Dangerous hair
Posted by Rob Kistner | Filed under Poetry
Attacked and beaten because of our hair. 1966 revisited.
This week’s prompt, “Hair” is extremely well timed. On my 60th birthday, my wife and son successfully orchestrated a surprise party for me. As part of the surprise, they dug up a lot of stuff from my many years in both R&B and Rock bands.
One of the things they dug up was a small handful of surviving lyrics I’d written back in the 60’s; among them, these lyrics I’m including as part of my July 15th, Sunday Scribblings post. They also dug up a few old photos.
These were written when I was just 19 years of age, to accompany rock music – they are not terribly polished, but they are earnest. These words came from the bottom of my heart, at the time.
What you need to realize is in the Midwest United States, there were few long-haired bands. We were called freaks, hippies – and taunted, accosted, sometimes even beaten for our hair. Our hair was a very powerful and dangerous statement for us to make – it threatened conservative America.
There were a great many places our band would play were we did not dare walk the streets, unless we did so as a group – including our roadies — a couple of pretty tough dudes. I also played football, so I was reasonably able – but we still adhered to “safety in numbers”.
We were expressing our right to be free, and we were expressing our opposition to the war in Viet Nam, and the general intolerance and prejudice that was prevalent in those times. Our hair was not only us speaking out as free individuals, it was also a political and social statement.
Those were very ’strange days’! Our hair made us targets for considerable verbal and physical abuse – but we were committed to our statement of freedom.
Anyway, following here is a 42-year-old photo I attempted to restore digitally. The hair is tame by today’s standards, but in the mid 1960’s, in Middle America – I was threateningly radical.
Below the photo are the lyrics to “Flowin’ Free”, which I penned 41 years ago, at age 19. They are not here because they are great verse – they are shallow and naïve. Rather, they are here for their nostalgic interest, and their relevance to the prompt for today.
(lyrics by: Rob Kistner)
My hair — I grow and grow it
Though the fearful tell me stow it
But instead, I’m proud to show it
I’m young and free – and you should know it
Frightened anger, I rise above it
Aren’t you getting tired of it
Despite your taunts, I’ll never shove it
Cause my hair, I really love it
______________________
(chorus:)
My hair means freedom
To you it’s strange
My hair’s my anthem
It sings out change
______________________
You’re screamin’ at me cut it
Instead I’m gonna strut it
Your hateful mouth, why don’t you shut it
Cause my hair – I’ll never cut it
______________________
(chorus:)
My hair means freedom
To you it’s strange
My hair’s my anthem
It sings out change
______________________
My long hair is flowin’ free
I’m being all that I can be
But when you look, you don’t see me
You see some kind of enemy
It’s time you understand
We all must lend a hand
Join with our peaceful, hairy band
And we’ll build a better land
______________________
(chorus:)
It’s time for freedom
That’s not so strange
Let’s raise our voices
And sing out change
______________________
So everybody grow your hair
I want to see it everywhere
Time to be brave if you dare
Show your fellow man you care
______________________
(chorus:)
It’s time for freedom
That’s not so strange
Let’s raise our voices
And sing out change
(refrain:)
It’s time for freedom
That’s not so strange
Let’s join our voices
And there’ll be change
______________________
© 1966
July 13th, 2007 at 11:30 pm
this is amazing
how times have changed
would love to ‘hear’ the song
July 13th, 2007 at 11:49 pm
Rob, that photo is so cool!
I like the chorus!
July 14th, 2007 at 1:45 am
Kathryn -
Thanks! It is unbelievable how quick the hands tick by — I can remember well the day that photo, which I have posted, was taken… and where.
We never made “Flowin’ Free” into a record. The only tapes of that song, that might have ever existed, would have been rehearsal tapes — and they are long gone… like my hair is these days…
July 14th, 2007 at 1:53 am
Gautami -
Yes, that was once me…
6′2″, 195 lbs., 32″ waist, 34″ inseam, 40″ chest… and a head full of thick auburn hair — that was a long time ago!
