Cities Can Be Like Lovers

I was going to post this on Valentine's Day, what with keeping in the holiday spirit, but I just couldn't bring myself to do so. Deep, deep down I think I justified it that if I did Hallmark would have the final victory :) Though to be Valentine's day is just the day when chocolate prices are grossly inflated beyond any reasonable form of consumer pricing. Luckily, the prices are slashed the next day and into my waiting arms they fall!

I love love love Irish punk music- Flogging Molly, Dropkick Murphys, Flatfoot 56, the Tossers, the Ducky Boys, the Pogues-not in any particular order of course, who could choose a favorite?- but a common theme I have noticed is their personal pride in their cities of origin. For example, the Dropkick Murphys are proud Boston boys and sing loud and proud about their city.

"For Boston" by Dropkick Murphys, best heard on their Live on St. Patrick's Day album-
For Boston, for Boston, we sing our proud refrain/ for Boston, for Boston 'tis wisdom's earthly fame/ for here are all one and our hearts are true/ and the towers on the heights reach the Heaven's own blue/ for Boston, for Boston 'til the echoes ring again/ for Boston, for Boston thy glory is our own/ for Boston, for Boston 'tis here that truth is known/ and ever with a right shall our heirs be found/ 'til time shall be no more and thy work is crowned/ for Boston, for Boston thy glory is our own!

The Tossers are based in Chicago, which gets at least three shout-outs on their latest release, On a Fine Spring Morning. Chicago is also mentioned in several of their other CDs, including, "the Valley of the Shadow of Death."

The Tossers also have a truly moving recitation of a poem about the city of Dublin, as spoken by the inimitable T. Duggins, their lead singer, on the opening of "Drinking in the Day" from the Valley of the Shadow of Death album [all spaces by own, as reflected by the natural pauses in the recitation, I misplaced my CD booklet and do not know, at this time, who is the author of the poem, but when I find out, I will be sure to give credit where it is due]
"A man should clear a space for himself,
like Dublin city on a Sunday morning about six o’clock.
all Dublin itself are rid of our traffic then,
and I walk.
Houses are solitary and dignified,
streets are adventures twisting in and out,and up and down my mind.
The river’s talking to itself and doesn’t care if i eavesdrop.
No longer flooded with purpose,the city turns to the mountains and takes time to listen to the sea, and i witness all three communing in silence, under a relaxed sky.
Bridges look aloof and protective. The gates of the park are closed, green places must have their privacy too.
Office blocks are empty, important, and a bit pathetic if they admitted it.
The small hills of this city are truly surprising when they emerge in that early morning light, nobody’s ever walked on them yet, they await the first explorers to straggle in from the needy north and squat down here, this minute, a weary legion between the cathedral and the river.
At the gates of conquest they might enjoy a deep, uninterrupted sleep.
To having knew so much, and without mercy and still be capable of rediscovering yourself, the old nakedness is what makes a friend of this city when sleep has failed.
I make through that nakedness to stumble on my own, surprised to find a city so like a man.
Statues and monuments check me out as I pass, clearing a space for myself the best i can, one Sunday morning, the original son, in Dublin.

T. Duggins possesses a beautiful Irish brogue and to hear him recite this poem is like listening to art.

Flogging Molly is based out of L.A., but they sing more about the Emerald Isle than they do the City of Angels. But they named themselves after the L.A. bar where they often performed in their early days.

These bands' love affair with their cities had me thinking. Number one, I hope to inspire such enthusiasm and devotion in whatever cities I will help plan in the future. If only every inhabitant felt moved to pen a song about their city's finer attributes, like a love letter.

But I also think that for those of us who love certain specific cities, the relationship could be equated to that of a romantic relationship. There are definitely atributes that make us weak in the knees- Harvard Yard, the sun dappled hills of Kentucky, Venice's canals, Minneapolis's quirky charm, etc.,

Yet there are things, like any human relationship, that drive us crazy- waiting for a non-existent bus in the Chicago drizzle, the snottiness of Parisian waitstaff, the nonstop traffic of L.A., etc., Streets that arbitrarily disappear, bars that used to be cool until they were reviewed in the Villaeg Voice and suddenly became filled with yuppies, or worse, hipsters, etc.,

In the end, we take the good with the bad, and perhaps find beauty where others may see nothing special. I hope you have a special spot in your heart for a special place that brings you happiness and peace.