Music Monday – “We arrived in December and London was cold/We stayed in the bars along Charing Cross Road/We never saw nothin’ but brass taps and oak/Kept a shine on the bar with the sleeves of our coats”

Heard the very sad news today that John Mann of Spirit of the West has been diagnosed with early onset Alzheimers.

Like many people who were college-aged in the 1990’s, Spirit of the West was basically a soundtrack to my life back then.  When I went to England on exchange in 1995, the lyric I quoted in the title of this post was tacked to the door of my dorm room.  I’ve also been fortunate to see them live a handful of times – some of which are among my most memorable concerts of all-time (while others are my most forgotten for entirely different reasons!) 😉 The song I consider “our song” for Shea and I (and the ringtone that sounds when Shea calls me) is a Spirit of the West song.  And to this day, I can’t go to a wedding reception or other celebration or party with friends without having to hear “Home For A Rest” played.  (I was *shocked* when one buddy got married in St. John’s and their DJ didn’t have the song in his collection!)

This early video for the song, shot in 1989, takes on a certain poignancy given today’s news.  (Man/Mann, it fucking sucks getting old.)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Mseil1S9vdg

“Home For A Rest” – Spirit of the West