Of course, it is a Warren Zevon song, but many feel that Linda Ronstadt took the song to the next level. Here is a video of Linda R. performing Poor, Poor, Pitiful Me.
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Here are the Linda Ronstadt lyrics
(from Metrolyrics.)
Well, I lay my head on the railroad track
Waiting on the double E
But the train don't run by here no more
Poor, poor pitiful me
Poor, poor pitiful me
Poor, poor pitiful me
Oh, these boys won't let me be
Lord, have mercy on me
Woe, woe is me
Well, I met a man out in Hollywood
Now I ain't naming names
Well he really worked me over good
Just like Jesse James
Yes, he really worked me over good
He was a credit to his gender
Put me through some changes, Lord
Sort of like a waring blender
Poor, poor pitiful me
Poor, poor pitiful me
Oh, these boys won't let me be
Lord, have mercy on me
Woe woe is me
Well, I met a boy in the Vieux Carres
Down in Yokohama
He picked me up and he threw me down
He said, "Please don't hurt me, mama"
Poor, poor pitiful me
Poor, poor pitiful me
Oh, these boys won't let me be
Lord, have mercy on me
Woe woe is me
Poor, poor, poor me
Poor, poor pitiful me
Poor, poor, poor me
Poor, poor pitiful me
Poor, poor, poor me
Poor, poor pitiful me
Many years ago I traveled with friends across Europe, crossing at Gibraltar into Morocco, eventually for Marrakech. (Yes, naturally, we took the ‘Marrakech Express!’) Marrakech was well known for its remarkable flea market. We (really!) were students with very limited funds for our travel and exploits, but we were fascinated at the bargaining that took place in the market. A buddy from Mobile, Alabama really took to it. He had a retail background through his family, and he gloried in the negotiations. He had a knack for it. If there was something he was interested in, he never let that show. He would ask prices for several other things before ever asking a price on what he was looking at, so the vendors couldn’t discern any investment in the item. Without exception the vendors didn’t want to name a price, they wanted us to name one, to give a starting point for the negotiations. We learned to never do that, as any price we considered wound up being much more than the minimum they would accept.
After a time, when it appeared we would walk to another vendor’s stall, they would name a price. Almost without exception we would wind up getting our item for about a tenth their original named price. Remarkable.
There was one facility with really incredible stuff. It labelled itself a ‘fixed price’ store, where the staffers claimed they would not negotiate on price. And, in fact, the prices were far more reasonable than the first prices named in the other places, for better quality stuff. Less adept at negotiating than my friend, I tried a different tack. I found a knit blanket that I really liked. Unlike my inscrutable friend, I showed great (if resigned) interest in the blanket from the start. I did not have much money, but I had more than the listed price of the blanket. So I took about 50% of the ‘fixed’ price, put that in my wallet, and put the remainder in my shoe.
Since they could tell I really liked the blanket, they wanted me to buy it. I confessed that I did really like it, but, sadly, I just didn’t have enough money for it, and wasn’t going to be able to get it. So they asked me how much I had. ::wink:: I took out my wallet and showed them exactly what I had, so they could see I didn’t have any more. Emptied my pockets. (Their x-ray vision could not, fortunately, penetrate my shoe.) Bottom line: I walked out of the ‘fixed price’ facility with the blanket I wanted, at the price I wanted to pay.
“Well, way to go, BeninSC! What does that have to do with modern politics?”
My strategy, though a simple one, was basically to represent that I’d have been willing to pay much more, if only I had it. A similar strategy, I am sorry to say, has come to be employed more widely in our political system. Rather than use the strategies of old, which were clearly racist and vicious, Republicans now use what may be called a poor, poor, pitiful me strategy. “So sad! We can’t help because the money is just not there.” Of course, it IS there when it is for things they want to spend it on (prisons, wars, highways, discrimination initiatives), it only is not there when Democrats have something to spend it on, when it is to be used for really helping PEOPLE. They are not racist, when it comes to Hispanics, Blacks, Asians, other non-white human beings, it’s just that the financial realities do not permit the use of funds in that way. Funds cannot be used for women, for the elderly, for children, for the unborn or their mothers, for veterans … it is a common refrain.
Of course, they do despise (if not hate!) those groups, they just keep that hatred under wraps, as far as their rhetoric is concerned. Behaviorally, of course, they give their hatreds full reign, under the guise of ‘fiscal responsibility.’ They cut taxes, always, always, as if the dramatic reductions since Reagan’s era (when tax rates were really much more respectable) aren’t remotely enough. Then, when government has so little money, and can provide much less in services to our people, in one of the present day’s greatest and most pervasive ad infinitum absurdities, it is (in their view and that of their easily duped and led voters) even more justified to cut it back still further. They hamstring government so it can’t serve our people well, then use its relatively poor functioning to justify hamstringing it further. How dishonest is that?! How cowardly!
The individuals most steadfastly representing the 1% playing poor, poor, pitiful me. What hypocrisy! Break out the violins!
On to tonight’s comments, formatted by brillig!
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From Puddytat:
I must pass along this excellent description by Ralphdog of what "journalism" has become today.
From
Steveningen:
In my diary last night The LGBT Movement: A lesson in authentic grassroots success, sfbob wrote this excellent comment delving deeper into the "whys" our movement has been so successful.
From Samer:
The last paragraph of koosah's comment . . . from koosah's keyboard to God's (or FSM's) monitor.
From BeninSC:
Flagged by howabout, this comment by raptavio talks about an admirable Larry Flynt moment (!) and objection to the death penalty.
Top Mojo for yesterday November 10th, first comments and tip jars excluded. Thank you
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1) So much for the guns giving the by Duckmg — 178
2) Four moms? by markthshark — 175
3) Something has got to be done by BDA in VA — 162
4) This would be kidnapping, at least in my state. by Cartoon Peril — 152
5) Call the cops EVERY TIME! by CwV — 136
6) I counted three incidents by davidkc — 135
7) Love the part about the government by conniptionfit — 133
8) This sort of thing has been predictable for a long by Ray Pensador — 123
9) CBS and their by gchaucer2 — 117
10) This is the relevant statute to deal with it by bastrop — 116
11) Fucking cowards. by nosleep4u — 109
12) CBS/60 Minutes is sorry that... by Trix — 105
13) Brandishing a gun by Simplify — 104
14) the real story by Laurence Lewis — 95
15) It happened to me all the time by Guy Fawkes — 92
16) charge themj with TWO counts of kidnapping by Murphoney — 91
17) And 20 plus people brandishing guns by indycam — 89
18) I would have called 911 and let our militarized by zenbassoon — 87
19) Here are the photos by skohayes — 85
20) Thanks, JDWolverton by Georgia Logothetis — 85
21) WTF? by Rich Lyles — 84
22) Take a look in the mirror by Dallasdoc — 84
23) Bet they both lost business that day by True North — 84
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27) I agree but I can tell you this by Pierretrudeau — 81
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29) Exactly. No one knows what is going through ... by niemann — 80
30) #RIPjournalism by nomandates — 79
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