John Wayne would probably not make it in today's entertainment world. Like so many other screen legends, Wayne has become a relic of the past. Too bad. We could use more heroic heroes.
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| This was part of my late step-father's John Wayne memorabilia collection. Maybe I should have kept that collection, but selling it all on eBay wasn't a terrible idea either. |
Childhood Fantasies
We'd play lots of made up fantasy games when I was a kid. Cowboys and Indians was a favorite. I don't know that many kids pretend to be cowboys and Indians these days. It might be considered culturally insensitive, too violent, or something like that. If kids do play fantasy role games now, maybe they pretend to be activists or lawyers. Hopefully kids still have fun and stretch their imaginations, but I'm happy that I grew up in the time I did. You could literally be anyone you wanted to be in your dreams and not be shamed for doing so. But it was also a time of better morality in many ways.
For me, the concept of cowboys takes me back to those childhood fantasies. Today's Battle of the Bands song uses cowboy imagery in a metaphorical way: A man in love seeing himself as a sort of romantic cowboy hero. America and the world still has a certain fanciful image of cowboy life so I think that makes the romantic cowboy metaphor work. See what you think...
Battle of the Bands
Cowboy Dreams
This song was written by Prefab Sprout's Paddy McAloon for the 1994 BBC television series Crocodile Shoes. Prefab Sprout has been one of my favorite pop/rock groups since I first discovered them back in the eighties. In my opinion Paddy McAloon is one of the best of modern era songwriters. Please don't vote on the original, but if you want to hear how Prefab Sprout does the song then you can click this link. They released their version in 2001. This is a lovely version with a nice video--please don't vote for it as much as you might be tempted to do.
The current Battle looks at two other version of the song. See which you enjoy the most...
Jimmy Nail "Cowboy Dreams" (1994)
Jimmy Nail was the star of the BBC series Crocodile Shoes. Here is his version from that show.
Nigel Livingstone "Cowboy Dreams" (2016)
In my brief search I didn't find much about this artist. He appears to be from Ireland and mostly plays in pubs and such, though he does have several YouTube videos. Nigel kicks up the tempo on his version..
Time to Vote!
Okay pardner, time to saddle up and vote for your favorite version of the two that I've presented here. Which song version do you like best? You don't have to know about music to have an opinion since it all comes down to your own personal taste.
Please vote on your favorite by letting us know your choice in the comment section and tell us why you prefer the version you chose. Then after you've finished here, please visit the other blogs listed below who may or may not be participating this time around. And if you've put up your own BOTB contest let us know that as well so we can vote on yours.
Here are some other places where you might find BOTB posts:
StMcC Presents Battle of the Bands
'MIKE'S RAMBLINGS'
'Curious as a Cathy'
Sound of One Hand Typing
Angel's Bark
Debbie Doglady's Den
Jingle, Jangle, Jungle
Cherdo on the Flipside
Winner of this Battle Announced on Friday June 22nd
I'll be visiting family in Florida about this time so I hope I can get these results up in a timely manner. Then I'll be in Jersey for several days so I'll likely have limited internet time during my trip. Please bear with me. I'll try to make some blog rounds, but I can't guarantee much.
Hope you have a great summer!
Did you play cowboys and Indians when you were a kid? Do kids today still play cowboys and Indians? Do you think playing this fantasy game is culturally insensitive or politically incorrect or something like that?
Ah yes Lee Cowboys, many a childhood game I recall.
ReplyDeleteI liked the Jimmy Nail version of Cowboy Dreams.
Thanks for a good song.
Yvonne.
Yvonne, and we're off and running...
DeleteFirst vote is for Jimmy Nail
Lee
Jimmy Nail's version is less twangy and gets my vote.
ReplyDeleteKids could be anyone without being shamed - isn't that the truth?
Alex, innocence of childhood has been sullied in our modern times.
DeleteAnother vote for Jimmy Nail.
