Turtle Dove Folk Club put their hands and voices together last night in hopeful celebration. No, it was not a Phillies party (although I’d suspect the folks at the monthly concert of yore are happy enough the team won again last night during their quest for the World Series title).
Rather, a certain Spook Handy sparked the night with musical political stimulations. Commenting that his song-writing had turned political about eight years ago, Spook dug right into topics that are in fact as old as history. My favorite was his original, “Death Comes Anyway.” Engaging the audience with quick narrative intros to the songs, Spook told us that as he looked for the cause of the current war in Iraq, he realized he had to go back to the 1990s wars, and then back to the Cold War, then to WWII, WWI, etc. etc., continuing all the way until he and a friend picked up the Bible and read of Cain and Abel.
Point being, death comes anyway to those who resort to violence. Death surely comes to us all, but we do have a chance to change the tides of suffering, to work through difficult situations, be them in your own heart or embroiled in a transcontinental conflict. So thank you Spook for revisiting the messages of Pete Seeger and Peter, Paul and Mary. Though the era of these folks prominence in the political music presence may seem to have passed, their melodic messages will forever remain pertinent to the human condition.
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