The chorus is OK — a bit idealistic… but I was 19 and fully believed I was going to help change the world — for the better!
July 14th, 2007 at 2:22 am
Wow … memories - a nostalgic post…..
yeah, that hair is now tame…
nice “song”
July 14th, 2007 at 5:55 am
Hooray for you for standing up for your beliefs, in life and in song!
July 14th, 2007 at 6:07 am
Liza -
Thank you, pleased you enjoyed this!
One era’s outrageous is a later era’s ordinary…
July 14th, 2007 at 6:10 am
Tara -
Thank you my friend!
Storm the walls — tear down the impediments… power to the people! That was four decades ago — and it felt so urgent then, and I, so vital! Oh how we mellow with age — like fine wine…
July 14th, 2007 at 6:17 am
Happy Birthday Rob! Love the words, peace man!
July 14th, 2007 at 8:08 am
That’s not such bad lyrics. what a nice memory. Thanks for sharing!
July 14th, 2007 at 8:44 am
Rob, I’ll join your “peaceful, hairy band”! Good for you to stand up for your locks and spread the good word.
July 14th, 2007 at 8:48 am
I agree with that about hair, it is good to show freedom and style with long hair for both men and women
July 14th, 2007 at 9:19 am
Redness -
Thank you, for the belated birthday wish, and your kind words!
Peace to you too…
July 14th, 2007 at 9:22 am
Lissa -
You are kind, and you’re welcome!
However, my writing scope was a bit limited 41 years ago…
July 14th, 2007 at 9:24 am
Matthew -
Great dude… welcome!
That was long ago — and when you’re only 19, you have the bravery of youth to propel you…
July 14th, 2007 at 9:25 am
Happy belated birthday. Awesome post! Those must have been some very heady times.
July 14th, 2007 at 9:25 am
Arboleda -
Hair is our physical expression of our style and freedom!
July 14th, 2007 at 9:30 am
Herb -
Thanks man — for the wishes and the compliment!
“HEADY times”
…yes, most definitely — in so very many ways!
And they were more dangerous than we realized. To borrow from some street slang; we were too young, dumb, and full of… peace & love — to comprehend the risks we took, just looking like we did …but I loved every minute!!
July 14th, 2007 at 10:25 am
Happy Birthday! I’ve heard stories of how hair in the 60’s was making a statement but I didn’t realize how political it really was! Thanks for sharing!
July 14th, 2007 at 10:40 am
Rob, I think I knew you back then?? You look awfully familiar. YOur eyes show your creativity and your gentle soul. Did your band actually tour, maybe you played NY? I love looking back on those long gone years, How did we get here so quickly Rob? Happy belated 60th! You still look as Groovy as you did in the sensational 60’s
ooh, also… Love the new design of your blog!
July 14th, 2007 at 10:59 am
Rob,
You did and do make a difference.
When you were wearin’ your hair long
I was in Nam fightin’ Viet Cong.
I thought I was right and you were wrong.
But time and age gave me a different song.
I realized that you were right all along.
Now in our dotage we sit and write.
East coast I, and you out west.
Reflecting with words acute and trite,
to bring some insight to all the rest.
And the hair? What’s left is white.
Ideals….It’s what makes the world go ’round.
rel
July 14th, 2007 at 12:29 pm
Being a child of the sixties, I was happy when my sons went for long hair for a time in high school. I’ve had the song from HAIR in my head all day and the one that David Crosby sang…almost cut it! I’m thinking about Sampson and the Red Sox. I think they won the World Series that year because they all had long hair.
July 14th, 2007 at 1:08 pm
Jennifer -
You are welcome!
It wasn’t just the hair, in the case of my band, that made us political — it was the lyrics of many of the songs. We purposely mixed a lot of political statement into our sets.
July 14th, 2007 at 1:19 pm
Lucy -
Thank you for your very kind words!
Yes, we toured all over. I had different iterations of my band. I played in New York state from time to time with a couple of them — NYC, Syracuse, and Buffalo, to name a few cities.
