Long Distance Dedication

Can anyone tell me if Kasey Kasem is still alive? This question has been plaguing me since shortly after I picked up my morning fix at the South American Dunkin Donuts. I certainly hope he's in good health - he's brought me many hours of solid entertainment. First as the voice of Shaggy on Scooby Doo, then as my musical sherpa on American Top Forty.

But in just case he's dead, I'd like to offer my own special tribute. Every week on American Top Forty, Kasey would make a Long Distance Dedication for some special listener. Through his gentle agency, pre-teens around the states could call up and have Here Comes The Sun dedicated to the glue-sniffing thug who was their boyfriend at summer camp. It was always a moving portion of Kasey's show.

So today, in honor of Mr. Kasem, I'm sending out John Wesley Harding's The Devil in Me to the Cubs and the Red Sox as they prepare to rip asunder another year's worth of hopes. A special shout out to Nomah, who's turned the 3 spot in the batting order into some sort of black hole/temporal vortex where no hits are allowed. Cheers lads, and here ya go. And a one and a two...

I shot John F. Kennedy,
in Dallas in 63.
They blamed it on Oswald carelessly,
But it was the devil in me.
Put jesus on the cross,
I put a gag on the boss.
I kissed him on the cheek so he couldn’t speak,
But that was the devil in me.

It was the devil in me.
It’s the devil in me that’s unlevelling me,
put it down to the devil in me.

I made you breakfast,
put poisoned sheets on the bed.
I made you cry, coulda made you laugh instead,
But that was the devil in me.
So I killed you off, I tore your famous brown furcoat,
I laughed at your cough, ignored your suicide note.
But that was the devil in me.

It was the devil in me.
It’s the devil in me that’s unlevelling me,
put it down to the devil in me.

I blew up the bus, I started World War III
Hijacked the plane with Qadaffi, blew the hostages free.
That was the devil in me.
I’m sponsored by a company,
that I don’t believe in.
I advertise their things for cash, that ain’t deceiving.
No, that’s just the devil in me.

I gave you acid rain,
I polluted the sea.
I covered your thoughts up,
with graffiti.
You can call me by my real name,
or you can call me humanity.
Because it all seems just like human behaviour,
it all seems like human behaviour to me,
Put it down to the devil in me.

It was the devil in me,
It was the devil in me.
Well it’s the devil in me makes me do these things,
Devil in me that makes me sing,
Devil in me gave you a wedding ring,
Put it down to the devil in me.

That's it for today folks. Until next time - keep your feet on the ground and keep reaching for the stars.