T.H.E. .M.U.S.E. .A.N.D. .W.H.I.R.L.E.D. .R.E.T.O.R.T.
December 18, 2023
Austin TX

Hey Everybody.
So Sorry it has been a minute. Happy Holidays to you and Yours. A couple of days ago we filmed this little holiday special for you and yours. I hope you enjoy it. Also, I would like to share with you an older piece that Paul benoit and I made celebrating the winter solstice. Click on the image to play the Winter Song Video.

I have a big birthday coming up in January and i am going out to the west coast to celebrate it with a string of shows in San Francisco, Santa Cruz, Berkeley, Oakland, Nevada City and Merin. Most of them are house concerts, so you can contact me here and I will get you the information you need.


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ENOUGH of the crass comercial announcments here it is!
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The Three Kings of Memphis
By Chris Chandler


O Holy night!
The stars are brightly shining
It is the night of our dear Savior's birth

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

And so it came to pass
that the three wise-men
came westward
from the four corners across the painted desert
and saw the bright neon star
illuminating the sky.
high above the Tropicana Hotel and Casino
in Laughlin, NV
I am not making this up.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Wise men say
Only fools rush in
But I can't help falling in love with you
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~


The three wise-men had been locked in a self storage bin
in a suburban town east of where the king was born.
No one had visited them in nearly a year
and cobwebs and dust were already taking over the storage bin.
None the less they had been released and their first destination
was to the city
where the King was born of humble origins:
I am talking of course about... Tupelo Mississippi.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Shall I stay?
Would it be a sin
If I can't help falling in love with you?
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

My mother loved Christmas.
She made new Christmas ornaments every year for as long as I can recall.
when I was a kid I first remember best was the three wise-men.
They were made of strips of old rags
wheat pasted round quart sized 7-Up®, Dr Pepper® and Cheerwine® bottles
and then painted with Byzantine robes with kite string for beards
The shinny yellow lid to a Prell® shampoo bottle
was used as a jewel in one of the crowns.
The chest containing the gifts
of gold, frankincense and myrrh
was made from the red plastic hotel
from a Monopoly® set.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
We three kings of orient are
Bearing gifts we traverse afar
Field and fountain
Moor and mountain
Following yonder star

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
In the time of king Herod,
the Magi came to Jerusalem
to ask where the king had been born,
for they had seen the star rise which foretold of his coming.
Herod called his scribes and astrologers
into council
and it was concluded that he was born
in Bethlehem of Judea.
The three wise men were sent,
by Herod with gifts
of gold, frankincense and myrrh
and most importantly… most importantly
instructions to return
and tell Herod the exact location of his birth.
In short,
the three wisemen
were spies.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
O star of wonder, star of night
Star with royal beauty bright
Westward leading, still proceeding
Guide us to thy perfect light
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
My mother passed in February
and at Thanksgiving
I returned to my hometown of Stone Mountain, Georgia
to plant a Dogwood tree in her honor.
And while I was there
I decided to look through more of the boxes stacked inside the storage bin
in search of more treasures:
the vestiges of a life now enshrined in zip-lock ® baggies
and neatly folded and stuffed into Tupperware ® containers
awaiting their fate to be decided by her heirs.
Gold, frankincense, and myrrh.
Afterlife.
I opened
the red and green Tupperware
and the profusion of creative child hood memories rose
like the dough of my first Chef Boyardee ® pizza.
The memory of my mother
turning the red plastic Monopoly piece hotel into a treasure chest
and then Elmer’s gluing it into the hands of a Dr Pepper ® bottle
transforming the mundane into holy works of art,
called to me.
It was simple:
The wise-men must join me on our journey.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
… Fall on your knees!
Oh, hear the angel voices
Oh, night divine
Oh, night when Christ was born
Oh, night Oh Holy night
Oh Night Devine.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

