Tributes

I have written many songs over my expanding lifetime, and each one I have considered a "tribute" to someone or to another songwriter. The songs don't sound like anyone else's, sometimes they don't sound much like songs, but the flavor is intended to be a doff of the cap to people and performers I admire. Other musicians have done the same thing, but rather than "tributes" many of them are just grand theft larceny. In John Mellencamp Cougar's ROCK in the USA, he mentions Frankie Lymon, Bobby Fuller, Mitch Ryder. How nice! He cleverly wrote a little "ditty" called "I fight authority, authority always wins!" Bobby Fuller wrote "I fought the law and the law won." That is so different and yet so similar. What's more ROCK is sung to the tune of the Romantics "What I like about you." The Chiffons had a hit called "He's so fine" back in 1962. We were all amazed to find out that the Chiffons were actually Krishnas when George Harrison came out with "My sweet lord." Much to George's disdain, the Chiffons sued him and won. They fought authority and authority did not win. John Mellencamp and I worked together at a college radio station back in the 70's. We fought over the radio stations copy of a Velvet Underground album. I fought Mellencamp and the Mellecamp won. I have held true to my own kind of music and never changed my name to that of a jungle creature, John sold out and made millions. I'm a sad and lonely curmudgeon in an undecorated condo. You make the call.

Anyway, there was a performer back in the 60's named Tony Joe White, who wrote a song called Polk Salad Annie. It was like a southern cajun thang about a woman who ate crap and called it Polk Salad. Alligators did a lot of chomping in the song. I loved that song for years. A few years back I saw an hour special on cable featuring TJ. It turned out to be a full hour of him singing Polk Salad Annie. A full hour. It was awful. Hi Ho.

This song, "Frogeye" is my salute to Polk Salad Annie. Like I said it doesn't borrow anything but the mysterious and evil flavor of the lyrics, What's more. It's all true.

Frogeye
On the river (white) is a town called Frogeye, water runs through the houses when the river gets high
The children there aren't normal girls and boys
They play with human bones, instead of tinker toys

In Frogeye...you do whatever you please
When the river goes down, and there's mud in the trees
People comb the hair, down below their knees

I had a girlfriend there, who drove a Super-Bee
She drove me down to Flatrock and she put the sting on me
Until the river came up, and washed her away
Sometimes I think of her until the middle of the day

In Frogeye...you do ...whatever...you please
When the moon is full, and there's blood on the breeze
people comb the hair down below their knees

I had a friend named Kuder, he was a no account
he had one of those trailers, kinda silver....kinda round
He opened one too many doors, one day one went bang
I never saw him again, and nobody said a thang

In Frogeye, you do what...ever you please
when the groundhog comes up, and all he sees is fishees
people comb their hair down below their knees

Diggin mussels, singing chants, guns in state of ready
burning incense in a skull, the 8 tracks play Duane Eddy
Momma Wade is waving signs
What could that dog be chewin?
If you could read my mind..then what the F*** you doin'

Down in Frogeye, you do whatever you....PLEEEEESE
when the river goes down, and there's mud in the trees
people comb the hair down below their knees

XXXXXI