Forty Years Ago Today

[sarettah]

Forty years ago today the infamous Long Island Expressway took away from us a great artist, way before his time.

The legacy of Harry Chapin's music and activism continues on.

RIP Harry Chapin December 7, 1942 – July 16, 1981





https://www.newsday.com/long-island/...ger-1.50302198

You've likely seen the result of his lifetime work, as well — from World Hunger Year and WhyHunger, cofounded with DJ Bill Ayres in 1975 to address food insecurity in America, to the Long Island Cares Harry Chapin Food Bank, which Chapin founded in 1980 to address the problem on the Island.

"He was a person who understood life was precious and that a life is a flicker in time and you have to maximize it to the greatest extent possible," son Jason Chapin said last week, adding: "He wanted to matter, he wanted to make a difference and to have an impact he knew you had to do something … I think he has a lasting legacy not just because of who he was, but also because of who he inspired."

.

[JesseQuinn]

Oh if a man tried
To take his time on earth
And prove before he died
What one man's life could be worth
I wonder what would happen
To this world

[CaptainHowdy]

Originally Posted by JesseQuinn

Oh if a man tried
To take his time on earth
And prove before he died
What one man's life could be worth
I wonder what would happen
To this world

[JesseQuinn]

Originally Posted by CaptainHowdy

...

electric guitars make baby Jesus cry

except for Hendrix and these fine folks (but still unlistenable towards the end)

[sarettah]

Originally Posted by JesseQuinn

electric guitars make baby Jesus cry

except for Hendrix and these fine folks (but still unlistenable towards the end)

"Ah strum your guitar -- sing it kid
Just write about your feelings -- not the things you never did
Inexperience -- it once had cursed me
But your youth is no handicap -- it's what makes you thirsty

You can hear your footsteps as you're kicking up the dust
And the rustling in the shadows tells you secrets you can trust
The capturing of whispers is the way to write a song
It's when you get to microphones the music can go wrong

You can't see the audience with spotlights in you eyes
Your feet can't feel the highway from where the Lear jet flies
When you glide in silent splendor in you padded limousines
Only you are crying there behind the silver screen

Now you battle dragons -- but they'll all turn into frogs
When you grab the wheel of fortune -- you'll get caught up in the cogs

First your art turns into craft -- then the yahoos start to laugh
Then you'll hear the jackals howl 'cause they love to watch the fall

They're the lost ones out there feeding on the wounded and the bleeding
They always are the first to see the cracks upon the walls"

There only was one choice - Harry Chapin 1977

.

[JesseQuinn]

damn that is a long track

for real though, he really was a wicked poet

[romeo22]

Legends never die

[CaptainHowdy]

Originally Posted by JesseQuinn

electric guitars make baby Jesus cry

except for Hendrix and these fine folks (but still unlistenable towards the end)

They're fit, colorful, contorting black men you can cheerfully enjoy on mute . . .

[tfto]

Originally Posted by sarettah

Forty years ago today the infamous Long Island Expressway took away from us a great artist, way before his time.

The legacy of Harry Chapin's music and activism continues on.

RIP Harry Chapin December 7, 1942 – July 16, 1981

Still a great song.

[JesseQuinn]

Originally Posted by sarettah

Ah strum your guitar -- sing it kid
Just write about your feelings -- not the things you never did
Inexperience -- it once had cursed me
But your youth is no handicap -- it's what makes you thirsty

Sometimes I get this crazy dream
And I just take off in my car
But you can travel on ten thousand miles
And still stay where you are

[Jazzix]

Rock on!

[constantinos]

Rest In Peace!