Lee
Lee,
ReplyDeleteI grew up playing "Cowboys and Indians", too. Those were simpler times, weren't they? Politicizing every little thing we do is stupid and it robs our kids of a fun childhood. You know every time I visit Cherokee, North Carolina guess what I see a lot over there? The word "Indian" not NATIVE AMERICAN. I reckon if they were offended by their heritage then they wouldn't use "Indian", huh? Only the left want to turn an ant hill into mountain! To the left it's culturally insensitive to let little girl be a SAHM and a little boy being the daddy who's the income winner. It's a sad, sad world that we live in where the roles are turned around. Feminist are not teaching girls to be proud of their womanhood, they are saying, to be acceptable you gotta be a man. Well...no you don't! I am woman hear me ROAR! Oh, you got me wound up now! LOL So, to answer your last question...NO, playing these little childhood games are not culturally insensitive.
I enjoyed your battle song which is an introduction. Both artist did a good job but I preferred, Jimmy Nail over the contender because his vocals are smoother and less western-sounding.
Curious as a Cathy
Cathy, now confusion can be generated when referring to "Indians" since it can mean more than one thing. Your comment really captured the essence of what is messing things up in our world today.
DeleteA vote for Jimmy Nail.
Lee
Jimmy Nail gets my vote!
ReplyDeleteMike, riding in with his vote for...
DeleteJimmy Nail.
Lee
Hey, I like the twang, and the harmonica and steel guitar made it for me. Nigel Livingstone for me!
ReplyDeleteWe didn't play Cowboys and Indians much. More commonly we played Cops and Robbers or Army.
John, I'm okay with the twang too and I'm with you on that instrumentation.
DeleteI don't recall playing cops and robbers, but military stuff for sure.
A first vote for Nigel Livingstone.
Lee
I remember playing "Cowboys and Indians" too and even had a Dale Evans cowgirl outfit, complete with broomstick horse. ☺ Times sure have changed! I think political correctness has gone overboard in recent years. My vote for "Cowboy Dreams" goes to Jimmy Nail. As others have said, his version is smoother, less "twangy".
ReplyDeleteDebbie, if imagination has to be strictly regimented and careful, then creativity is going to be curtailed to future generations.
DeleteA vote for Jimmy Nail.
Lee
As we've discussed, I definitely played cowboys and Indians as a kid. In fact, one of my early memories is my mom taking me with her to the bank when I was about four. I had been playing C&I and this time was an Indian: shirtless, with a store-bought loincloth outfit, moccasins, a feathered headdress, and WAR PAINT on my face and chest. Apparently he had to run to the bank RIGHT NOW, so she took me with her and made me go in. This was 1959, and all the ladies in there smiled and laughed (lovingly) at me, but I was as embarrassed as possible. I was mad at mom for years about it!
ReplyDeleteAnyway, to me the song sounded right under Nigel's version and wrong on Jimmy's. I'd love to hear it done by a more famous artist like a Paisley, Chesney, or Shelton. But this guy does a creditable job.
6-Gun, sounds like you went for a very authentic Indian look. My best friend in San Diego had a fantastic buckskin Indian outfit that I envied. That would have been about 1959 as well.
DeleteI think I did see some other versions of the song, but I can't research them now due to my computer limitations. One of those guys might have a version that I ran across, but I don't remember now.
A vote for Nigel Livingstone
Lee
Morality really has slipped, hasn't it?
ReplyDeleteI like the first version the best.
L.Diane, not only slipped, but done a complete reversal in some cases.
DeleteAnother vote for Jimmy Nail.
Lee
Hell, LEE, I am STILL playing cowboy at the age of 58! (My cowboy pseudonym is Monte Walsh.)
ReplyDeleteFantastic BOTB installment, friend! I LOVED the song and both of these recordings of it. Tough, tough vote, damn-it!
Man, I love the laid-back more "dreamy" version of 'Cowboy Dreams' by Jimmy Nail. It is, at its core, a love song, so the slower, more dreamy pace of the first one fits that theme perhaps a bit more.
