I'm in a sentimental state these days with the world as it is now. I do want change for our country but am so afraid. If we had any of these four people again in this country I know things would be so different.
The song
"Abraham, Martin, John and Bobby" sung by Dion was released originally in late 1968. "Abraham, Martin & John" is a 1968 song written by Dick Holler and first recorded by Dion. It is a tribute to the memories of icons of social change, Abraham Lincoln, Martin Luther King, Jr., John F. Kennedy and Robert F. Kennedy. It was written as a response to the assassinations of King and the younger Kennedy in April and June 1968.The lyrics to this song tell a story of how these men contributed to our lives and especially our country.
Abraham, Martin & John lyrics:
Has anybody here seen my old friend Abraham?
Can you tell me where he's gone?
He freed a lot of people,
But it seems the good they die young.
You know, I just looked around and he's gone.
Anybody here seen my old friend John?
Can you tell me where he's gone?
He freed a lot of people,
But it seems the good they die young.
I just looked around and he's gone.
Anybody here seen my old friend Martin?
Can you tell me where he's gone?
He freed a lot of people,
But it seems the good they die young.
I just looked 'round and he's gone.
Didn't you love the things that they stood for?
Didn't they try to find some good for you and me?
And we'll be free Some day soon,
and it's a-gonna be one day ...
Anybody here seen my old friend Bobby?
Can you tell me where he's gone?
I thought I saw him walkin' up over the hill,
With Abraham, Martin and John.
How do you feel about this song and the people that are sung about? I know that for me it touches me to my very core. And to believe that I was only 4 years old when President Kennedy was assassinated and I already could recognize him on television and would call out his name whenever I saw him. Have you heard this song before? How do you feel about it?
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Comments: 74
Always liked it
It really is one of the reasons I love music so much, and know so much about what happened during any point in history with my family.
Anyways, nice post. I never did get to that playlist today-- was finally able to fall asleep this morning and slept well into the afternoon. Maybe tomorrow.
You know I have always been a person who wanted to live in the future, but I tell you what, right now the future looks very scary to me.
I have an LP with JFKs inaugural speech, which I proudly display in my office.
That Abraham - brother - song. Dang, it chokes me up every time.
This song still makes me cry. I guess I'm just in a melancholy mood.
The grave that they dug him had flowers
Gathered on the hillside in bright summer colors
and the brown earth bleached white at the edge of his gravestone
He's gone.
But eternity knows him.
And it knows what we've done......
I think it's Don Maclean, on the American Pie album but I'm not totally sure.
John F. Kennedy was shot when I was almost six months old; I don't have any clear memory of the occasion (who would? at that age) but I have a hazy recollection of lying in a pool of blue and hearing my mother scream. (We had a rag rug with a bright blue oval in the center; I used to lie on it as a small child and stretch to see how far I could reach out.)
I do remember my mother making me watch Jesse Jackson testify in front of Congress about civil rights issues; Mama worked as a pediatric nurse in one of the State Board of Health clinics in Jones County, Mississippi and saw the deprivation that the rural blacks had to contend with from a front-row seat. She said that for Jesse Jackson to be talking to black men about staying home and raising their families was history. Her sympathies were entirely with the children.
Take it easy. I'm sure you'll post when you're not so nervous at night about going to sleep.
I was four when that happened and I remember clearly as if it had been yesterday that that happened. I loved President Kennedy and would always point him out and call him Kenneny whenever I saw him on television. It was a very sad day for everyone in our home.
I remember when Martin Luther King was murdered also and when Bobby was shot and killed. Those were terrible times indeed.
I too always wanted to live in the future. I don't know why but it is a strange thing that people have always called me an old soul. I do sometimes feel that way as there is no explaining how I know and can relate to stuff that was before my time.
I too am scared about the future Rose. More than you will ever know. Its not the fear of dying that scares me, it is the uncertainly in the time in which we now live that scares me. I never thought in my lifetime that I would feel afraid about anything.
The closest to ever being afraid was when we lived in Germany back in '64 (the first time we went for four years) we were told to always be on the look out for cars that had "communist" license plates and what we were to do if we saw some driving around with them.
My Parents also have that album with the inauguration of President Kennedy.
This song made me cry then and it still does. We don't have heroes like this anymore.
Glad that you enjoyed this.
I remember that these guys scared the living daylights out of so many, as well. I couldn't understand why, cause everything I heard them saying was so reasonable, and hopeful, and uplifting.
I get a lump in my throat, tears and chills when I hear this song because it does bring back that day.
