20070610 The Last Train to Clarksville

The Last Train to Clarksville

June 10^th, 2007

On June 10th, 2007 Maryland Politics Today had a post titled “The Last Money Train To Clarksville.”

As much as I appreciated P. Kenneth Burns calling to our attention the need of Baltimore mayor Dixon to go outside of the city for support for her re-election campaign, I was particularly intrigued with the reference to the “Last Train to Clarksville.”

And only Mr. Burns knows if he was referring to mayor Dixon’s trip to Howard County in the manner in which the 1966 Monkees’ meant it… Or if he was referring to mayor Dixon and “Betamax” metaphorically or if it is a coincidence…

But what a trip down memory lane that reference causes an aging Baby Boomer such as me. Although, I gotta tell ya, “The Monkees” were a little lame for my taste to put it mildly; it nevertheless brings back a time and place from many years ago.

And it comes on the heels of just writing a Westminster Eagle column on aspects of 1967 last Wednesday, June 6th, 2007: Dwight Dingle, 'Sgt. Pepper' and a bathtub band :

“It was 40 years ago last Saturday, June 2, 1967, when the Beatles released their eighth album, "Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band." Although musical taste can be fiercely debated, many music critics and publications consider this album to be one of the most influential of all time. Rolling Sto...”

“The Last Train to Clarksville,” from 1966, may be considered to be a pop song and to be sure, it certainly has a bubblegum feel and sound to it. Nevertheless the song was about a serious dynamic in the lives of young men eligible for military duty.

The song, with its “pop flavor” and seemingly light-hearted approach is forever engrained in my head as a great example of cognitive dissonance…

Listen to the lyrics.[1]

The song is about a man who is trying to arrange one last date with his sweetheart because he has been drafted and he is about to be deployed to Vietnam. Listen for :

'Cause I'm leavin' in the morning

And I must see you again

We'll have one more night together

'Til the morning brings my train.

And I must go, oh, no, no, no!

Oh, no, no, no!

And I don't know if I'm ever coming home.

And the reference to “Betamax players [2] in home” was equally a hoot. Yes, I actually still have content on old “beta” tapes.” And I thought some of the data migration from my old columns and short stories in DOS-based “Word Perfect” was hard…

And I cannot imagine hardly any of our younger readers are aware of whar being “betamaxed” means… (“A superior technology that is overtaken by an inferior one.”)

Anyway, thanks a bunch for memory Mr. Burns…

Meanwhile if you are not reading Mr. Burn’s excellent work at Maryland Politics Today,” there is no better time than now…. Err, after ya watch, “The Last Train to Clarksville” by the Monkees:

Oh what the heck… Let’s hear more. This is a song that I did like:

“Valerie”

I liked this one too:

The Monkees - A Little Bit Me, A Little Bit You

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[1] Last Train to Clarksville

Words and Music by

Tommy Boyce and Bobby Hart

Take the last train to Clarksville,

And I'll meet you at the station.

You can be be there by four thirty,

'Cause I made your reservation.

Don't be slow, oh, no, no, no!

Oh, no, no, no!

'Cause I'm leavin' in the morning

And I must see you again

We'll have one more night together

'Til the morning brings my train.

And I must go, oh, no, no, no!

Oh, no, no, no!

And I don't know if I'm ever coming home.

Take the last train to Clarksville.

I'll be waiting at the station.

We'll have time for coffee flavored kisses

And a bit of conversation.

Oh... Oh, no, no, no!

Oh, no, no, no!

Take the last train to Clarksville,

Now I must hang up the phone.

I can't hear you in this noisy

Railroad station all alone.

I'm feelin' low. Oh, no, no, no!

Oh, no, no, no!

And I don't know if I'm ever coming home.

Take the last train to Clarksville,

Take the last train to Clarksville,

[repeat and fade]

[2] Betamax:

The first half-inch, analog videocassette recorder (VCR) format, introduced by Sony in 1975 and commonly known as "Beta." The first Betamax cassettes held only one hour of video, but the capacity was subsequently increased to hold an entire movie. Sony later introduced Beta Hi-fi, which improved audio quality, and SuperBeta, which offered a better image.

Beta Vs. VHS

One year after Beta was introduced, the VHS format came out with a slightly larger cassette that held a full movie from the start. VHS began to overtake Beta almost immediately, but for several years, both formats were widely used, and pre-packaged movies were offered in both Beta and VHS. By the late 1980s, Beta had been almost entirely eclipsed by VHS, although Betamax machines were still manufactured by Sony until 2002.

Betamaxed!

The Betamax technology was considered to have superior image quality over VHS, but was hardly noticeable on ordinary home equipment, especially if the recording was done off the air and not from a high-quality master tape. To this day however, "Betamaxed" refers to a superior technology that is overtaken by an inferior one. See VHS, helical scan, Beta/VHS debacle and Betacam.