Yasgur’s Farm and the Fleshpots of Egypt

In the song “The 6th Of January (Yasgur’s Farm)”, Amy Grant sings of the “good old days” of the sixties, and the hope-filled promise of peace and love that was ostensibly exemplified at Yasgur’s farm, aka Woodstock. The song is brilliant, and asks the tough questions involving misplaced hope, naivete and the stark possibility that we have “lost our way” as a country. The song’s lyrics seem to contrast and compare the wonders of an out-of-control concert to the horrors of an out-of-control political protest. Rather than “getting into the weeds” of the latter, this article would like to plumb the depths of the former through the songs from the Woodstock era that are referenced, as well as a song yet to be released tentatively titled “The Fleshpots of Egypt”. First up is from Marvin Gaye’s “What’s Going On”:

Picket lines and picket signs Don’t punish me with brutality Come on talk to me So you can see What’s going on (What’s going on) Yeah, what’s going on (What’s going on) Tell me what’s going on (What’s going on) I’ll tell you, what’s going on (What’s going on)

While picket lines and picket signs are an integral part of a healthy democracy, “brutality” and “punishment” have absolutely no place in a peaceful assembly that conforms to basic Constitutional principles. Did some of the actors cross the line by becoming violent on January 6th? Absolutely. Was it the only peaceful protest that went awry in modern history? Not by a long shot. What was going on? Division, polarity and political profanity that transcend mere language have been in play for quite some time in our country. Wars and rumors of war have come and gone, including our own Civil War. The overt violence of January 6th and the skullduggery of covert legislation via the autopen are cut from the same cloth. What’s going on indeed. Next up is John Lennon’s classic “Imagine”, which is basically an adult nursery rhyme. It is Lennon’s most popular song, and an atheist’s dream come true. At its core, the song envisions a kind of utopia where nothing bad ever happens. Heaven might exist, but only as a concept quickly nullified by theologically confusing lyrics:

Imagine there’s no heaven It’s easy if you try No hell below us Above us, only sky

Poetic license aside, Lennon’s words tickle the ears in a way that mimics inspiration and aspiration, but fall woefully short of any real meaning in mainline Christianity. “Yasgur” comes off as more secular than religious, but preaches nonetheless. The Capitol is Mount Sanai, and progressive virtue signaling is etched on the tablets. That we have lost our way may be the most lyrical understatement in modern history. To quote another song from the past, we have been a “generation lost in space” for more than a half-century. Pining for a period of time that amounted to little more than a bad acid trip while citing January 6th as the Apocalypse strains credulity to anyone that was even semiconscious the sixties. In the book of Exodus, the Israelites literally lost their way in the desert for a biblical generation and began to long for the way things were when they were enslaved and subjected to bitter cruelty for over 400 years. As horrible as it was, the thought of eating regularly trumped anything freedom in the wilderness had to offer. The following passage illustrates the point:

Here in the wilderness the whole Israelite community grumbled against Moses and Aaron. The Israelites said to them, “If only we had died at the Lord’s hand in the land of Egypt, as we sat by our kettles of meat and ate our fill of bread! But you have led us into this wilderness to make this whole assembly die of famine! (Exodus16:2-3)

“The Fleshpots of Egypt”, in addition to being in the title of this article, might eventually become a song that will stand proudly among the growing canon of unpublished works that haven’t reached 1000 plays on Spotify. A first draft might look something like this:

Hey Mister, can you put me back in chains I miss the sound of bondage in the rain He looks at me with a furtive smile They’ve been waiting quite a while Hoping for some refugees to whip As they all dine by the fleshpots of Egypt

I would like to commend Amy Grant for her artistry and courage in choosing this absolute gem of songcraft for her album. Being an icon in the world of Christian Music who has successfully crossed over to popular music is a double-edged sword. At first blush, the title alone raised the political hackles of many initially (including this author’s), requiring multiple plays and careful listening and reading. A special commendation to the writer, Sandy Emory Lawrence, who actually started the song years before the capitol riot in January, 2021. As a writer for a Catholic blog, I felt obliged to critique this masterpiece through the prism of Christian faith and belief. As a songwriter, I couldn’t resist to channel my inner “Yankovic”. As a consumer and connoisseur of fine music, I highly recommend listening to this wonderful song multiple times to fully mine its riches. Finally, I pray that this article provides just enough variety and abstraction to elicit deeper reflection on our collective past, along with what the future might “have hidden up its sleeve”