonderful as every other day!

Anonymous said...

(Good thing I didn't send a cake.)

Anonymous said...

P.S. I like the juxtaposition of Dylan post and, just two posts away, the Robert Zimmerman post.

minimus said...

Robert Zimmerman, the father of George. Holy Cow! This is getting strange. No wonder Bob changed his name. Happy Birthday Meade!

Clyde said...

Happy birthday, Meade.

I liked the Springsteen cover of the song back in the '80s, before he jumped the shark. It had special resonance for me because I was living in West Berlin at the time, back when it still WAS West Berlin.

Pastafarian said...

Happy birthday, Meade. Drink something nice and Scottish. I have a bottle in my desk drawer; I'm toasting you as I type.

edutcher said...

Felicitations, sir.

Maybe your wife will take you out dancing or something.

At the very least, Madame, give him a big kiss and his birthday smacks (if you're into that sort of thing).

Doc Holliday's Hat said...

Happy birthday Meade, I raise a glass of Earls Albino Rhino to you!

The Elder said...

I want you to know, little brother, that I have something waiting for you for your birthday. But it is nothing as good as the gift you found when you met Ann.

Happy birthday, Shlaurence.

Anonymous said...

And your's for him? "If Not for You". Lovely xylophone that one...

sakredkow said...

~~Without freedom of speech I might be in the swamp~~

Paddy O said...

Happy Birthday, Meade! May it be a grand day and a year filled with all sorts of goodness.

traditionalguy said...

That Dylan guy just could not be held down.

Happy birthday to a man's man.

Patrick said...

Many more Meade.

Elder outs himself as Meade's sibling. Has that happened before, and I missed it?

Ann Althouse said...

"And your's for him? "If Not for You". Lovely xylophone that one..."

All the best Althousians know: My favorite Bob Dylan song is "Leopard Skin Pillbox Hat."

You may think he loves me for my money/But I know what he really loves me for

It's my brand-new leopard-skin pill-box hat!

Ann Althouse said...

@Patrick Yes, many times!

Elliott A said...

Happy Birthday Meade from an Althouse(unrelated!)

Elliott A said...

Ann- Did you intentionally do a Dylan thread after labeling a previous one "Robert Zimmerman"?

Patrick said...

Well how on earth did I miss that? Geez, it's not like I don't spend time in the comments section!

Richard Dolan said...

I don't understand the enthusiasm for Dylan's lyrics. Is this a nostalgia-driven invitation to wallow in rampant middle-brow-ville or what?

The quote that heads this post is particularly weak as stand-alone poetry (if that's the point of quoting it). What's the connection between being a 'hung-up person' -- presumably a Freudian idea about blocked emotions or some such thing -- and the 'chimes of freedom' -- a political or cultural idea having nothing to do with what it's supposed to relieve (that unfortunate state of hung-up-ness)?

It's sounds OK when sung in Dylan's nasally twang, particularly if you don't pay too much attention to what's being said/sung. But let's get real -- great or insightful poetry it ain't.

BTW, many happy returns, LM.

ricpic said...

Striking for the gentle, striking for the kind
Striking for the guardians and protectors of the mind.


garage just told me he believes in striking for the hell of it.


Happy 39th Birthday, Meade.

Irene said...

Happy Birthday, Meade.

edutcher said...

Ann Althouse said...

We're not big on special occasions. We love normal, everyday life. It's hard to stop and say something distinctive about a birthday, when every day is a beautiful gift.

Interesting take.

I remember when Ann reminded me of that (for which I'm grateful) when The Blonde had her cancer scare a couple of years ago.

The Blonde sees it the other way, "If we don't make a celebration of these things, no one else will".

Possibly the result of her dodging the Grim Reaper a couple of times.

That you can live each day as a gift (and, at our age, they are) is a very good thing.

Happiness to you both.

Carol said...

What's the connection between being a 'hung-up person' -- presumably a Freudian idea about blocked emotions or some such thing -- and the 'chimes of freedom' -- a political or cultural idea having nothing to do with what it's supposed to relieve (that unfortunate state of hung-up-ness)?

Because AUTHORITY was to blame for their hangups! doncha know.

Happy birthday, Meade.

David said...

Let the eat cake.

Happy Birthday!

rhhardin said...

e.e.cummings

your birthday comes to tell me this

—each luckiest of lucky days
i’ve loved,shall love,do love you,was

and will be and my birthday is

rhhardin said...

