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4/18/07
 
I'm back from bouncing around in the sky all weekend. Way to go Southwest Airlines! You got me there and back with guitar in hand- even though it took a little creative routing... I continued to polish the lyric below as I drove my rented Dodge Caliber through Texas and southern Oklahoma... I've tightened up a couple of the lines I think... Seems to be part of my writing process that I learn the most about a song when I actually sing it to an audience, which I did Saturday and Sunday night. Speaking of which, my thanks to the promoters, especially Mary Andrews and Becky Grider; and to everyone else who made this weekend so much fun.  I look forward to coming back real soon!

Thanks also to Kris Kristofferson for the kind words in this week's TV Guide.
I felt like the karate kid picking up a ring magazine and reading that Muhammad Ali was bragging on him. 

4/12/07

This lyric came from a question my friend Reggie Harris posed to the inmates at Gander Hill yesterday... The discussion that it prompted grew from just our given names to the various ways we  see ourselves as well as the ways we are seen by others; the obligations we have to reject limiting or degrading labels (the way the women of the Rutgers Basketball team have so admirably done!) and the responsibility we have to live up to the power and potential of names we chose for ourselves as we take part in life's journey. Thanks again Reg!

Reggie’s Question  (What’s In A Name) 
(John Flynn)

My name is addict… my name is thief
My name is gangster… my name is grief
My name is inmate… that is my shame
There's no escaping what’s in a name 

My name is dealer… my name is thug
My name is hustler… violence and drugs
have been my life now… it’s called the game
Sometimes it's scary what’s in a name

My name is father, my name is son
My name was stolen a couple hundred
years ago by white men with chains
Sometimes I wonder What’s in a name 

Some names I’ve taken… some I have earned
Some give me strength while others have burned
crosses and bridges with hatred’s flame
There’s no disguising  what’s in a name

My name is father, my name is son
My name was stolen a couple hundred
years ago but when I complain
You shrug and ask me What’s in a name

My name is dear to those who love me
My name is fear to those who don't see
That in our hearts we are all the same
I'm only human... What's in a name

 

© 2007 Flying Stone Music

4/10/07

Howdy! It’s been a long time since I checked in at this page…  Things are going okay here in the chilly woods of north west Wilmington… They tell me it will be nice and warm in Texas this weekend. That will be a nice change from the spring we’re having here.

Thanks to the folks who responded to my note about my volunteer group at Howard R. Young Correctional Institution (a.k.a. Gander Hill Prison). I’m not sure we’ll find someone whose schedule fits our needs but it’s nice to know some folks care. 

Speaking of prison, my friend Reggie Harris will be accompanying me to Gander Hill tomorrow. It will be Reg’s second visit with the inmates. As far as I can tell there are two kinds of folksingers… the first are the kind who mostly just sing about a better world (Kris calls them the “Peace, Love and F*** You!” types). The second kind of folksingers are the kind who aren’t afraid to put down the guitar and roll up their sleeves.  Human beings who really walk the walk.  Reg is definitely one of these and I’m proud to call him a friend. 

A couple big festivals this summer… including an evening mainstage slot at Philly! We’re really looking forward to this and it looks like my friends from the band Xavier: Abe and Krishna Guthrie (Arlo’s son and grandson) and Tim Sears will be backing me up for the show. I played with Abe and Tim on the City of New Orleans tour and it was a real treat! 

I’ll try not to be a stranger!

(c) John Flynn, All rights reserved