1) Moondog was the pseudonym of Louis T. Hardin (May 26, 1916 – September 8, 1999). Hardin was a blind New York City street musician, influential composer and former beat poet. From the late 1940s until 1974, he was a permanent fixture on 54th Street and 6th Avenue in Manhattan, wearing a cloak and Viking-style helmet, sometimes busking or selling music, but often just standing silent and still. He was known not only for his music and poetry, but also for the distinctive Viking garb that he wore all his life, including a horned helmet, cloak and spear. He routinely gave away copies of his work to anybody who would take them. In this way, he came to the attention of producer James William Guercio, who took him into the studio to record an album, released as "Moondog" (1969) on the CBS label. The track Stamping Ground, with its odd preamble of Moondog saying one of his epigrams, was featured on the sampler double album "Fill Your Head with Rock". A brief phrase of another track on the album, Bird's Lament (In memory of Charlie Parker) was sampled by Mr. Scruff as the basis for his 7-minute track Get A Move On.
Hardin played drums for the high school band in Hurley, Missouri before losing his sight in a farm accident involving a dynamite cap at the age of 16 After learning the principles of music in several schools for blind young men across middle America, he taught himself the skills of ear training and composition. He studied with Burnet Tuthill and at the Iowa School for the Blind. The music of Moondog in the 1940s and '50s is said to have been a strong influence on many early minimalist composers; Philip Glass has written that he and Steve Reich took Moondog's work "very seriously and understood and appreciated it much more than what we were exposed to at Juilliard."
A second album produced with Guercio, and featuring both himself and his daughter as vocalists, contained song compositions in the forms of canons and rounds. It did not make an impression on popular music as the first had. The two CBS albums were re-released as a single CD in 1989.
In a search for new sounds, Moondog also invented several musical instruments, such as the "Oo", a small triangular shaped harp, and the "Trimba", a triangular percussion instrument invented in the late 40s. The Original Trimba today is still played by Stefan Lakatos, Swedish percussionist, close friend and pupil of Moondog, who also taught him how to build the instrument.
Moondog had an idealised view of Germany ("The Holy Land with the Holy River" — the Rhine), where he settled in 1974. A young German student named Ilona Goebel accommodated him, first in Oer-Erkenschwick, and later on in Muenster in Westphalia, Germany, where he spent the remainder of his life.
Moondog visited America in 1989, at the invitation of the New Music America Festival in Brooklyn, stimulating a renewed interest in his music.
He recorded many albums, and toured both in the US and in Europe — France, Germany and Sweden.
----------------------
2) Moondog was the name of the post-Gorilla Biscuits, pre-Quicksand project-band of Walter Schreifels, started due to his desire to sing for a band, and to follow the path Gorilla Biscuits had been on before their break-up (one Moondog song, “Distance”, was actually written for the 2nd Gorilla Biscuits full-length that never happened). It’s now being sold as a digital download at Anthology Recordings The band also featured Gorilla Biscuits’ drummer Luke Abbey. The band’s only recorded output is a series of demo-recordings (recorded at Don Fury’s legendary Lower East Side recording-studio). These sessions had Abbey playing drums, with Schreifels handling both guitar, bass and vocals. The few times they played live, Abbey switched to bass, with Armand Majidi (Sick of It All, Rest In Pieces) on drums, and the guitars being handled by Tom Capone (Beyond, Bold, Quicksand, Handsome, Instruction) and Howie (Alone in a Crowd). Although further sessions were planned (which most likely would have led to official releases), the band ultimately collapsed before this took place, with Schreifels shifting focus towards his new band Quicksand, who were initially meant to inherit some of the Moondog-songs, but with the band going in a very different direction than Moondog, that idea was eventually scrapped.
The band only played a handful of live shows (at infamous locations like CBGB and ABC No Rio), and the only officially released Moondog-track (Expression) appears on the “Look At All The Children Now” compilation LP (Evacuate Records, ‘90). Another post-GB band, namely CIV (featuring GB-singer Anthony “Civ” Civarelli, -bassist Arthur Smilios and -drummer Sammy Siegler) also recorded the Moondog-song “They Said We Were The Best” for their first full-length record (“Set Your Goals - an album that Schreifels also helped write songs for).
A bootleg 7” of Moondog-songs did appear sometime in the early 90’s, featuring 2 songs from the demos, making them gain a certain cult status. After years of pressure from fans, Schreifels recently (2006) “released” a number of songs from the demos through the online label Anthology Recordings, making them officially available for the first time.
I'm In The World
Moondog Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Are bought and sold, but I'm not of it.
I'm in the world where Peace and War
Are bargained for, but I'm not of it.
I'm in the world where Money talks
To Doves and Hawks, but I'm not of it
I'm in the world where Kith and Kin
Are Moving in, but I'm not of it.
I'm in the world where Thought Control
Is taking toll, but I'm not of it.
I'm in the world where Jokers Make -
Believe the Fake, but I'm not of it.
I'm in the world where Lies are Flies
That fill the Skies, but I'm not of it.
I'm in the world where Boom and Bust
Are both a must, but I'm not of it.