When the wise-men
found the Holy Family they did indeed present the gifts
of gold, frankincense, and myrrh.
But more importantly,
upon their arrival to Bethlehem
on the 12th day of Christmas,
Launching the very first Mardi Gras season,
the Magi had an epiphany.
Much like the former slave trader, John Newton
writing "Amazing Grace"
as he turned his slave ship around
and set his captive cargo free,
the kings had a change of heart.
They warned the Holy Family
of Herod’s intent to kill the potential threat to his power.
It is known as: The Epiphany.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Amazing grace
How sweet the sound
that save a wretch like me.
I once was lost but now am found
was blind but now I see.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Not knowing the Holy Family had been warned,
King Herod sent armed forces
to kill all of the young children in Bethlehem:
it is known as The Slaughter of the Innocents.
However the Holy Family had in deed been warned
and they escaped to Memphis, Egypt.
And that’s how it came to pass
that the three wise men made their way to Memphis
in a 1996 Chevy Taho
so they could witness the giant Chrome Pyramid
known as the Memphis Convention Center
in Memphis, Tennessee.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
We Shall Over Come
We Shall Over Come
We Shall Over Come Some day
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The Reverend Dr. Martin Luther King Jr
was assassinated at the Loraine Motel
in Memphis, Tennessee.
The Loraine Motel is now a civil Rights museum. Frankincense.

B. B. King
defined the sound of Memphis' Blues Music and it is preserved on Beale Street
also known as the B. B. King highway.
We are talking Highway 61.
He is from there.
He is of there.
He is known as the King of the blues.
His music served as in inspiration
and the roots for what would become Rock and Roll.
Myrrh.

Elvis Presley,
born in Tupelo Mississippi,
became the King of Rock and Roll,
He came to Memphis for the music.
He lived there.
His house in Memphis is a museum to generations.
He had more gold records than anyone else.
He has arguably been heard
by more people than anyone else
born in this hemisphere.
Gold.

These three kings of Memphis
have changed the world
by bridging the cultures of black and white.
Elvis Presley imbibed the black roots music of BB King
which made it palatable for white audiences by turning it gold,
while Martin Luther King used
the power and organization of the church
to knock down the Jericho walls of segregation.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Deep in my heart
I do Believe
We Shall Over Come
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

After warning the Holy Family,
the Magi did not return to Jerusalem
as instructed by Herod,
and they chose to live in exile for the remainder of their days.
There are many stories
about what happened to the Magi
after that December morning.
I know for a fact
that they went from Memphis
to Okemah, Oklahoma
to visit the home of Woody Guthrie,
and to Madrid, New Mexico
and up to the four corners,
and across the Holy Hopi Land.
As America passed in my rearview,
news reports about the terrorist attacks and the subsequent bombing of the Holy Lands
flashed by like mile markers amongst billboards advertising the holiday season,
I think to The Slaughter of the Innocents.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

… Fall on your knees!
Oh, hear the angel voices
Oh, night divine
Oh, night when Christ was born
Oh, night divine, oh, night when Christ was born
Oh, night
Oh Holy Night!!!
Oh, night divine
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

And so it came to pass
that the three wise-men came westward
from the four corners of Colorado, Utah, Arizona and New Mexico
across the painted desert
and beheld
the bright neon star
illuminating the sky
high above the Tropicana Hotel and Casino
in Laughlin, NV .
This time
there was room at the inn.
Wise men say
Only fools rush in
(Begin Overlap)
But I can't help falling in love with you
Shall I stay?
Would it be a sin
If I can't help falling in love with you?

… Take my hand
Take my whole life, too
For I can't help falling in love with you

… Take my hand
Take my whole life, too
For I can't help falling in love with you

Hum

When crossing the desert
I recommend taking refuge in
a Casino – not a manger.
If you don’t gamble - it is a cheap way to rest.
The room at the luxurious Tropicana Hotel and Casino
was only $19.00,
and it came with a free buffet.
The Hotel even gave me a five dollar credit card
in which to gamble –
So I figured what the hell...

…I went out to the car, and i retrieved the red and green tupperware container
and I placed the quart-sized figurines on a barstool
in front of the one armed bandit.
I inserted the card and pulled the handle.
Elvis Presley ® was singing, “Wise men say…”
over the Muzak ® sound-system.
Three Stars rolled round and stopped.
A chorus of Casio ® keyboards
rained from the heavens like a gift.
I won Gold
I won frankincense
I won myrrh.
I WON $19 !!!!

The room was paid for.
I put the wise men back in their Tupperware container.
They continued their voyage westward
into the setting sun
from the land to the east
across Route 66.
Home.

I had left Home on October 25
and was on the road for 40 days and 40 nights.
As I returned home
on the 40th night
I am grateful
to all of those who helped the weary travelers
along the way this holiday season.
May there always be room at the inn.