Yeah… how the hell have the years “got behind us” so quickly. I’m still 30 in my mind!
Glad you like the new blog design… I’m about to modify it again… never satisfied.
July 14th, 2007 at 1:36 pm
Rel -
I hear everything you felt and experienced in the words of the wonderful verse you’ve offered as your comment… very real and very cool! I love it man! I love you for going, and I’m glad you came back…
I was actually in Army ROTC for two years while in college. I would have gone to Nam as a ‘2nd Looey’, had the lottery not spared me — just prior to my having to sign for full time active duty. My life expectancy would have been questionable had I gone ‘in country’ with that rank.
Of my close group of 11 male high school friends: 9 went to Nam, 4 were killed, and my best friend George never came home mentally — he’s is still a shell of a person. It is hard for me, even today, to spend extended time with him without wanting to scream.
Not because I don’t love him, but because it makes me so fucking angry what happened to him, and how inadequately our government took care of him — after he’d given his all in the sad affair.
I had Viet Nam vets in later iterations of my band. It was not a right or wrong thing for me — it was frustration over what was happening to my friends, ‘in country’ and here at home. I was a righteously angry young man — and I spoke my heart and mind.
July 14th, 2007 at 1:54 pm
Colleen -
Loved your comment here… thank you!
“Almost cut my hair,
Happened just the other day
It’s gettin’ kind of long
I could’ve said it was in my way
But I didn’t and I wonder why
I feel like letting my freak flag fly
And I feel like I owe it … to someone”
That’s the way I felt, like I needed to be a daily ’statement of freedom’… like I owed it to my high school and college buddies who were getting manipulated, maimed, mentally mauled, and murdered in Nam… all the people being pushed and kicked around back then by the system — and by their small-minded fellow humans.
I may be bald, but in my soul, my mane is still — flowin’ free…
July 14th, 2007 at 3:02 pm
What a blast from the past; it really brought back some memories. Very cool picture. This one was such fun. Thanks!
July 14th, 2007 at 3:27 pm
Rob,
Thank you for sharing! What a cool glimpse into a teenage mind in a different time and location… Awesome that you’ve still got some of those things (like the photo and lyrics) to reflect on.
Keep on rockin’ (or at least writin’
~Saoirse
July 14th, 2007 at 3:52 pm
Annie -
Thank you for your enthusiasm!
…and you are most welcome…
July 14th, 2007 at 3:54 pm
Saoirse -
You are welcome, and thank you for the kind words!
I’ll never stop writing, and I still rock — on the deck overlooking the little trout stream here in our valley…
July 14th, 2007 at 4:35 pm
I love this post and I see your passion at 19 still shines brightly at 60. Thanks for sharing your early writings. You looked very clean cut for my day. lol
July 14th, 2007 at 7:44 pm
I love old photos - great shot of you. I couldn’t help but think that the lyrics would work well in today’s time as a rap song…maybe because of all the rhyming. Great post!
July 14th, 2007 at 8:01 pm
I can’t decide if you are Yanni or one of Three Dog Night. Wow, how do you get so many people to read your blog? I generally top out at five.
July 14th, 2007 at 8:47 pm
I was in California in 66 and hippies were considered a “clique”…smokers, churchies, “jackies” and hippies. I was 11, and beginning to question my parents standards. After the third night of my Dad picking on my older sister for her long haired boyfriend, my mother layed pictures of Dad in a DA and grandpa in a Zoot suit on the dinner table. Stopped all that nonsense.
July 14th, 2007 at 9:04 pm
Tammy -
Thank you… you are very generous!
I enjoyed digging this stuff up, and you’re most welcome.
It is fascinating how people’s acceptance of things evolves with time — people actually used to call me scruffy, and a dirty hippie back then. …go figure?
July 14th, 2007 at 9:12 pm
Michelle -
Thank you!
I had a difficult time getting that photo digitally restored. It is 35mm and I have lost the negatives over the four decades. The remaining photo was water warped, and so badly faded that you could barely make out the right side of my face (when facing photo).
