The well known and popular (in the Adirondacks, anyway) Chris Shaw wrote a great song (his best IMO) called "The Year of '88," about the hardships of life in the Adirondacks in the year of the great blizzard, when many of the younger adults had left to seek their fortunes in the west. We learned it and sung it for years, before I heard Chris's wife Bridget introduce it. She explained that it was actually an extended metaphor, comparing the above problems in 1888 to Chris and Bridget's own experiences in 1988, when they decided to quit singing in the bars and live on concert and educational work. Bridget said, "And you know, almost immediately after we quit singing in the bars, the bars quit paying us!"

Anyway, I told you that to tell you this: Shortly after I heard this explanation, I was singing the song and I flashed on what one line meant, that had seemed obscure:

"The news had come by some time back,
When a rider stopped to say,
Big North, Young Kate, and the Goody boy
Had up and passed away.

Leaving me and darlin Rosie,
and our kind to carry on....

Duh.

If you still miss the point, think of important singer-songwriters who died prematurely in the few years prior to 1988....

Peter.