But sometimes love can also seem like an exciting, rip-roaring, bull-riding experience. "Crazy in love" does not elicit a laid-back mood. And the music in that second recording by Nigel Livingstone is so terrific.
OK, Lee, I've listened to both songs three times each and...
I need to clear my mind and return later. This was too tough to decide after just one visit.
I'll be Bach.
~ D-FensDogG
STMcC Presents 'Battle Of The Bands'
POSTSCRIPT:
DeleteI really got into Cathy's comment!
~ D-FensDogG
STMcC Presents 'Battle Of The Bands'
STMcC, Cathy does indeed leave some fine comments.
DeleteI'll be waiting round the bend for yer vote, pardner.
Lee
I had the cowgirl outfit when I was about 5, and thought I would fit into it forever. Didn't.
ReplyDeleteJimmy Nail.
Susan K, my sister and I both had cowpoke outfits that I guess we wore out. Later, my younger brothers and sister got their own.
DeleteA vote for Jimmy Nail.
Lee
Give my vote to Jimmy who sounds more folk and one I can see John Wayne ride with the great mountains in the back as this song plays. The other song by Nigel is too country which i don't care for. I LOVE John Wayne and am buying the special magazines that have come out about him and have many of his films. i played cowboys and Indians when I was young and always wanted to be the Indian. i don't see why kids can't play this because kids think in black and white and I hate censorship in any style. I am all for political incorrectness. So many great shows that satirized jerks would not even be on the air now from All in the Family to The Jefferson's
ReplyDeleteBirgit, it's sad to see past legends like John getting challenged for what they represented and how they did it. Sometimes I think we need a loving dose of incorrectness and accept it with a big spoonful of humor.
DeleteAnother vote for Jimmy Nail.
Lee
What a sweet song! Nigel's energized version reminded me how exhausting (as well as exhilarating) the country swing can be, while Jimmy made me think of roundups and pickup trucks with the windows rolled down! I'll take the ride with Jimmy on this one.
ReplyDeleteDiedre, I agree that it's a "sweet" song--I like the metaphor of it.
DeleteIt's a vote for Jimmy Nail.
Lee
Heck yes I played Cowboys & Indians when I was younger! We also played Cops & Robbers, Kick the Can, and No Bears Are Out Tonight (a variation of Hide & Seek) I smiled to myself at the memories of playing Cowboys & Indians. I often played with my cousins on their dairy farm. One time, I 'shot' my cousin, but he didn't fall down. When I called him out on it, he said - 'There was a cowpie right there, and I refuse to die on a cowpie!'
ReplyDeleteThis is a new-to-me song. I liked both versions, but it seemed to me that Nigel's version was a bit livelier and had more energy - something that I enjoy in a song.
My vote goes to Nigel Livingstone.
~Mary
Jingle Jangle Jungle - This blog has gone to the dogs
Mary, those were great days I'm sure. Even with a few cow pies.
DeleteA vote for Nigel Livingstone.
Lee
Well, HELL!
ReplyDeleteFor me, this has been the toughest BOTB installment anyone has done in quite a long time.
I never heard the song before but I'm falling further and further in love with it with each playing.
And to make matters worse, I love BOTH versions. They both seem right to me. They're E-Ticket and Grade A, and yet very different.
Truly, depending upon my mood at any one time, my vote could change. I dig the click-clack pace and the fiddle of the first one. But I dig the full instrumental treatment in the second, as well as Nigel's enthusiasm.
And it does my heart real good to see an Irishman so completely into the American West. Also, although we're not supposed to take video images into account when voting, I can't help thinking Nigel looks like a really nice guy whom I could share beers and stories with for hours on end.
I wish I could split my vote up into halves, but since I could go either way on this, and since Nigel is getting clobbered, I'm giving my vote to Nigel, the Underdog Cowboy. He sounds so genuine that it's hard to believe he's really an Emerald Isler.
Really terrific Battle, Lee. Buddy, I haven't struggled this hard over my BOTB voting in a very long time.