I used my old 3.5 megapixel Nikon CoolPix digital camera, and simply shot the photo. Then took it in to Photoshop for a whole bunch of manipulation. It was tough, but fun. Came out OK.
I’m not convinced those 41-year-old lyrics would hold up today — but you are kind for suggesting they might. Looking back after four decades of writing, I see all the edits required to make it decent verse. Everything is clearer in retrospect…
July 14th, 2007 at 9:17 pm
MBW -
You flatter me sir!
If I could choose, I’d be thrilled to be part of TDN…
I don’t know why people are so kind to visit — but I am very pleased. I do always try to thank everyone who leaves a comment here on my blog, and do my best to visit and support the folks who post at PT and SS.
July 14th, 2007 at 9:27 pm
Kat -
Thank you for visiting and sharing your story!
Don’t we all have our skeletons in the closet. If you don’t want people digging for yours, you best not be rattling their bones…
Hope Ecanus is well. Now that the SLWC’s competitive hunger has been satisfied — I hope we really do get down to the positive energy of creating a cooperative ’serial’ story.
July 14th, 2007 at 9:34 pm
Maybe it is because my blog addresses such deep topics as nose hair, falling on your ass, and Hooters hot wings that cause readers to give it a pass. No social significance can be found there. LOL
July 14th, 2007 at 9:50 pm
MBW -
I don’t know about that — I think there might be some social significance in nose hair, Hooters, and asses… it’s all a matter of perspective…
Stay cool Mr. Whale!
July 14th, 2007 at 11:45 pm
Hi Rob
Thanks for this post! I’ve always been very conscious that the things I take for granted were once fought for by others.
My husband was 18 when I met him and for a long time had long, glossy brown hair that he wore in a ponytail that finished half-way down his back. How I envied his thick, straight mane, so different to my thin, unruly wavy blond locks!
I guess we went on to fight for different things, although in some ways the important issues are all still the same.
July 15th, 2007 at 12:25 am
Pip -
You are most welcome!
Thank you for visiting here and sharing your thoughts.
We all stand on the shoulders of those who came before us — just as others will stand on yours.
The inherent freedom and dignity of every human, I believe, is inalienably. That can be a very difficult principle to embrace at times, given the vast differences of perspective we can encounter in this world — but challenging as it might prove to support and uphold, it is true… and it is essential we protect that truth, or we forfeit our humanity.
July 15th, 2007 at 2:00 am
I had expected somethign indeed more extravagant on the hair side (maybe even flowers in them) but seing where you’re coming from, the hairdo was probably enough to be provocative.ùi can’t fathom people getting violent because of hair, but in a way they still do, in certain countries.
The song, in retrospect, is sweet and shows a man of opinions. I think you were already very much there, in those words, already.
July 15th, 2007 at 3:49 am
Happy belated birthday. I love the photo and the verses–there is something about hair representing freedom that made it even more painful to see it collecting in the shower drain!
July 15th, 2007 at 6:14 am
I often wonder why long hair on men is seen as so threatening. Thanks for sharing your photo and lyrics.
July 15th, 2007 at 8:29 am
What an inspired post — I especially love the “peaceful, hairy band!” Great photo too…
July 15th, 2007 at 8:59 am
Nathalie -
Thank you for visiting again, and sharing your thoughts.
As we stand in the climate of today’s world, it seems absurd that anyone could get upset, much less violent, over hair. That was a key reason I created this post — to show how ridiculous people’s ‘fear’ of hair, and what it represented, was just four decades ago.
To grasp the message of this post, you have to think in context.
If you have ever seen the movie Easy Rider, you get a glimpse of how rural America reacted to “long hairs” — in the movie they were killed.
My photo, showing my hair, was taken over three years before Easy Rider was released as a movie. When my band mates and I were touring, as a group, though ‘common-man’ middle America — we were constantly hassled, and sometimes, violently. It’s important to know that my keyboard and bass players hair was even longer than mine.
