Wednesday, April 2, 2025
Time: 9:05 PM
Song: Dig a Pony
Artist: The Beatles
Mode of Consumption: Listening to MP3s on the way home from Write On Meeting.
Link to Song: https://open.spotify.com/track/4OUmlC67FoPLvQNuE5C7kF?si=6a3ca6cf33a14ed4
We discussed a short story at Write On tonight called “The
Pub With No Beer,” by Kevin Barry. It’s a story of a COVID era Irish bar and its
third-generation owner, who is haunted by the voices of past patrons.
It was a chance to look at another approach to writing a
ghost story. It also challenged us to think about places where we are reminded
of people who are either no longer alive or maybe we just don’t see anymore.
When this song came on during the drive home, I thought
about my grandparents and spending almost every Sunday afternoon and evening
there when we were growing up.
Sometime in junior high, I bought the cassette of the “Let
It Be” album, and while I already knew the major singles off this album, it was
lesser-known songs like “Dig a Pony,” “Two of Us” and “I’ve Got a Feeling,”
that caught my ear.
They were grittier and vibrant and rawer than the more
sentimental and at times overproduced songs like the title track and “The Long
and Winding Road.” They also seemed to fly in the face of the narrative that this
was a breakup album. Instead, in these songs, I hear a band that could still
have fun when they stripped away the pretense and bullshit.
I have a vivid memory of laying on the couch in my
grandparents’ den with my Walkman and earphones on and listening to the album
over and over on one Sunday. While part of me probably wanted to be out in the
world, I also relished this cocoon of family that surrounded me every week. It
was a gritty, vibrant and raw happiness. No pretense. No over production. Just
some TV. Some card playing. A few laughs. Cold cut sandwiches and Jello.
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