John Walker Lindh has joined the ranks of Bonnie and Clyde and Billy Jo and Bobby Sue: misguided American outlaws immortalized in music. What can I say – I kind of like the lyrics; its too bad its about him, as Laz-e-boy said. Billy Jo and Bobby Sue are maybe the closest to the suburban wasteland theme that starts off John’s song:

“nothin’ better to do
Than sit around the house, get high, and watch the tube
And here is what happened when they decided to cut loose”.

Considering the circumstances, the song is not going over that well. But typically Americans have a soft spot for the well-intentioned miscreant. I’d be intrigued about Islam from the lyrics (haven’t heard the song yet) if I didn’t know anything about who it’s about. So maybe John’ll do some good for Islam after all.

Steve Earle, the songwriter, is amazingly generous in his assessment of John:

“I’m happy with the way the song came out, but I’m nervous, not for myself, but I have taken some serious liberties with Walker, speaking as him, in his voice. I’m trying to make clear that wherever he got to, he didn’t arrive there in a vacuum. I don’t condone what he did. Still, he’s a 20 year-old kid. My son Justin is almost exactly Walker’s age. Would I be upset if he suddenly turned up fighting for the Islamic Jihad? Sure, absolutely. Fundamentalism, as practiced by the Taliban, is the enemy of real thought, and religion too. But there are circumstances. Walker was from a very bohemian household, from Marin County. His father had just come out of the closet. It’s hard to say how that played out in Walker’s mind. He went to Yemen because that’s where they teach the purest kind of Arabic. He didn’t just sit on the couch and watch the box, get depressed and complain. He was a smart kid, he graduated from high school early, the culture here didn’t impress him, so he went out looking for something to believe in.”

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