While there may have been improvement with regard to tolerance in rural America, there is still way too much prejudice for what one would hope for in a ‘healthy’ society. And now we have the very repressive ‘fundamentalist’ right-wing on the rise — as improbable as that is in what, one would hope, would be by now, and ‘enlightened’ populace.
Your kind reaction to the lyrics of this 42-year-old song as ’sweet’, is also a study in contrast. In today’s world, the words are simple and harmless — but when we sang them from rural American stages in the mid 60’s, they were frequently greeted by very angry boo’s and threats from the macho, good-old-boys in the audience. We’d often get aggressively accosted when we came off stage.
It was not unusual that we’d get set upon by a group of these drunken rednecks, as we were packing up our equipment vans after the ‘gig’. A vigorous fist fight was unavoidable a times.
Perhaps this is difficult to comprehend, but it’s all a matter of context and perspective. And be aware — significant and growing segments of our world are, day by day, leaning back toward a ‘dark ages’ mentality… in spite of what appears, on the surface, to be an advancing global civilization.
So here’s my positive, uplifting message — let’s not let intolerant, closed-minded, repressive thinking gain anymore foothold. Let’s shine the light of tolerance, open-mindedness, and education on the planet — so we will someday have an enlightened world, and also a healthy planet for the future generations.
July 15th, 2007 at 9:31 am
Sage -
Thank you!
Glad you enjoyed this post.
Remember my friend, ‘hair’ is a state of mind… and bald is beautiful!
July 15th, 2007 at 9:48 am
Juliet -
Thank you for visiting, and for your kind words!
While certainly more moderate today than when I was growing up, many people are still threatened by statements of individualism, of ‘freedom’ — hair, tattoos, piercings, cloths, and the like.
I think, because they don’t fully understand what is ‘means’, how it might affect their personal status quo… they then fear it, and sometimes strike out at this fear.
I personally don’t want to be tattooed or pierced — but I understand that these things are personal expressions, just as I made my personal expressions in my younger days with hair, my clothing, my lifestyle, and my music.
We don’t want a world full of ’sheep’, not really. We need free thinkers if we are to advance as a society — individuals who ask “why not”. That said, we also need people who are responsibly focused at elevating our world — not manipulating and repressing it. This is always a precarious balance.
July 15th, 2007 at 9:51 am
Betty C -
You are most kind… thank you very much!
July 15th, 2007 at 10:30 am
I really enjoyed reading this post. It brought back quite a few memories for me. I was pretty young when the ‘Hair, the Musical’ came out and I remember the fights I had with my parents who would not let me go see it.
July 15th, 2007 at 12:31 pm
Hi from the other Portland,
Happy Birthday!!!
It is great that your hair played such a significance in your history. Thank you for sharing and excellent song!
July 15th, 2007 at 2:47 pm
Happy birthday, Rob. Your photo and song brings to mind my eldest brother. A bit younger than you, he hit his long hair stride in 1972, when he was 15. He was also learning to play the guitar. I seem to recall in my mind lyrics of a similar nature spilling out of him. (Much to the disdain of my father, an Air Force colonel.)
July 15th, 2007 at 3:39 pm
When I was writing my own response to today’s prompt, I temporarily forgot that my segment of society (blacks) isn’t the only one that has made statements via hair. Thanks for reminding me.
July 15th, 2007 at 3:43 pm
Sandie -
Thank you, glad you enjoyed it!
‘Hair’ was incredibly controversial in its day. Today, it seems tame — but such is the ebb and flow of time.
July 15th, 2007 at 3:46 pm
Tori -
You are welcome!
Hair was a big deal in the tumultuous years of my youth — the result of the Beatles and the San Francisco scene. You almost had to take a stand on one side or the other.
July 15th, 2007 at 3:50 pm
Patois -
Thanks for stopping by!
I am a decade older than your brother, but I had even longer hair by 1972 — and was till deeply into making music, and social comment.
