Trivia

I'm recently 47, which is in itself the source of some ambivalence — but I'm delighted to discover that there's still something left to surprise me. Not the important stuff, but the stupid, trivial stuff that I thought I already knew (or had known, and had already forgotten).

For example: did you know that "Last Train To Clarksville" (best known as The Monkees' debut single, though probably more accurately attributed to Boyce and Hart, since the music was performed by studio musicians) was essentially an anti-war protest song? It's the story of a young man who has been drafted, and he knows he may die in Vietnam. I suppose it might also be interpreted as someone fleeing the draft, as well.

I'm not sure how I've never heard this.