Walk Away Renee

This has been a busy time, busy but good in many ways. Easter was wonderful – a lot of people and a lot of energy. I’ve mentioned one significant funeral during Lent. There have been others, including one of the wise elders at my church. Armas was the son of Finnish immigrants who became a professor of psychology at the University of Minnesota, Duluth. At his funeral I discovered that his name means “beloved” in Finnish. “David” means “beloved” in Hebrew.
Besides all the activity at my church there has been the preparation for the United Methodist General Conference coming up later this month. There have been meetings and phone calls and e-mails. There has been reading and study.
So it is kind of nice that I came across some small bit of trivia that brought a smile. I was reading something about unrecorded Woody Guthrie songs being set to music by contemporary musicians. It began with Billy Bragg and Wilco. I was reading about Billy Bragg and there was mention of his recording of “Walk Away Renee.” I could hear the song in my head and began to wonder who performed the original version. Such a familiar song, I was sure I had it on my computer, or, if not, certainly on a CD. I went to my i tunes and did a search. “Walk Away Renee” was there, in the wonderful version by the Four Tops. While great, I knew this wasn’t the original. Who did that? A little internet search brought me the information – The Left Banke. I never knew that. I also discovered that the song was listed as number 222 in Rolling Stone's 500 Greatest Songs of All Time. A few clicks later “Walk Away Renee” is now on my computer and burned on a CD. It is a great song that should bring a smile, even if you’ve never heard it before.
Small joys are always welcome.

With Faith and With Feathers,

David

The Left Banke, "Walk Away Renee"