Amerikosh (cont'd)

There is something beautiful and compelling about this song, simple as it is. I redicovered it today, buried in a playlist. It jumped out! And I just got this feeling that its folksy naiveté belies much depth.

Listen to it. At first, it sounds almost a little daft (what's with calling everyone Jimmy - 'your and your auntie jimmy and your cousin jim' -- is it, like, supposed to be ironic?).

But then no! Woven into it are are some of the strongest threads of the American ethos, moving and heartbreaking. Doesn't it conjure the image of the wanderer? The loner, the explorer, the cowboy, the drifter. And the vastness of the land he sets off across in his coming of age -- as his coming of age.

What is the American story if not that of the individual and his journey, his relationship with the land, his relationship with the Lord, his private conversion and rebirth. Think of the ante-bellum push across the Western frontier (those iconic covered wagons). Long before that even, think of the impulses that compelled the very first Puritan settlers across the Atlantic to a harsh and unknown country, where they set off to build their City Upon a Hill, their New Jerusalem.

Go West young man, and grow up with the country!

But then, as I was listening to it again...you get the sense that the song is about finding home, coming home.

And the buffaloes used to say be proud of your name

The Buffaloes used to say be what you are

Perhaps this isn't a song about the frontier and about the land - not in the literal sense. Maybe those are metaphores for the inward journey we all embark on - the self as the untamed frontier and the thing to set off and discover. Is there a plainer name than Jimmy? He's a man, yes, he's who she is signing to mournfully. But he is also everyone, in a way. Everyone who sets off on this grandest of journeys which we all have to embark on before we can return home again. Ideally, set tot he rhythm of plucking strings...

Jimmy won't you please come home
Where the grass is green and the buffaloes roam
Come see Jimmy your uncle Jim Your auntie Jimmie and your cousin Jim
Come home Jimmy because you need a bath
And your grandpa Jimmy is still gone daft

Now there's buffalo Jim and buffalo Jim
And Jim buffalo now didn't you know
Jim Jim Jimmy its your last cigarette
But there's buffalo piss and it's all kind of wet
Jambo Jimmy you'd better hold your nose
All roads lead to roam with the buffaloes

And the Buffaloes used to say be proud of your name
The Buffaloes used to say be what you are
The Buffaloes used to say roam where you roam
The Buffaloes used to say do what you do

Well you've gotta have a wash but you can't clean your name
You're now called Jimmy you'll be Jimmy just the same
The keys are in a bag in a chest by the door
One of Jimmy's friends has taken the floor
Jimmy won't you please come home
Where the grass is green and the buffaloes roam
Dear old Jimmy you've forgotten you're young
But you can't ignore the buffalo song

And the Buffaloes used to say be proud of your name
The Buffaloes used to say be what you are
The Buffaloes used to say roam where you roam
The Buffaloes used to say do what you do
If you remember you're unknown
Buffaloland will be your home

*DISCLAIMER* I've been kindof engulfed in American cultural history lately (PBS online ftw), and maybe that's why it resonates so. May I particularly recommend the 'God in America' series http://www.pbs.org/godinamerica/view/. So worth it.

*UPDATE* So I just looked up the band..and Moriarty is actually a FRENCH-AMERICAN band! With band member names such as the très cowboyesque:

Charles Carmignac

Arthur Gillette
Thomas Puéchavy
Rosemary Standley

Stephan Zimmerli.

Oh my God that almost ruins it... Whatevs, I'm not about to let a little something called reality affect my thoughts on the matter - I stand by it all (especially since they are avowedly inspired by Irish folk music, country and the blues)

...ahh, maudite merde!

Response to "Tell me what you know about dreams..."