I'm in the world where Law is Force
A Trojan Horse, but I'm not of it.
I'm in the world where Good and Bad
Are iron-clad, but I'm not of it.
I'm in the world where Pride in Race
Is losing Face, but I'm not of it.
I'm in the world where Talk is cheap
And Isms creep, but I'm not of it.
I'm in the world where Truth is what
If not a Plot, but I'm not of it.
I'm in the world where Death is worth
As much as Birth, but I'm not of it.
Moondog's "I'm In The World" is a declaration of the singer's perspective on the world they inhabit. The repetition of "I'm not of it" after each line suggests a sense of detachment from the events and issues of the world. The first stanza highlights the commodification of human beings. The use of "bought and sold" notes the commercialization of people and their actions.
The second stanza delves into political tensions. The phrase "Peace and War are bargained for" identifies the world as a place where peace and conflict are subject to negotiation. The inclusion of "I'm not of it" after each line implies that the singer does not take part in these political negotiations.
The third stanza focuses on the power of money and its impact on politics. The phrase "Money talks to Doves and Hawks" highlights the ways in which financial interests can influence political decisions. In the same vein, the fourth stanza suggests that the singer does not conform to societal norms in terms of familial and personal relationships.
The fifth and sixth stanzas highlight the dangers of controlling thought and the prevalence of falsehoods. In the seventh stanza, Moondog describes the cyclical nature of economics. The "Boom and Bust" suggests that economic stability is never permanent.
The eighth stanza focuses on the manipulation of the law for personal gain. The Trojan Horse image conveys that the singer sees breaches of justice as disguised attempts to exploit circumstances.
The ninth stanza describes an unyielding binary view of morality, while the tenth touches on the decline of outdated beliefs that support racism. The 11th stanza captures the superficiality of some political discourse and the way in which ideas can be misleading. Finally, the 12th stanza deals with death and the value placed on it in this world.
Overall, Moondog uses the repetition of "I'm not of it" to present his feelings of marginalization from the society and culture he lives in. He asserts his own agency by setting himself apart from the world's cycles of violence, deceit, and corrupt politics.
Line by Line Meaning
I'm in the world where young and old
Are bought and sold, but I'm not of it.
I am present in a world where people of all ages are exchanged for money or other goods, but I refuse to be a part of it.
I'm in the world where Peace and War
Are bargained for, but I'm not of it.
I exist in a world where the concepts of both peace and war are constantly being negotiated, however, I choose not to associate myself with it.
I'm in the world where Money talks
To Doves and Hawks, but I'm not of it
I find myself in a world where money holds power over those who aim for peace as well as those who engage in war, but I refuse to be a part of this system.
I'm in the world where Kith and Kin
Are Moving in, but I'm not of it.
I am present in a world where families and friends are constantly changing, but I do not feel connected to it.
I'm in the world where Thought Control
Is taking toll, but I'm not of it.
I am in a world where ideas and beliefs are being manipulated and controlled, which is affecting people negatively, however, I do not wish to be associated with this system.
I'm in the world where Jokers Make -
Believe the Fake, but I'm not of it.
I find myself in a world where people who joke around are able to make others believe in falsehoods, but I refuse to be a part of this dishonesty.
I'm in the world where Lies are Flies
That fill the Skies, but I'm not of it.
I am present in a world where lies are abundant and have taken over, but I do not wish to be connected to these falsehoods.
I'm in the world where Boom and Bust
Are both a must, but I'm not of it.
I exist in a world where rapid growth and decline are both necessary, but I do not find myself fitting into this cycle.
I'm in the world where Law is Force
A Trojan Horse, but I'm not of it.
I am present in a world where laws serve as a tool of oppression, hiding their true intentions, but I refuse to be a part of this corrupt system.
I'm in the world where Good and Bad
Are iron-clad, but I'm not of it.
I find myself in a world where morality is rigidly defined, but I do not agree with this strict dichotomy.
I'm in the world where Pride in Race
Is losing Face, but I'm not of it.
I exist in a world where being proud of one's race is looked down upon, but I do not agree with this sentiment.
I'm in the world where Talk is cheap
And Isms creep, but I'm not of it.
I am present in a world where mere words hold little meaning and ideologies spread like a disease, but I do not feel like I belong to this world.
I'm in the world where Truth is what
If not a Plot, but I'm not of it.
I am in a world where the meaning of truth is manipulated and unclear, possibly a deliberate plan, but I do not wish to be involved in such tactics.
I'm in the world where Death is worth
As much as Birth, but I'm not of it.
I find myself in a world where death is considered as valuable as birth, however, I do not believe in this perspective.
Writer(s): Louis Hardin
Contributed by Emma N. Suggest a correction in the comments below.
Jacob Johnson
on Coffee Beans
Coffee beans make the finest coffee of all
it's time to take
a coffee break
to sit a while and savor
the rarest coffee flavor
of bean coffee
I make with bottled spring water
is my day
Maru Lazzaroggi
on Maybe
Maybe someday, I'll be recognized for what I am before I'm dead and gone.