Changed global perceptions due to a pandemic

Two images and the human race. The first is an iconic photo we all know. It is the picture of our planet taken from an Apollo spacecraft more than 50 years ago. Our perception of ourselves changed overnight. Everyone who has ever lived came and went on this place, the "blue marble" in space, as observed by Carl Sagan. We are indeed together and will always be. Our fate will be the same.

The second photo is the Corona Virus. It proves that we cannot avoid each other. We are not only together. We are connected in ways we will never fully know. And again, our fate will be the same.
~~~
Like so many songwriters, I have been writing songs about the COVID-19 pandemic consuming our lives. The creative challenge for me to write them presenting different points of view. The first on this page is a personal reflection and a rewrite of Bob Dylan’s “Desolation Row.” Welcome to my apartment, “Isolation Row” and the new normal. The second take’s Billy Joel’s “The Entertainer” and presents the point of view of the Corona Virus. We all seek to be heard. A virus has a loud voice indeed. And the third is about “Misery.” John Lennon and Paul McCartney wrote a hit about it. Years later Misery has come back in a big way. This song is written from the point of view of a person who did not listen, do the right things, or practice social distancing in the time of the Corona Virus. What happens to people like that? They end up on The Too Soon Comedy Hour.
Tune in. Be well.
And stay safe!
~ joel ~

Isolation Row Original tune and lyrics: “Desolation Row” by Bob Dylan New words: Joel Landy

I am good at social distancing
I have done it all my life
I stay away from people
And I don’t sleep with my wife
I am lucky that I like her
And I’m glad I like my kid
‘Cause we’re stuck with each other
Now for things we never did
As businesses keep closing
And the source of danger grows
We clear our heads and make our beds
In Isolation Row

The President’s not helping
Leadership is not his thing
As Republicans and corporate types
Line up to kiss his ring
As countries close worldover
And no testing happens here
People horde TP and panic
In confusion and in fear
With no prep for disaster
We all reap the seeds we sow
Poor and rich will share the ditch
On Isolation Row

Rand Paul is now in Iso
Lady Gaga is there too
Tom Hanks and his partner
Show the tabloids what they do
Meanwhile at Mar-a-Lago
The President was shaking hands
With privileged relations
They’ve begun to understand
A virus can’t be fired
From this reality game show
All their fun won a trip for one
To Isolation Row

Now back in my apartment
I wonder what it means
When the game that’s played is dirty
And we’re told to keep it clean
I never had to go to war
I never went on strike
Or suffer what my parents did
I guess this is what it’s like
So, spare me the futile rhetoric
I’ll go where I need to go
And wait for all the dust to clear
Here on Isolation Row

Changed global perceptions due to a pandemic

Isolation Row Original tune and lyrics: “Desolation Row” by Bob Dylan New words: Joel Landy

I Am Corona Virus Original tune and music: “The Entertainer” by Billy Joel New words: Joel Landy

COVID-19 Original tune and music: “Misery” by John Lennon and Paul McCartney New words: Joel Landy