Nudgeyun Babosh. I’m very happy you’re asking yourself these questions. It’s almost a great relief for me. Because most people, either because they don’t care or simply because they can’t, never take a step back and put things into perspective. They just go with the flow and end up wherever a series of random events takes them. Others, like us, realize that life is a canvas. Fortunately we were given a beautiful pallet with almost every color – pastels, rich reds and yellows, blues bright and dark- to paint the picture that is our lives. We have the best setup of almost anyone in the world: a loving family, good health and, thanks to mommy and daddy, an incredible upbringing. Now the question is: what to do about it? And the answer is: whatever you want, because everything is possible.

I think back at my Marianopolis days all the time, not because I’m nostalgic or anything like that, but more because it marked what so far has been the most important part of my life to date – my first (thankfully successful) major attempt to build my own world.

Now without getting too abstract/poser-intellectual, let me try to explain what I mean. I’m sure you’ll be able to relate with a lot of this. Up to that point, life’s journey had pretty much been on auto-pilot. Charlemagne was like day camp. Things unfolded the way they were supposed to. And the path forward seemed pretty straight forward and defined. But, perhaps because of all the traveling we did when we were young, or the books I read about some pretty incredible people, I realized that an entire horizon existed beyond what was directly in front of me. A horizon I had to imagine and get to on my own.

It’s very hard to have picture of the world that only exists in your head. Like imagining yourself with a super hot girl you have a crush on, or driving a really nice car, or being at a great school. These are all dreams that don’t exist in the real world. The key is to make them happen – to build a world where they do exist. Getting into schools that are “statistically impossible” to get into is one example. My next major goal is to start a company that sells financial products that don’t even exist yet. And it was at Marianopolis that this new world view took shape and became a definite way of seeing the world for me.

I think in many ways the same thing is happening to you. You want to know where to go. Well you can go wherever you want. If you want to be a pro sports player, a published writer, a billionaire – whatever, you can do it. But you have to get there, and the only way to get there is if every fiber of your being is directed towards reshaping the world into how you see it in your mind. Of course, you don’t have to know exactly how things need to turn out. But you need to be crystal clear about in what direction you’re going. Or else you’re just stalling. Have a plan. Make sure it’s your plan. Have a life plan, and you’ll see you’ll need a lot of smaller plans to achieve your ultimate goal.

I was fortunate enough to meet a lot of really incredible people in the last few years. One guy I know was a nationally ranked rower in high school. Then after Wharton he planned to study at Julliard, because he’s a world class pianist too. But instead he now works at one of the best Hedge Funds in the worlds. And what I learned about this guy is that everything he did, he did it to max. Like his life depended on it. The same is true for whatever you decide to do. And if you’re working towards accomplishing your dream – shaping your world – then it’s easy and fun. And if all goes to plan, as Henry Thoreau said, you’ll “live the life you’ve dreamed”.

Tell me what you know about dreams...

Igen torotosh remember a while back when I texted you about having a dream that my teeth were falling out? I knew it had some significance and strangely, I believe in that kind of stuff so I asked you what it meant. You told me that big changes were coming in my life.

Well sure enough it happened and I have to say I'm getting used to the big change. I'm saying all this to know if you can relate (maybe on an even larger scale given Penn/Oxbridge) and that this might be what you guys have experienced at Marianopolis too.. Is there much more to come?

I might have just hit the tip of the iceberg, but sometimes I feel like I'm getting to know where I'm going with my life. I guess I want to find out know just how to make the best decisions to get where I not only need to go, but also you know.. where I want to go. I don't mean I'm fucking up in school, actually quite the contrary because things are looking pretty good this semester, but the same way big changes came into my life, big decisions come with it too, just like uncle Ben said: "With great power comes great responsibility".

A lot of thought come through my head.. Like should I just keep going and it will all come together or.. should I make a plan... or should I think about traveling somewhere soon? University's coming at me soon and trust me there is no way you feel weirder hearing it that I feel saying it...

Anyways it's been nice to vent some existential words of wisdom, but I need to get to bed..

kind of feel like this guy right now...




P.S. In terms of materialism, my room and my car are also pretty trippy..