Browsing the records at the library I think I chose the most innocuous and boring album cover I could find, that homely brown color with the guys on the front that look like they were extras from The Good The Bad and the Ugly, maybe the band playing in the corner of the saloon.
Riding home on the bus I had no idea my musical palette was bout to be changed
“Bring your children down to the river side…’
I remember sitting in my bedroom in the early 80’s and trying to understand what I was listening to, I had been on a strict diet of Beatles, Quo, Hawkwind, Deep Purple, Blue Oyster Cult and Uriah Heep, and any number of 80’s metal bands.
“I ask about your turtle…”
What the fuck is this about, sounds like a cowboy movie with some wacked out psychedelic lyrics, what’s going on my minds is confused. Honky Tonk piano, fiddles what is happening.
“It’s dog eat dog and cat eat mouse…”
This is not The Beatles man.
“In the winter of 65, we were hungry just barely alive..”
Now it’s freaking Gone with the Wind. Only this is dirty and “frankly my dear I don’t give a damn” may be the most polite thing said in this version of the uncivil war.
“Nah nah nah nah etc…”
“sat upon my grandpa’s knee…”
These are values that the sixties did away with, respecting our elders and listening, damn what’s going on here? Thats some old time tradition going on, where did this come from?
“when you wake you will remember everything…”
“I got a date with the captains daughter…” now we are talking man.
Now there’s funk shit going on, with some strange funky keyboards.
“when I get off this mountain…”
Oh the joys of co-dependancy , gambling drinking, and rowdiness, thats more like it man.
“if I spring a leak she mends me…”
This is something I can get behind. And now we yodel, yes, let’s go crazy.
Time to settle down it seems.
“thats just enough to get inside…”
Wow that vocal will tear you up, what the hell is going on. Where are the guitar solo’s?
“wishing for the rains…”
Flip that shot over.
Now we rock.
“I lock the door grab my shirt…”
Let’s go out and get crazy and dirty apparently, there’s the guitar and horns and a real strut, Jagger wishes he could sound this bad man.
“now there’s only one place that was meant for me…”
Time to relax, retire and remember the good old days.
“there’ll be thunder in the hill”
Now we have storms and threatening weather, guitars and pianos and a bit of a stomp along.
“three times loser you’ll never learn…”
Some preacher man singing going on, then we stagger around again with the bump and grind going on.
“we won’t be complaining..”
Kind of like coming down, that’ll mess with your mind after all the roustabout stuff.
“I work for the union, cos she’s so good to me…”
I think this covers just about every sound the early 70’s had to offer in sensitive songwriting.
“The smell of the leaves from the magnolia trees in the meadow King Harvest has surely come…”
I am there man.
“just don’t judge me by my shoes..”
So many times I have been that shallow.
Life changing in a way…
timeweleftthisworldtoday 
I love this album unreservedly. Not in a slavish, “I’m supposed to say that because tastemakers swear it’s good” kind of way, but in a “I feel this record in my soul every damn time” kind of way.
A little stream-of-consciousness living in the moment is a wonderful thing to observe, and sadly a thing relatively rarely experienced on this end of late.