Life is slowly returning to what passes for Gamaliel’s normalcy at Adrastos World HQ. In addition to the sudden passing of Paul Drake, I have a dying computer on my hands. It warned of its own sudden death, but it’s going slowly like Jimmy Cagney in The Roaring Twenties. I already had a hand-me-down PC on hand so once I got a mighty 256 GB flash drive my panic subsided. The dust bunnies under the desk don’t scare me none.

I’ve had a bad case of writer’s block in the last week. So bad that I pushed my 13th Ward Rambler column back to next Wednesday. I’m rarely blocked here but all I could write about at length was PD’s passing. The block’s grip seems to be relenting: I have a potpourri post in mind and I’m hoping to write it later today. If not, there’s always Wednesday.

Let’s move on to the latest entry in the Songs For The Pandemic series. I had never checked the songwriting credits for The Band’s Jubilation album. I assumed that Book Faded Brown was written by Rick Danko since it’s so perfect for his voice. Wrong. It was written by Paul Jost a singer-songwriter with jazzy inclinations. I was right about one thing: this sad song is perfect for Rick’s plaintive voice. FYI, when I sing along with The Band, I always sing Rick Danko’s part; loudly, not well.

The song’s protagonist is singing about life, death, and family. It’s timely as we have all three on our collective minds right now. It’s timeless because it’s reminiscent of a John Ford funeral scene. It’s that good.