Speaking Words of Wisdom or The Quote Man Quometh

I love a good pun (or should I say a bad pun), or the quick witted quote or response which sums up in just a few words nuggets of wisdom. When the folksinger Art Thieme used to tell a pun to an audience, he sometimes would say "You're groaning now, but you'll be telling it later". One of my favorite responses to a bad reaction to a pun is "I steal from the best" or "We'll be here all week". Over the years, some of my favorite lines from musicians have been

"Funny, it was tuned when I bought it"

"There's tens of dollars in folk music"

"Good enough for folk music" (in reference to tuning)

"I get paid by the note"

And I understand, there is even a book out there of jokes about the accordion. BTW, have you heard this one (not about the accordion):

What do you call the guy at your door delivering the pizza?

A musician

Now, all seriousness aside, about thirty years ago, there was a beautiful album by the musicians Malcolm Dalglish (hammered dulcimer) and Grey Larsen (multiple instrumentalist) with liner notes that contained some beautiful wisdom about performing traditional music. If my memory serves me well, it went something like this:

As we play this music, we come to think of it like being on a rocking chair on a porch. As time goes on,the rocking chair begins to drift a little too much to the edge of the porch, and then we know its time to move it back.

Hence, I admit I get a little uneasy with a dance version of the fiddle tune Cotton Eyed Joe, and yet I sometimes treasure a jazzier version of a traditional Irish or American tune. At the end of the day, of course, all that matters is what music speaks to you, whether "unadulterated" or not. Even the "folk" singing music in the more isolated parts of our country, by the 1930's were listening to the radio and being influenced by "popular" music, and from what I understand, even in the 1800's classical musicians would travel through small towns and people would come to see them play.

So, to end with a quote from Pete Seeger:

Take it easy, but take it.........


Musically,

Mr. Punderful (Gary B)

P.S. One of my favorite non-musical quotes is from Graucho Marx:

Outside of a dog, a book is a man's best friend. Inside of a dog, its too dark to read.