My song today is ‘Walking the Dog’. The Rufus Thomas version begins with the quoting of the first 14 notes of Mendelssohn's Wedding March from "Midsummer's Night's Dream". This version is noted for Rufus whistling and calling out for his dog, to go walking with him. The lyrics make references to children's nursery rhymes, especially Miss Mary Mack.
The song was recorded several months later by the Rolling Stones in 1964. Unlike most Stones' recordings, the song features harmony vocals on the chorus solely by Brian Jones (most early Stones’ songs feature Jones and Bill Wyman on backing vocals, with Keith Richards replacing the two not long after), which makes their recording of the song unique in their catalogue. Many other artists have recorded the song, including Johnny Rivers: Georgie Fame and the Blue Flames: Jackie Shane: etc. It was performed live occasionally by the ‘Grateful Dead’ in 1966, 1970, and the mid-eighties.
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When this song was first released by the Rolling Stones, I was spending two years living in Canada and travelling around a few of the American states. I must confess that when I first came across the Rolling Stones and Mike Jagger, in particular, I did my very best not to like them, as they seemed to stand for a range of values that I never could subscribe to.
I must admit though, that as the past fifty years have gone on, they have proved that they have the staying power to remain in the public eye. I am 78 years old and have been on my last legs for a number of years now, whereas young Mick (six months younger than me) is still able to jump his legs and flash his all as though he was a teenager taking the dance floor for the first time in his life. While his wrinkled face and turkey neck reveals him to be no spring chicken when it comes to having relationships with women who are younger than the age of his youngest daughter’s age, the mere fact that he has already had eight children he acknowledges as being his (the youngest being 4 years old), and that his girlfriend, Melanie Hamrick (aged 33 years) is 44 years his junior, tells me that whatever he is doing and however he is doing it, he is obviously doing it to the satisfaction of his female following over the years.
I will also acknowledge now that there is a part of me that is no doubt envious of how someone with Mick Jagger’s tram-like face could always pull the birds that were half his age. I would willingly put it down to his enormous wealth being his greatest attraction where the ladies are concerned if it wasn’t for the fact that he is reported to be a known miser.
I think I first went off Mick Jagger when he impregnated Marian Faithful and then dumped her for a younger and fitter model. The 67-year-old singer dated Mick Jagger for four years between 1966 to 1970 but during the relationship, she admitted to having had sex with Keith behind his back and she admits it was one of the most memorable experiences she ever had. Marian ended her relationship with Mick Jagger in May 1970, and she lost custody of her son in that same year, which led to her attempting suicide. Her personal life spiralled rapidly into decline, and her career went into a tailspin. Having made her name initially as Jagger’s ‘been there, done that!’, poor Marian finished her career as a ‘Keith also ran’.
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When I was twenty years old, we were still in the age of romance, and if you wanted to meet the man or woman of your dreams, you learned how to dance. When I was 68 years old and I first met Sheila (whom I subsequently married on my 70th birthday), if you wanted to meet the man or woman of your dreams then, you joined a dating site after you realised that there was ‘plenty of fish’ to satisfy anyone’s taste and appetite. While writing this morning’s post in April 2021, I was considering what would be the best way of conduct any romantic search today for Mr. or Mrs Right, if I put myself back on the current dating scene?
If I returned to my romantic days of searching for love again in current times, I have no doubt whatsoever what I would do to increase my chances of catching the right playmate. I would start off by pitching my tent outside the nearest ‘Dog Rescue Centre’. There I would stay until she walked on by. I would know her instantly. She would have long black hair (naturally), and she would be as fit as a butcher’s dog with all the daily exercise she undertook. She would be a down-to-earth woman who was independent enough to become the mistress of a large, powerful dog; probably a creature who had been cruelly mistreated by a previous owner, a dog she could care for, love, and devote all her time to keeping it as fit and as healthy as possible by any means at her disposal. Once I had found my woman who fitted this category, I know that I would have found my perfect lover, wife and soulmate.
So, were I to put myself back on the dating market today, the first thing I would do would be to voluntarily offer my services to the Refuge Centre nearest me, and simply wait for my soul mate to show up. As far as the ‘Love me, love my dog’ sentiment goes, I would not have the slightest difficulty sharing our bedroom with your furry and smelly friend as long as he/she was properly toilet trained and did not expect any midnight walks or 6:00 am romps on Haworth Moor! However, as far as sharing your bed, Sheila, I am afraid that would be a deal-breaker for me. I have never objected to having a joke but bugger a pantomime!
Love and peace
Bill xxx