In 1972, I was dating the youngest daughter of a retired Navy Vice Admiral. I was Army… but ROTC only in college, never went ‘in country’ on active.
July 15th, 2007 at 3:55 pm
I enjoyed reading the lyrics to your song. Great post!
July 15th, 2007 at 3:59 pm
It’s strange to read the memories of a real person who lived in the world I can only see on videos and read about in books. The memories of my relatives who all lived in the Soviet Union in the 60s, are drastically different.
July 15th, 2007 at 4:04 pm
Dani -
For many years, my long hair was a strong statement regarding my political and my social beliefs.
From 1972 to 1974 my bass player was black with an impressively massive afro. Darce was his name, and he kicked ass on bass. I always though his hair was so damned cool…
At that point my auburn locks were long and curly — reaching down to my shoulder blades. My keyboard player had blond straight hair to his waist.
We were a bad ass lookin’ band, and we didn’t play and sing half bad either.
July 15th, 2007 at 4:08 pm
Tracy -
Thank you, I am glad you enjoyed…
July 15th, 2007 at 4:13 pm
Anna -
Thank you for visiting my blog!
It’s strange and wonderful getting a comment on my blog from someone whose relatives lived in the Soviet Union in the 1960’s…
…the internet is really quite a miracle of communication!
And wouldn’t it be fantastic if all the peoples of the world could someday enjoy a free exchange of ideas — without the barriers and constraints of warring ideologies and repressive governing bodies.
July 15th, 2007 at 6:38 pm
Rob I still love long hair and what it signifies. Then, rebellion against establishment, now the artist within! The young lyrics were so appropriate for the times and how many of us felt. I can see where you’d have so much sympathy for the soldiers of today fighting such a fruitless war. Happy belated birthday! I’d like to think we’re a lot cooler than the naive parents of yesterday! What a big kafuffle back then over something as superficial as hair! How stupid could they be? I almost played the theme song from hair on my blog. So much could be said about hair and the significance of it! Great post!
Peace Sherrie
July 15th, 2007 at 9:16 pm
Sherrie -
Thank you for stopping by and sharing your thoughts… your kind words!
Yes, it’s amazing to me how much Iraq is beginning to resemble Viet Nam. Seems we never learn…
Would have loved to have heard the Hair soundtrack when I visited your blog…
July 15th, 2007 at 9:30 pm
Rob - farout photo and song.
I agree with Sherrie it would be cool to hear that song when I visit your blog.
Thanks for coming to visit my hair memories.
Wishing you Peace, Love & Many Groovy Birthdays To Come,
Frances
July 15th, 2007 at 10:17 pm
Rob,
Once again, you wow me. I think I’m becoming a groupie!
You shouldn’t “wave off” this song because of your age or your naiveté. That is what makes it so perfect. The young and idealistic were the root of all the 60’s were. You guys were a catalyst for change, and succeeded. I think it actually takes a young heart and mind to make the changes that need to happen. Partly because we (most of us) mellow with age and are much more likely to let things slide by. My family used to say I was born for the wrong decade. I should have been a 60’s child. I was passionate and driven for change. Now? Not if I have to go stand outside in the heat.
I think if we look hard enough, we can see similarities with each decade of young people, and how they choose to “stick it to the man”. Mohawks, bald heads, afro’s, flat tops, dreads, bright bold colors, spikes… You name it. Hair is easy to make a statement with. It speaks for you before the words come out of your mouth.
Sorry to ramble on your comment section…
Great Post, and happy late 60th!
July 16th, 2007 at 12:23 am
Frances -
Thank you!
I have no copies of the song recorded, but I wish I did.
I lost a lot of my old lyric books and reel to reel recordings in a very ugly divorce many years ago. That was a lot of creative energy — lost to bitterness… sad.
Thank you for the belated birthday wishes… I hope I have many more as well. Gentle peace & enriching love to you…
July 16th, 2007 at 12:42 am
Megan -
Thank you, wow… your enthusiasm humbles me!