I remember when Martin Luther King died, again it was unbelievable. The sixties was a time to change the world and here the leader of making things right was gone. Who would do such a thing. He was a great man and again we had a fallen leader. What a tragedy...and so wrong.
Then two months later when Bobby Kennedy died, it was hard to believe that someone could reach him to do it. Rosy Grier knocked Sirhan Sirhan down but it was too late. So many were exited about Bobby's run and for it to end so tragically....
I hope on this campaign trail, the secret service are working hard so we don't have a repeat of what happened to Bobby.
I have a few more of these to do. I am in just in such a state right now that much more than listening to good music is about all I can handle. You know how good music is for the soul.
Thanks Esther. From the bottom of my heart.
But, they are resting in heaven right now, basking in the fact that their memories will always be in our hearts. Thanks for the lovely tribute, Esther.
This is a very profoundly moving article, and evoked from me all those emotions from another time when America was being pulled to pieces by war and divisiveness.
You brought a healing tear to my eye with this one...
Linda yes, that was from the American Pie album
I've attempted that before, using the code which Youtube provides plus other html, but have failed each time.
Thanks, Esther.
They had a bright light shining from within that you could feel when you heard them speak or watched them anytime or anywhere on television. I even memorized the "I have a dream" speech word for word there for awhile I was so in love with MLK and his vision for equality.
Where did all of those dreams go and what has happened to our country?
I can only imagine what it was like to lose such a man like that from the perspective of having known him, but so many of us who didn't know him too were saddened by his unpredictable demise.
I too think of him today myself.
I can't imagine how frightening it must have been to have been in school and to have discovered that the reason behind it was because our President had been killed. I would imagine that everyone would have been in shock and crying.
Then of course there was Martin Luther King who was amazing and a leader. Never one like him has come again.
And then when Bobby ran for President we felt as if our hopes and dreams were going to be restored but yet another tragedy.
It was a terrible time in America and American politics and so much civil unrest. Not unlike what is happening all around us now.
We can only pray that things will "CHANGE."
All of these men were the best of the best and Abraham of course can never be forgotten.
Very sad.
You are a dear, dear friend Robert Burnham.
I am not President Kennedy's daughter and I am not a staunch Democrat either. Yet I still have faith that I will see the light and vote for the best man come November.
I have been in tears for days over what is happening in our country and feel so lost and afraid of what will become of our once wonderful, honorable and respected country in the time to come.
One, two and voila! ;)
We can only pray.
It is a rare thing anymore for us to understand or weigh and debate the policies suggested by our candidates. We are fed a constant stream of gibberish to remove our thoughts from what is important, and many of us allow ourselves to be distracted by it.
It could be argued the Kennedys would still be electable, though I sometimes wonder if Kennedy had survived in office if he would be nearly as well-remembered... It's easy to adore the ones who were taken from us while they still had hope and fire...
As for John and Bobby, I do believe that they would have been elected. Who knows what would have happened. There are some who would have you believe that they would have been corrupt as has everyone else. I don't believe it but it is just conjecture at this point.
As for us choosing only the handsome, I hadn't thought about it but I guess you could be right. I was for Gore and wanted Gore to win over Bush even if Bush if from my home state. Alas, we are in a position to make a difference now so we must push ourselves to vote for those whom we feel best reflects the type of people that we are.
There's nothing in the street
Looks any different to me
And the slogans are replaced, by-the-bye
And the parting on the left
Is now the parting on the right
And the beards have all grown longer overnight
(who)
Actually meeting Muhhamed Ali, Cassus Clay at that time, was much more exciting. Clay couldn't wait to come out in the driveway and play basketball with us.
Love that song by the Who...
And Cassius Clay aka Mohammed Ali was something else back then. "Fly like a butterfly, sting like a bee..."
You and I are around the same age so I'm sure you heard it back when I did. I still listen to it and have it on my Ipod. ;)
Thanks for sharing.
Bless you...
sorry my finger slipped on the stupid rating scale... you always deserve a 10....
I live in Jackson, MS, about 2 1/2 to 3 hours from Oxford, where the first Presidential debate will take place on September 26. James Meredith, who lives here in Jackson, is marching to Oxford with supporters to raise awareness of the need for healthcare for the poor (as well as several other issues, I think. I didn't catch the whole segment.)
James Meredith was the first black student to enroll at Ole Miss and had to be escorted to classes by federal marshals. He will be attending the Presidential debate as well.
www.wlbt.com
Thank you for being there for me.
Things can only change if we all get involved in what is happening in our country now. And Yes I agree with us having come full circle. I too hope and pray that things change and change for the good of our people, our country and the world.
We can only pray.
GatherFest
<3 Krystal