Song 74: Lithuania

I reckon this will be the most obscure song I write about, the last track on a 2002 EP by a liitle-known American songwriter, it's represented by one video on youtube which has 1.4 thousand views and one comment.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JVwV3IM3HHk

It's, in its way, a wonderful song though.

I'll tell you a bit about Dan Bern, as much as I know. He's a working American small time songwriter, he's released a bit of this and that, he's written songs especially for films here and there, he's in the classic topical/comical/satirical folk singer mould. He sounds a lot like Bob Dylan, undeniably.

Talking of Dylan, here is the time he penetrated Dylan's consciousness - it's truly hilarious. If you don't read the rest of this piece, click on this link and read this. https://ultimateclassicrock.com/bob-dylan-angry-letter/

Basically (if you've disobeyed me and not clicked), Bern used to write a satirical column for an American magazine, once he wrote something (light-hearted) about Dylan's mother, Dylan found out about it and wrote a gloriously furious letter, which he never sent, and was auctioned two decades later, when Bern found out about it.

Bern has another loverly song called 'New American Language' where he sings "I have a dream of a new American language, one with a little bit more Spanish" which never fails to move me.

But, anyway, Lithuania, was the last track (i think) on an EP wherein Bern courted controversy, called 'The Swastika EP'. Bern (Jewish), wrote an ok little song called 'My Little Swastika' about reclaiming the ancient symbol from Nazis. There's also a song on the EP called 'Talkin' Al Kida Blues' about an American guy called Al Kida who got hate mail. Again, so topical, so solid.

This is what I remember, though. I'll have bought the EP in the days in 2002 when I wasn't up to much - working part time, not in a 5 and dime, not for Mr McGee. I remember it was in the few months when I was still in my mum's house in Ealing but had moved to my long-moved out sister's room (of which I was envious as we were growing up). Being part time and young, there'd be the odd bit of afternoon drinking, and I'd clearly gone into London for a couple of drinks, bought some music, gone home and listened to it.

Because I remember I listened to the Swastika and Al Kida songs still awake and then the EP went on and I was in a half-awake state.

'Lithuania' is a long song. 11 minutes.So I remember that on-and-on-ness as I slipped in and out of paying attention. And I remember that sudden stab into my dopey state that I was hearing something beautiful and moving.

There's some talking, some talking about being American and then it's about his ancestors who were killed in Lithuania, and there's a lot about being Jewish and a litany of Jewish heroes, and then there's some singing and the refrain where he sings "Hey hey the fog has gone" is somehow utterly stunning.

It manages to be a history and a satire and a cry of identity and a love song and an anthem and a travel song and an ode to the poached egg and for a while I couldn't get enough of it (apart from the poached egg).

Anyway, what's it here for?

It's here because even if, like me, you've spent most of your life looking for songs, you want to hear every great song there is, you don't actually know a small fraction of the good songs. I, for whom this song and this genre is right in my zone, could most definitely have never have heard or paid attention to this song. The tiniest fragment of people have heard this song, and yet it moved my little soul beyond measure.

There are/have been 100s, 1000s of Dan Berns out there who really knew/know how to put together a song with words, and some of them got more than a few write ups in the serious music mags and some of them didn't.

Hey hey.