It’s been many years since I’ve had any groupies… but fond sweet memories still linger…
I wasn’t negating the sincerity of “Flowin’ Free”, or its impact in its time — it is just obviously written by a very young Rob. I guess I’ve seen enough in my life that I’ve lost a bit of my idealistic edge… though not all.
I know I can write ‘better’ today, but maybe not as ‘genuine’, or as full of hope — no, not hope, belief… full of ‘belief’ that things can be better. Maybe I’m embarrassed to admit I’ve lost some of my passion, and that song reminds me of that fact.
We did have the passion and vitality to stand strong and proud for what we believed. The 60’s were intoxicating years, in so many ways — including spiritually, and I am not referring to religion, but rather… pure spirituality — truly connected to my fellow human beings, and to the earth.
I see the statements of individuality in my children and their friends. I never did, nor will I ever judge or discourage it. In fact, I used to encourage them to use their personal statements to try to make a difference in the world.
There are some of the young who have become despaired and pessimistic — they’ve lost faith they can make a difference… that saddens me.
However, I am so very moved and encouraged to see the young getting caught up in the movement to save this planet — talk about somethings that’s powerful and necessary… so damned important!
Well, thanks again for stopping by Megan. Please visit again!
July 16th, 2007 at 2:16 am
This is a great piece of writing - it’s so true that hair made a statement - and I guess it still does - for example the EMOs and their floppy, jet-black fringes hiding one eye. The more things change, the more things stay the same. I wonder when powdered wigs will come back in?!
July 16th, 2007 at 7:10 am
That took me back and yet this chorus could be today:
It’s time for freedom
That’s not so strange
Let’s join our voices
And there’ll be change
Thanks.
July 16th, 2007 at 8:48 am
Chief Biscuit -
Thank you!
So true about the wheel of life, the ‘Great Mandala’, turning through generation after generation — we can only hope it’s rising in its rotations to a higher plane for humankind.
Last time I cast an eye toward London, it seemed powdered wigs never left…
July 16th, 2007 at 8:51 am
Jone -
Glad you were transported…
Sadly, the chorus is still relevant. Hopefully someday we humans will uplift our lot above these words!
July 16th, 2007 at 8:58 am
growing up in the midwest I know exactly what you are talking about.
and what a delightful gift from your wife and children!
July 16th, 2007 at 9:10 am
i love this! it’s so interesting. i knew a little about how long haired “hippies” were ridiculed, but this really puts it in perspective. it was violent. your hair really was your anthem. i love the line: join with our peaceful, hairy band.
this post is really cool. thanks for sharing!
July 16th, 2007 at 9:13 am
Ascender -
Thank you for visiting and leaving your comment!
I have many fond memories of my middle America days… but the prejudice and closed minds are not among them.
My family and friends not only made my 60th B’day a complete surprise, they made it one of the most wonderful moments in my recent life…
July 16th, 2007 at 9:23 am
Tricia -
Thank you, I’m pleased you enjoyed it.
In the mid 60’s there was little tolerance in middle America for us long-hairs. You would encounter a little less backlash in the big cities of the coasts — San Francisco, LA, NYC, but even there, in the worng places, if you were alone, you’d still get accosted.
Looking at my hair in my picture; in today’s world, my hair would hardly raise an eyebrow — but we paid a frustrating price to open people’s minds to the degree of tolerance there is today. The world has a ways to go still with regard to tolerance — we’re far from an enlightened planet!
Again, I’m glad you liked this post — I was pleased to share it…
July 17th, 2007 at 4:59 am
That song is hilarious. Thank you Rob.
July 17th, 2007 at 8:20 am
Alex -
You’re welcome!
When compared to today’s lyrics, “Flowin’ Free” was certainly ‘protest-lite’…
…but when confronting the small-mindedness that was so overwhelmingly prevalent in Middle America in 1966 — it was provocative stuff… enough to stir anger and invite conflict! Things were very very different then.
December 24th, 2007 at 2:07 pm
Happy belated birthday, Rob.