Sunday, March 08, 2026

"Sloth" by Fairport Convention, a timely song from 56 years ago.


This was Fairport Convention's second song at a Carnegie Hall concert I attended in October of 1974. Although it was written and recorded four years before, it likely seemed timely in 1974 because memories were still fresh of the October 1973 Yom Kippur War, which threatend to expand into World War III because it pitted an ally of the U.S., Israel, against those of the Soviet Union, various Arab nations. It seems timely now, as Russia allies itself with Iran.

Why "Sloth"? It is one of the seven deadly sins, defined as the "culpable lack of physical or spiritual effort." I believe Richard Thompson, who wrote the lyrics, had in mind the indifference, or unwillingness to make the effort to protest, that allow war to begin. The second verse begins, "She's run away." I suspect that the "She" refers to peace.

I've referred to that 1974 concert before in a post about the late Sandy Denny.


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