Welcome to From Insults To Respect. Today’s topic–money.

The way we handle money can influence how much respect we have for ourselves and others have for us. A classic illustration comes from Charles Dickens’s A Christmas Carol where we find the unforgettable Ebenezer Scrooge transformed by ghostly experiences from a disrespected miser to a lovable, generous employer. As we delve into our topic, we will draw upon a couple of episodes of Bob Dylan’s Theme Time Radio Hour show, both of which happen to be on the theme of money.

Money, Part One

As Bob introduces the first of his two episodes on money, he tells us, with reggae music in the background,

…we’re gonna take our cue from a sign Harry S. Truman kept on his desk: The Buck Stops Here. And not just the buck, the yen, the shekel, the nickel and dime, and if you still subscribe to the barter system, maybe a bushel of corn. So break open your piggy banks and cash in your bonds. This week’s episode of Theme Time Radio Hour is most definitely cash and carry.

Then, Bob plays us a recording of a man who sounds like someone delivering a US service announcement;

Wherever we go we see money being used as a medium of exchange. Money is a convenient method of exchanging many kinds of goods among many persons. Money is also a standard of value. The value of goods is stated in terms of money.

The first song Bob plays for us is the bluesy “That’s What They Want.” Performed by Jerry McCain and His Upstarts, it tells about a guy grieving about the women he knows who are just interested in finding men who have a lot of money, and a Cadillac too.

They don’t want no man,
Who don’t got no cash.
They’ll tell you quite quick,
They don’t mess with trash.

That’s what they want,
Oh yeah, money honey.

They don’t want no lovin’
No 24 hours a day,
They just want to know
When you get your pay.

That’s what they want,
Oh yeah, money honey.

There is some fine harmonica playing on that one. As I interpret the song, the singer appears to be upset with women who view a guy as trash because he doesn’t have money. He’s looking for a gal who would be satisfied with a loving guy who will always be there for her. It captures the tension between wanting a relationship in which all of your material desires are achieved, versus the willingness to give up some, or all of that for someone whom you truly love because of his or her more intrinsic values. Reflective of this tension, over the years, I observed on occasion a guy or gal pointing to someone’s spouse while saying with disdain, “She married for money,” or “He married for money.”

A little later in the show, Bob tells us that some people will do anything for money. And then, setting up the next song, he says:

I almost think we play too much Van Morrison, but then I play one of his records and I say, “No we don’t.” Here’s one that Van recorded back in 1970, from his album, His Band and the Street Choir–“Blue Money.”

Blue money, according to the Urban Dictionary, refers to 100 dollar bills, which got its name from a blue line that goes up and down the bill. But in some circles, it means money from making porn movies. Thus, according to this interpretation, the song is about the singer’s girlfriend making porn movies, which involves engaging in sexual activities for money.

For many, people who make porn movies are looked down upon. There are better ways to make money, they say.

Although I personally believe there are indeed better ways to make money, I have some mixed feelings about completely losing respect for those who do earn money by engaging in sex. It comes from a couple of unique personal experiences.

When I was an undergraduate at Brooklyn College, I drove a taxi in Manhattan to cover my expenses. From time to time, as I was driving past the Port Authority, where buses and trains would bring loads of out-of-towners to the city, a few women dressed in very scanty, sexy outfits would jump in my taxi and tell me to drive around the block. As they peeked out the window, I could tell they had spotted some police officers, and they had me keep circling the block until the men in blue were gone.

Prior to this, I did think of those involved in this type of business in a pretty negative light, but this experience, meeting them in this strange way, well, I got to see a more human side of them as they talked among themselves in the taxi. I still feel that for myself there are far better ways to earn money, but this experience softened my unkind attitude toward those in the “Blue Money” trade.

Later, while a graduate student at the University of Minnesota, I worked at a Juvenile Correctional Facility, where I honed my counseling skills. Several of the female teenagers were in the facility because they had been engaged in prostitution. Here, I got to know what led these young ladies into this path to earn money. All came from extremely stressful financial situations. All were first lured into becoming hooked on drugs, which initially relieved their financially strapped stress. The leaders of the industry provided, at first, the drugs for free, along with other enticing gifts. In time, desperate to feed their addictions, these teenagers found turning tricks were the only way they knew how to survive. Somehow, during the counseling sessions, their humanity came to light, and a more kind and understanding attitude was fostered.

As Bob’s show continues, Bob plays for us, Nic Jones’s “Farewell to the Gold.” It provides a touching story of a man who, with a friend, spends his life hoping to strike it rich by prospecting for gold. In the end, his dream never comes true, and a flood leads to his friend drowning. The story is a metaphor for the real possibility that seeking gold doesn’t always work out well, and it’s important to be aware of this if we are to wisely choose our life’s pursuits.

