New Day
a song from Pharis and Jason Romero and thoughts about Baxter Black and my new cowboy hat.
Today, a music recommendation. If you don’t know their music, please meet Pharis and Jason Romero from the little town of Horsefly, British Columbia. I’d like to invite you to view their video performance of, “New Day,” from their album, Bet on Love
Watching this performance, the singing reminds me how pure intension can create power that goes beyond the quality of voice, words and music. This musical power is something mysterious and magical and deserves respect. All of us perceive these things differently. The cynical might find the sentiment of the song too sweet. For the hopeful, I trust you hear it, feel it and will let it wash over you.
Last night Pharis and Jason performed in Port Townsend, Washington at the annual Voice Works Workshop. It is just a few hours drive north of here and I would have loved to have seen the faculty singers concert.
Mollie O’Brien, a dear friend, who has been on the faculty in past years says Pharis is an amazing teacher and beloved as Artistic Director of the event. Mollie added this about the pair, “I can't stress enough how positive and creative and amazing they are.”
Oh well, I’ll meet them on some new day. I hope I got the lyrics right. Please check out the YouTube video.
Oh won't you find your soul
Carry it across the sea
Building you a boat of gold
Filled with love and peace
I'm alone in this old valley
Filled with tears and mud
If you sail up to me
You could bring me back some lovechorus
Oh won't you cry a new day's born
A new day today
Oh won't you cry a new day's born
A new day todayOne of us can be lonely
One of us can be sad
Two can build together
And walk hand in hand
When I come to the end of my valley
Reach my final home
I hope you have been with me
And held my hand all along
chorusOne of us can be lonely
One of us can be sad
You have seen the coming days
In the palm of your hand
chorusI can hear my voice is singing across the valley
I can hear my voice is singing across the hills
A new day, a new hat
I’ve always wanted to buy a hat at the Portland Outdoor Store, a classic local institution. My friend Larry and I picked out a Stetson but it needed to be steamed and shaped. I’d lost my last favorite hat on a train between Copenhagen and Gothenburg and wanted something similar.
When I went to pick it up I found myself standing across the counter from a handsome gentleman, maybe late fifties, who had brought his hat in for sprucing up. He kept it in a fancy fiberglass form-fitted case. Though I didn’t see the hat, the case suggested the shape of a conservative Open Road style, made famous by Stetson. The whole scene reminded me how people in the cowboy world value their hats and also what a hat says about a person. This man was obviously a regular customer and as he was leaving, he commented to the manager, “remember, vote for change.”
For the past couple days my curiosity has been piqued, wondering what changes this gentleman wants. Do they align with the changes I want? I will never know. I do know that we are living in time of profound desire for change. And to that end, I need to respect his vote for change. Conversely, he should respect mine. At the very least, we need to trust that our votes count. After that, we are just two guys, different hats, trying to do our best.
Small gestures
Today I got an e-mail from Bette Ramsey. She and her late husband, the brilliant cowboy poet and singer Buck Ramsey are heroes. Nearing 83, Bette is still working to bring the world into balance through small gestures. She wrote, “I just follow the Dalai Lama’s advice and sing, dance, watch the critters, make people happy. He claims that will help make a better world. I added my part by planting flowers, shrubs, herbs, etc. for the critters and I try to take care of my little piece of land. That’s plenty for me!” Her attitude reminds me I’m not a zealot and generally am suspicious of grand gestures.
In a few days I’ll get on plane to travel to Benson, Arizona. There, I will join friends and family to pay tribute to the beloved cowboy poet, Baxter Black. Memories bring a chuckle as I think of the time he went after me with a knife trying to cut-off my short and pitiful attempt at a pony tail. Or the time he and Waddie Mitchell stuck me behind the stage curtains, close enough that I could prompt them if they forgot their lines. That was Baxter’s first appearance on the Tonight Show. Did I mention that it was not Baxter nor Waddie who forgot their lines? It was Robert Goulet who flubbed the words to his song. Can you imagine hearing me stage whisper from behind the curtain? I’m glad I held my tongue. Also, as we hung out in the Green Room before taping we met a young comedian nervously waiting to see if a slot would open for her. In the end they cut the young Ellen DeGeneres off the show in favor of cowboy poets.
Baxter liked folklorists but he also liked to poke fun at us. His father-in-law, Guy Logsdon was a folklorist and he was surrounded by folklorists at the Cowboy Poetry Gathering in Elko. He even wrote a poem called, “This Old Hat,” that commented on our propensity to find meaning in everything from the cowboys’ hat to his dirty old socks.
I’m not certain why the hat is the choice of fashion conscious folklorists, focused on flattering the fedora-ly friendly. But it is.
Baxter always made a point of telling me my fedora looked goofy. Why did I never take offense? Baxter had a rare ability to make fun of you, tell the truth as he saw it, and make you laugh along with him, all at the same time.
Over the last several months Baxter and I talked frequently on the phone and our friendship deepened. I’ll treasure the memories of our friendship. When I travel to Benson, I will be wearing my new hat. It’s a simple gesture prompted by love. It’s a new hat for a new day.
May I suggest a road trip with Papa Montague and myself from Vancouver to Horsefly? It’s on his wish list too.
Hal, your “on point” style has inspired me to invest in a hat. Any recommendations?
Thanks for this! I take my (metaphorical) hat off to you!