~ D-FensDogG
STMcC Presents 'Battle Of The Bands'
CORRECTION:
DeleteNot "fiddle". It's a harmonica. UHP! I'M AN IDIOT!
~ D-FensDogG
STMcC Presents 'Battle Of The Bands'
STMcC, you had me going back to hear that "fiddle" I missed. Thanks for clarifying.
DeleteI was ready to call Nigel an Australian because Irish didn't seem right, but I guess there are some Irish cowboys. He does seem like a pretty nice genuine sort of guy.
The vote goes to Nigel Livingstone.
Lee
Nigel for me. Didn't even know he's getting clobbered.
ReplyDeleteCW, Nigel needed the help.
DeleteA vote for Nigel Livingstone.
Lee
This is an excellent battle Lee. I have gone back and forth listening to each about 7 times so far. I'm really torn as I like them both immensely. I'd split my vote if I could. I'm going to toss my vote to Nigel Livingstone today. Tomorrow I might come back and vote for Jimmy Nail. But today, let's go with Nigel.
ReplyDeleteI have a friend who is a real-life cowboy: he's a barrel racer and also trains horses. One of his horses just had a baby a few weeks ago. Talk about adorable! I haven't yet met her but that's on my to-do list soon...
Thanks for the introduction to "Cowboy Dreams" and to both of these fine artists. I enjoyed.
Michele at Angels Bark
Michele, I guess being able to listen to the song repeatedly makes it a pretty good song--or at least for you. I've listened to both versions a lot and I do enjoy both of them as well as the version by Paddy McAloon.
DeleteGlad you enjoyed the song.
A vote for Nigel Livingstone.
Lee
My cousins and I played a western themed game when we were kids and we had cap guns, vests, cowboy hats, boots. One of us may have played an Indian role if it was needed but mostly I remember it just being cowboys. But I doubt kids today play it.
ReplyDeleteJoJo, I haven't seen any kids playing cowboys nor Indians. Come to think of it I haven't seem many kids playing outside, but I probably haven't been paying attention.
DeleteLee
The concept of Kids playing cowboys and Indians has nothing to do with the problems facing this nation. I suggest that you abandon this fantasy and update it with something more mature. Like, where do we go from here?
ReplyDeleteJack, you may be missing the point of my post. This was mainly a Battle of the Bands segment with some related thoughts and questions.
DeleteI'd rather kids be playing fantasy games than fixing our nation's problems. However maybe the kids can do it better. I've been avoiding the deeper subjects like "where do we go from here?" because those types of discussions did nothing to increase readership on this blog. Maybe I'll go back to controversy again, but not for a while.
Lee
I have no problem with kids playing cowboys and indians. I also have no problem with the PC worries that concern the liberals. We fought a century-long war with the Indian tribes as we filled out the frontier, and each side gave as well as they got in atrocities. Let the kids do what turns them on. My problem is with adults wanting to go back to a bygone, mostly fictitious, time, and reminisce about childhood fantasies as one phase of that. Our Golden Age was WW11 and the Cold War. That's behind us - Europe, Japan. and China are no longer dependent upon us, and we sail in uncharted waters.
ReplyDeleteWe don't need to make America "great." We need to survive - with our way of life intact - in a world that no longer needs us as its unpaid policeman.
Jack, this all sounds like the idea for another post that I'm not likely to get into anytime soon. But who knows? Anything can happen when my thought cogs start turning.
DeleteLee
I gave you my answers to your questions about cowboys and indians. The subject is a good fantasy for kids. I suggest that it's escapism for adults.
DeleteGah! I'm not a fan of either, but I'll throw my vote to Jimmy. Twang makes me twitch but Jimmy's version is a little boring.
ReplyDeleteI used to pretend I was a magical girl with powers. Not quite the cowboy daydream, but I did live in my own little fantasy world. :)
Loni, I don't remember many magical power fantasies when I was a kid, but I can see how kids would enjoy playing such things now and when you were younger. I think often children's fantasies correspond with the types of entertainment available to them.
DeleteA lukewarm vote for Jimmy Nail.
Lee