Considering the fact that many members of the New Christy Minstrels hated the music Randy wrote, they still performed and recorded the songs with great enthusiasm. Randy didn't want to get involved with songs that had to do with anti-war themes and other issues of the day, but rather, he wrote songs that were easily learned and could be hummed by anyone anytime. He wrote his songs with a particular theme in mind: Tall Tales, Ramblin', Land of Giants, Merry Christmas, etc. Some question his song writing ability. It was minstrel members Nick Woods and Art Podell that brought the songs to life with their arrangements. Regarding verse two of the song, the word is "story", not glory. Regarding an earlier message about a "hound-dog song", could this person be referring to the song "Gotta Quit Kickin' My dog Around" from the Cowboys & Indians album? this was the first post-Sparks era album by the Christies. What else do I know about this group and Randy? Well, I helped spearhead their 1993 reunion at the Ice House in Pasadena. It was a seven year project and most of the members participated except for Randy Sparks and Barry Kane. Second generation minstrels Paul Potash and Ann White also participated in the reunion. The group went on to open their theatre in Oakhurst, California in 1994, but due to mismangaement, the group went bankrupt and the members went back to doing their own thing. From May until September of 1994, the group performed six nights a week at their Oakhurst home, SierraLand, but received salaries only a couple of times. A sad ending to what could have been a "new" folk revival with this group.