One Toke Over The Line

winner

@devilnevercare We can't stop here! This is Bat Country!!

Lawrence Welk was NOBODY'S FOOL...His NOT-Too-Distant Ancestors hailed from the Alsace-Lorraine Territory of--Most Often--Germany...tho' these lands along the Rhine River and the Vosges Mountains have been Fought IN & OVER By France & Germany & even the Roman Empire--FOR CENTURIES. Actually--The Welk Family had even left Alsace-Lorraine for Odessa, Ukraine--Talk About Going From The "Frying Pan INTO The Fire"--Before FINALLY Immigrating To America (Strasburg, North Dakota) in the early 1890's.<br /> <br /> Lawrence Welk KNEW of Political Censorship of Writers & Artists & Musicians & Professors & Intellectuals of All Types & Stripes ALL TOO WELL--AND--The Need To STAND UP TO IT RIGHT AWAY...or There Could Be UnImaginable H-E-Double-Hockey-Sticks To Pay LATER.<br /> <br /> Lawrence Welk was born in 1903...<br /> His teen-years were--WW I...<br /> His 20-30-something years were--The Great Depression...<br /> His 30-40-something years were--WW II...<br /> His 50's were--The Second Red Scare--a.k.a. The McCarthy Era<br /> His 60's were--The Counter Culture Era...when--say what You Will about ALL That The "Free Spirits" Got & Did WRONG...What They Got & Did RIGHT Was To ADVANCE THE OPENING of GREATER AMERICAN SOCIETY To Previously Marginalized People of All Conceivable Identity Groups & Categories & Sources...AS WE'D NEVER DONE BEFORE--IN OUR NATION'S HISTORY...<br /> <br /> So NOW--It's 1970...Woodstock, The Moon Landing & The Manson Family Helter-Skelter Killings were just last year..The Summer of '69...I haven't been able to find out exactly when Lawrence Welk played this song on His Show...So I can't be certain whether or not the May 4, 1970 Kent State Shootings Had Happened YET...But Student Rioting WAS The "Order of The Day" When--Just 4 Days Earlier...On April 30--President NIXON Had Announced in a Televised Address--America's Invasion of Cambodia.<br /> <br /> When Nations Become Rocked By THIS MUCH Turmoil--Leaders Are ALWAYS Tempted To CRACK DOWN--"For The People's OWN Good"... 8 /<br /> --As Nixon Was Doing...in John Dean's words to..."use the available federal machinery to screw our political enemies."...whose names were kept on a Master List of Nixon Political Opponents...a.k.a. "Nixon's Enemies List"...<br /> <br /> ANYWHO...Along comes 2 hungry musicians--Mike Brewer & Tom Shipley--among the 100's & 100's of such American Folk Singer-Songwriters that mushroomed up during the 1960's-70's...and they wrote--mostly as a joke--THIS Song...One Toke Over The Line...<br /> <br /> And It's cute & catchy & mentions Jesus & sweet Mary & Railway Stations & Momma & Going Home & Just ALL "Those Things" That A "Good" Country/Folk Song SHOULD Mention...and...Oh yeah...btw...it ALSO mentions "toke" several times because "toke" is in the Refrain about 4 x's...and the song is made up of MOSTLY--Repeating The Refrain...<br /> <br /> ...So NOW--The Vice President of the United States Under President Nixon--Spiro T Agnew--Feels The Need To PERSONALLY NAME Brewer & Shipley & THEIR Song--As Being..."subversive to American youth"...<br /> <br /> And--BAM!!--The NEXT Thing Anyone Knows IS That...Lawrence Welk has "Gail & Dale" perform "One Toke Over The Line" ON HIS SHOW and saying to His Audience..."There you've heard a modern spiritual by Gail and Dale."<br /> <br /> At The Time...MOST of US College Kids (Yes--I was a freshman in College in 1970-71--do the math)...were snickering & thinking that Welk was "clueless"...BUT NOW--40+ years later...I think that Ol' Lawrence Welk Knew EXACTLY WHAT He Was Doing...And He Sent A CLEAR MESSAGE To Spiro T & Co...When He Put This Number ON His "Clean Cut Family Show"...<br /> <br /> ...Because ANYONE Who Knows ANYTHING About Protestant SUPPRESSION of The Role of Mary IN THEIR VERSION of The Life & Story of Jesus Christ--And Protestant OBJECTIONS To Catholics As Being "A Cult of Mary" & "Mary Worshippers" etc. ... And Therefore--We TRUE AMERICANS MUST Keep "Un-American Thinking" Catholics OUT of Seats of Power & Authority ... Can Hear ANOTHER little Message Tucked INto This "subversive" Song.<br /> <br /> Anyway...Spiro T Agnew background was--Most Likely--Greek Orthodox...kissin' cousins of catholics...so--It's ALSO HIGHLY Likely That Spiro T Heard This (Mary) message--AS WELL--And Deliberately Pitched His "Subversive" Comments At THIS Song...Scoring Twice--<br /> <br /> First--With "Republican Patriots" ALARMED By A "Toke" 'n "Mary" Song...<br /> <br /> And AGAIN--When Lawrence Welk Swung At Spiro's Pitch...Striking A Homerun HIT for a couple of starving musical artists...<br /> <br /> It's HOW Our American System Works--BEST...<br /> Learn The Rules...And How To Play...Pick A Team...And Join IN...<br /> THEN--It Becomes...Seriously Good...Fun.<br />

I thought I it was religious when I was a kid. Thought they were talking about staying on the straight and narrow. "one toe over the line, sweet Jesuz" that's what I sang as a child