Talk to me, fiddle!

Last night I suggested that we go see the Charlie Daniels Band, who was giving a free concert at a local festival. Boy, was I glad we went! There must have been at least a thousand people more gathered in the city square, but we managed to get all the way up front, right in front of the speakers on the right of the stage. INCREDIBLE!

They sang a few of their big hits, like "The Legend of Wooley Swamp"; "Renegade"; "The South's Gonna Do It Again" and "Simple Man". Let me tell you- that man is far from "Simple". Just read some of these "Simple Man" lyrics:

Now I'm the kinda man that'd not harm a mouse
But if I catch somebody breakin in my house
I've got twelve gauge shotgun waiting on the other side

So don't go pushing me against my will
I don't want to have to fight you but I dern sure will
So if you don't want trouble then you'd better just pass me on by

As far as I'm concerned there ain't no excuse
For the raping and the killing and the child abuse
And I've got a way to put an end to all that mess

Just take them rascals out in the swamp
Put 'em on their knees and tie 'em to a stump
Let the rattlers and the bugs and the alligators do the rest

Right on, Charlie! He made mention of being one of the most politically incorrect performers out there, and that suited him just fine. It looks good on you, sir- speak your mind. Don't change a thing- we'll listen.

Charlie Daniels may be an "old" man of 69 years, but let me tell you- he ROCKS. And what a patriot. You may remember that Castle Correspondent Keith Kahn just got back from Afghanistan where he came THIS CLOSE (holding up my thumb and index fingers about 5cm apart) from meeting the band and actually sharing a room with them. Well, Charlie mentioned that trip last night. He said that they had just gotten back from a 5 country USO tour, and he promised our troops he would come home and tell everyone that they are doing a FANTASTIC job over there, and that we ARE winning the war.

Oh- and did I mention that he closed with "Devil Went Down To Georgia", one of the most recognizable country rock songs in history?

Johnny said, Devil just come on back
If you ever wanna try again
I done told you once you son of a bitch
I'm the best there's ever been

Rock on, Charlie!