In another song, this one called “Your Cash Ain’t Nothin’ but Trash,” by the Clovers, we hear about a woman who, in contrast to the women earning money in the Blue Money industry, this woman refuses to lower herself to a guy flashing his roll of dollars:

I was walking down the main track
One night
I met a fine chick
She was built just right

She stopped when I flashed my roll
I told her she could have all of my dough

She turned around and with a frown
She said this ain’t no circus
And I don’t need a clown

Your cash ain’t nothin’ but trash
Your cash ain’t nothin’ but trash
Your cash ain’t nothin’ but trash
And there ain’t no need in your hangin’ around

As this episode winds down, Bob plays us, “You Can’t Take It With You” by Jessie Price. If you like piano, clarinet, and trumpet solos, this number is sure to put a smile on your face. And then, Bob concludes with the following words:

That was, “You Can’t Take It with You,” and one reason you can’t take it with you is that it usually leaves before you do. You know, I’m looking at my bag of records, and I brought too many again–bad planning. There are just too many songs about money to fit into a single hour, and there is no reason to cut fiscal corners. Hell, we did two shows about birds last year so we could do two about money. So, next week, we’ll dig back into our pockets, and continue to look at the filthy lucre. Join us again in seven days as we present part two of the Almighty dollar. Two shows about money, it makes good cents. See you next week.

Part Two

Bob begins part 2 by welcoming us back to the show. And then he says:

If you were listening last week, and if you weren’t, what the hell is wrong with you, but if you were listening last week, you know we started our look at cold hard cash. We had too many songs, so here we are back again.

Soon, Bob plays for us “I’ve Got Money,” sung by an incredibly energetic James Brown. It’s all about a guy who has money but still needs love. Some of the lyrics go like this:

I’ve got money
And now I need love
When I get my lovin’
I’ll be the happy one

The theme, it seems to me, is money without love, is simply not enough for a full life.

At one point, Bob answers his phone:

Bob: Hi caller, you’re on the air.
Caller: Hi Bob.
Bob: Where are you from?
Caller: Carbondale, Illinois.
Bob: What’s your name?
Caller: Carol.
Bob: Well, Carol, what can I do for ya?
Caller: I heard last week’s money show and I really enjoyed it.
Bob: Hey, thanks a lot. We worked hard on it.
Caller: It shows. I heard you were doing another one this week, and I was wondering if I could make a request?
Bob: What do you want to hear?
Caller: The Beatles’ song, “Money Can Buy Me Love.”
Bob: Carol, I think it’s, “Money Can’t Buy Me Love.”
Caller: No, No, it’s can buy me love. I have the record, so I know.
Bob: [insisting] Carol, It’s “Money Can’t Buy Me Love.”
Caller: I know you are Mr. Sixties, but I have the record. It’s can buy me love.
Bob: All right, Carol. We’ll look for it. Keep listening.
Caller: Thanks Bob.

Bob then hangs up, let’s out a long sigh, and says, “You can’t help some people. Carol, if you’re still listening, money can not buy you happiness, but it can buy you more places to look. Still looking for that song, but in the meantime, let’s listen to one by the Drifters.”

After some background remarks about the Drifters, Bob plays their song, “Money, Honey.” With the smooth voice of Clyde McPhatter, and some fine sax solos, the lyrics go,

You know, the landlord rang my front door bell
I let it ring for a long, long spell
I went to the window and peeked through the blind,
And asked him to tell me what was on his mind

He said, “Money, honey!
Yes, money, honey!
Mhm, money, honey,
If you want to stay with me.

I was cleaned and skinned and so hard-pressed
I called the woman that I love the best
I finally reached my baby ’bout a half past three
She said, “I’d like to know what you want with me”

I said, “Money, honey!
Money, honey!
Money, honey,
If you want to get along with me”

She screamed and said, “What’s wrong with you?
From this day on, our romance is through.”
I said, “Tell me, baby, face to face
How could another man take my place?”

She said, “Money, honey!
Money, honey!
Money, honey,
If you want to get along with me.

 

Now I learned my lesson,
The wind may blow,
Before I pay I will love them so.

We spent so much time talking about money, I want to leave you with someone who had an opposing opinion. He’s a smart guy about relativity, and he’s smart about this. We’re talking about Einstein, and he said, “I’m absolutely convinced that no wealth in the world can keep humanity from moving forward. Even in the hands of the most devoted worker the examples of great pure individuals is the only thing that can move us to noble thoughts and deeds. Money only appeals to selfishness and irresistibly invites abuse. Can anyone imagine Moses, Jesus, or Gandhi armed with the bags of money of Carnegie.”  We’ll see you next week with all new themes, dreams, and schemes. 

Bob DylanMoneyrespectTheme Time Radio Hour