A stimulating morning --Jethro Tull and James M. McPherson

 This morning I have been listening to a 1984 concert by Jethro Tull on YouTube while reading the last chapter  and the epilog of James M. McPherson's extraordinary Battle Cry of Freedom:  the American Civil War.  It was quite an experience.

I have been following Jethro Tull since ~1970 and have seen them three times in  concert. Ian Anderson, the leader of the band, started out playing an eccentric style of flute music, writing ambitious songs, and creating interesting lyrics. The video of this concert is truly excellent and  made me think of how remarkable the human ability to create music is.

McPherson's book is a masterpiece of American history.  It uses numerical data to capture the complex economic situation (very important!), the individal personalities (largely taken from the diaries and memoirs that so many soldiers, politicians and journalists produced during and after the war. The historiography of this crucial era is treated very briefly but brilliantly.

The Battle Cry of Freedom is a remarkable achievement.  I know something about history  -- I have written a fair number of books, but they are pretty short by comparison.  I am astonished by McPherson and I can't really imagine how he did it.

One aspect of BCF is worth mentioning,  The last chapter, "We Are All Americans;" is one of the most dramatic pieces of historical writing I have ever seen.  That's largely because it describes the reactions of various witnesses to the high drama of the end of the war.

Have a look:

Lincoln's visit to Richmond produced the most unforgettable scenes of this unforgettable war.  With an escort of only ten sailors, the president walked the streets while Porter peered nervously at every window for would-be assassins.  But the Emancipator  was soon surrounded by an impenetrable cordon of black people shouting"Glory to God! Glory! Glory! Glory!" "Bless the Lord!" "The great Messiah!" "I knowed him as soon as I seed him.  He's been in my heart four long years. Come to free his children from bondage. Glory, Hallelujah!" Several freed slaves touched Lincoln to make sure he was real.   "I know I am free, shouted an old woman, for I have seen Father Abraham and felt him."  Overwhelmed by rare emotions, Lincoln said to one black man who fell on his knees in front of him, "Don't kneel  to me.  That is not right. You must kneel to God only, and thank  Him for the liberty  you will enjoy hereafter." 

I always liked that name

Ian Anderson, leader of the band Jethro Tull, speaks of his regrets over the band's name (in Billboard):

Anderson adds that recording and touring under his own name now also allows him to shed some guilt he's felt since February of 1968, when the group's booking agency gave Jethro Tull the name of an 18th century British agriculturist after several other monikers were rejected.

"If you'd asked me 20 years ago did I regret anything about my musical career, my answer then, as it is today, has always been the name of the band," Anderson admits. "I can't help but feel more and more as I get older that I'm guilty of identity theft and I ought to go to prison for it, really. It's almost as if I watched old Jethro Tull at the cash machine and leaned over his shoulder as he put his credit card into the machine to check out his PIN and filched his credit card form from his back pocket as he walked away and then fleeced his bank account. It doesn't make me feel very good. I never paid much attention in history class, so I didn't realize we'd been named after a dead guy until a couple of weeks later."

Jethro Tull's "The Clasp," again

I have posted this song before, but I don't care.  Fifteenth century outfits, flute, tall ships, battle horses, the synthetic chiefs of history.  Truth speaks:

Somehow seems appropriate for upcoming election debates

...in the US and Canada.


Jethro Tull, playing The Clasp live in 1982 (first 4 minutes), studio track here, the lyrics here.

Synthetic chiefs with frozen smiles, holding unsteady courses
Grasp the reins of history high on their battle horses.
And meeting as good statesmen do before the TV eyes of millions
Hand to hand exchange the lie, pretend to make the clasp.

Jethro Tull was one of my favorite bands between 1968 and 1973, when I stopped following them. Someone gave me a whole collection of their later works about two years ago and the consistent quality they have maintained since 73 surprised me. Looking back forty years I can see why this band still appeals to me: Ian Anderson's personal mythology and mine overlap significantly. His use of symbolism in The Clasp really hits home.