Tuesday, October 15, 2013

TMFW 5 - Neil Diamond's "Poor Man's Lady"

 
Neil Diamond's great song Cracklin' Rosie was number one on the Billboard charts 43 years ago this week (it stayed there for only one week, and holy cow look at the great lineup of #1 songs that year!).  Did you ever wonder what Neil Diamond meant when he called the title character a "store bought woman?"  Well, he called her that because she is.
 
As the story goes, Neil Diamond heard a story of a Canadian First Nations tribe where the men outnumber the women by a significant amount.  At night, the lonely men would gather around a fire and each would spend time with a bottle of inexpensive wine - a sparkling rosé - which they nicknamed "Cracklin' Rosie."  Diamond liked the story and adapted it to a fellow borrowing a ride on a train. 
 
(So when Mr. Diamond refers in his song to an act that "lasts for an hour," there's no need to feel inadequate.  You could probably knock off a bottle of wine in that time too.)

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