"I would move out of Iowa if I wasn't so old." [View all]

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Editorial: The last waltz

February 22, 2023
Art Cullen | Storm Lake Times Pilot

Iowa’s leading muse, Greg Brown, put on his last big show at the Englert Theatre in Iowa City last weekend. He insists he is retired, done with the road, off the stage unless some local benefit draws in him. He’s 73. He would just as soon stay home and write songs, he told the Cedar Rapids Gazette. And he said this:

“For the record, I won’t be doing any more formal concerts, but if there is a charity event around town, I’ll be open to playing it. I still might get up there and perform, but I won’t be playing ‘The Iowa Waltz’ anymore.

“But the problem is, the song isn’t true anymore,” Brown said. “I can’t sing ‘We take care of our old/We take care of our young.’ It’s not accurate. I would move out of Iowa if I wasn’t so old.”

He was no interloper, the author of “Early.”

Plow broke the prairie, the prairie gave plenty

The little towns blossomed and soon there were many

Scattered like fireflies across the dark night

And one was called Early, and they sure named it right

¶

Here’s “Walking Beans:”

Last fall it was dry, oh my, oh my,

You could ask the smartweed; maybe the smartweed knows why.

And then Mr. Corn Borer, he brought his whole family,

And they laid the corn low when it got windy.

Well now there’s corn in the bean fields, persnickety once it clings,

I got these blisters on my fingers; I got these cockleburs in my dreams.

more...https://www.stormlake.com/articles/editorial-the-last-waltz/