My Gen X Playlist: Wild Horses – The Sundays

I did it. But it wasn’t without a lot of self arm twisting and second thoughts. I paused, thought about it and then rethought about it. I checked the circle, hit the next button, then quickly hit the back button, only to make the same choice and click next again.

What was I doing? I was renewing my drivers license online with my newish address and registering with a new party affiliation. As soon as I hit the submit button, I could feel my elephant trunk being replaced with the sound of a hee-haw with my next breath. Who would ever choose to embrace a donkey? Apparently, me. That’s how far we’ve come. The Republican pendulum has swung too far out of sight for me to hang on. As the pendulum hit its apex above the clouds, I’ve let go, falling through the sky and ultimately landing on the back of a donkey. Upon further research, though, the story of the Democratic mascot is actually pretty cool.

The Democratic Party’s donkey and the Republican Party’s elephant have been on the political scene since the 19th century. The origins of the Democratic donkey can be traced to the 1828 presidential campaign of Andrew Jackson. During that race, opponents of Jackson called him a jackass. However, rather than rejecting the label, Jackson. . . was amused by it and included an image of the animal in his campaign posters. Jackson went on to defeat incumbent John Quincy Adams and serve as America’s first Democratic president.

– History.com

Well, OK. Thats not a bad origin story. I’m feeling a little better about my choice. Then again, anything is better than where I came from. And who knows. Maybe when the extremes start regressing back to the middle, I may find my way back again. Then again, they may have lost me forever. Only time will tell.

I searched for songs about donkeys. Nothing. No surprise there. So I chose the next best thing. Now, forgive the Gen X in me, but I never knew Wild Horses was originally a Rolling Stones song until recently. I was introduced to it through the Sundays’ version released in 1993. The Stone’s original was released when I was only three.

“Wild Horses” is a song by the English rock band the Rolling Stones. It was first released in 1970 by the Flying Burrito Brothers as the Stones didn’t think the demo was worth recording fully. It was subsequently recorded by the Stones for their 1971 album “Sticky Fingers” when they felt it was worth reconsideration.

– Wikipedia

Maybe The Rolling Stones are on to something. There’s nothing wrong with changing your mind. And in most cases, there doesn’t have to be any permanence in the changing. That makes some decision making a little easier to swallow. I’ve clicked submit for now and have not fully settled into my new team just yet. I’m in the trying it on for size phase for now. Let’s see how it wears after a few cycles in the washing machine.

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As an aside, I wrote this post prior to Biden’s announcement of stepping down from the election. We should thank President Biden for this selfless decision and his years of service to our country. This couldn’t have been an easy one to make, but it was the right decision in the end. John Stewart summed it up in a one word response: Legend.

I had all but conceded the election prior to yesterday. There’s now a lot of energy surrounding a new generational candidate to defeat Trump. Selecting the top of the ticket hopefully goes smoothly. Now is not the time for reality show drama. There’s too much at stake. Buckle up for a wild ride.

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For a complete playlist, please click here.

For the Spotify playlist, please click here.

Childhood living is easy to do
The things that you wanted, I bought them for you
Graceless lady, you know who I am
You know I can't let you slide through my hands

Wild horses couldn't drag me away
Wild horses couldn't drag me away...

I watched you suffer a dull, aching pain
And now you've decided to show me the same
No sweeping exits or offstage lines
Could make me feel bitter or treat you unkind

Wild horses couldn't drag me away
Wild, wild horses couldn't drag me away...

Faith has been broken and tears must be cried
Let's do some living after we die

Wild horses couldn't drag me away
Wild, wild horses couldn't drag me away...

Wild, wild horses, we'll ride them someday
Wild, wild horses, we'll ride them someday