"Freedom awakens gradually as we become conscious of our ties, like the sleeper of his senses. Then, finally, our actions have a name."

Edmond Jabès

lohwoman said...

Happy birthday, Meade. Enjoy the gift of your new year!

pm317 said...

This is how we go through life too. Good to see it in print from another couple.

Happy Birthday, Meade.

FWBuff said...

Happy Birthday, Meade! And many thanks, Ann, for your hard work and insightfulness in reviewing and commenting on the ObamaCare hearings. It has been a great service to us all.

Christy said...

Happy Birthday, Meade. And many happy returns of the day.

Lem the artificially intelligent said...

I'm of two minds on this birthday..

Yours and the professor's.

Happy birthday Meade.

Ann Althouse said...

Thanks for all the birthday good wishes!

From me and from Meade.

Bob said...

Happy Birthday, Meade. Thanks for telling us about it, Ann.

sakredkow said...

Now that we have Meade's birthdate, can you help us with say, the last four digits of his Soc?

Rusty said...

I don't know you or Meade so a happy birthday would be a tad hypocritical.










What the fuck. Happy Birthday, Meade.

purplepenquin said...

Happy birthday Meade! Hope ya get plenty o' cake and/or spankings...

yashu said...

Happy Meade's Birthday to Meade & his mystical wife. Tonight I'll raise a glass to the two of you.

Impossible for me to pick a single favorite Dylan song. So instead, for the purposes of this comment, I'll raise a glass (since I'm already raising glasses) to a particular subset of Dylan songs, the enigmatic (and sometimes hilarious) stories and parables: e.g. Bob Dylan's 115th Dream, The Ballad of Frankie Lee and Judas Priest, Clothes Line Saga, Isis, etc. etc. etc.

One of the things I love the most about these songs is the dialogue between the characters-- and how Dylan sings that dialogue:

Judas pointed down the road
And said, "Eternity"
"Eternity?" said Frankie Lee
With a voice as cold as ice
"That's right", said Judas, "Eternity
Though you might call it Paradise"
"I don't call it anything"
Said Frankie Lee with a smile
"All right", said Judas Priest
"I'll see you after a while"


***

The dogs were barking, a neighbor passed
Mama, of course, she said, “Hi!”
“Have you heard the news?” he said, with a grin
“The Vice-President’s gone mad!”
“Where?” “Downtown.” “When?” “Last night”
“Hmm, say, that’s too bad!”
“Well, there’s nothin’ we can do about it,” said the neighbor
“It’s just somethin’ we’re gonna have to forget”
“Yes, I guess so,” said Ma
Then she asked me if the clothes was still wet


***

She said "Where ya been ?" I said "No place special"
She said "You look different" I said "Well I guess"
She said "You been gone" I said "That's only natural"
She said "You gonna stay?" I said "If you want me to, Yes"


***

Althouse said: "We're not big on special occasions. We love normal, everyday life. It's hard to stop and say something distinctive about a birthday, when every day is a beautiful gift."

Since in a way one might argue that's one of the lessons of "Isis", I'll dedicate my playing (right now) of Isis-- one of my favorite songs, a song about marriage-- to the two of you. May all our journeys riding in "the wild unknown country" and "the cold in the North" lead home-- as it has for the two of you. Lucky bastards.

JAL said...

Hope you've had a Happy Natal Day, Meade. May you enjoy many more with the Professor, and she with thee. Blessings.

(I posted this on the wrong post this morning and see I never made it here after the deletion. It doesn't seem I did anyway.)

LarryK said...

Happy Birthday to Laurence of Meade! The next glass of ale is on me....

Unknown said...

Happy birthday, Meade. And many more!

sakredkow said...

Trying to think of a *birthday* Dylan song....

Ah-ha!

~~Salute her when her birthday comes~~

Any others?

LarryK said...

Not sure of any other "birthday" songs, but there's one Dylan tune - "The Groom's Still Waiting at the Altar" - that definitely doesn't apply to Meade.

Writ Small said...

Through the mad mystic hammering of the wild ripping hail
The sky cracked its poems in naked wonder


My favorite line of what is also also my favorite Dylan tune. Happy b-day.

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Meade said...

Thanks, everyone. Very nice of you all.