Some of those on the Boards might remember Woody Guthrie, the American folksinger/songwriter, probably best remembered for writing This Land Is Your Land. (Some may have heard of him as Arlo Guthrie's father.) Over 70 years ago, he wrote a song called So Long, It's Been Good To Know You, perhaps the most famous in his series of songs called the "Dust Bowl Ballads."

Anyway, if you don't know the original song, there are two Guthrie versions to be found on YouTube: click here for a recording he made for the Library of Congress around 1940, and click here for a version he rewrote a couple of years later with patriotic, World War II-themed lyrics.

Since Woody Guthrie was known for rewriting his songs when the occasion seemed appropriate, I felt the time was right to bring this song up to date, combining my "channelling Woody" with my own observations at the end. Performed this last night at a folksinging get-together in Brooklyn, and I will admit that it was well-received.

Signor V.

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So Long, Osama (Ain't Been Good To Know You)

We’ve sung this song, but we’ll sing it again,
How we’d catch him or kill him, though we didn’t know when.
Two thousand-eleven, the first day of May,
And the world heard America singing that day. (Singing:)

So long, ain’t been good to know you,
So long, ain’t been good to know you,
So long, ain’t been good to know you,
From the Home Of The Brave and the Land Of The Free,
Now Bin Laden is buried at sea.

On September eleven, two thousand-and-one,
We bled as a nation, the fight had begun,
A war against terror, our leaders they said,
We’d cut out the heart when we cut off the head. (Well, it’s:)

So long, ain’t been good to know you,
So long, ain’t been good to know you,
So long, ain’t been good to know you,
From the Home Of The Brave and the Land Of The Free,
Now Bin Laden is buried at sea.

They found him in Pakistan, now we can tell,
How our brave Navy SEALS sent Osama to Hell,
They planned it, they landed, two bullets and then,
Bin Laden was dead and we sang once again. (Singing:)

So long, ain’t been good to know you,
So long, ain’t been good to know you,
So long, ain’t been good to know you,
From the Home Of The Brave and the Land Of The Free,
Now Bin Laden is buried at sea.

So let us remember those patriots, all,
The men and the women who’ve answered the call,
We’ll fight overseas, we’re protecting our shore,
And we’ll pray in our hearts for an end to all war. (But it’s:)

So long, ain’t been good to know you,
So long, ain’t been good to know you,
So long, ain’t been good to know you,
From the Home Of The Brave and the Land Of The Free,
Now Bin Laden is buried at sea.

"For me, there's only my wife..."

"Sure I cook with wine - sometimes I even add it to the food!"

"When life itself seems lunatic, who knows where madness lies?"

"It was a grass harp... And we listened."

"Do any human beings ever realize life while they live it? Every, every minute?"

"No. Saints and poets, maybe... they do some."