Song of the Day 1/23: John Anderson, “Down in the Orange Grove”

Best way to cope with the firehose of MAGA sewage spewing from the media is to stick to skip stories about what might happen or what various things could mean, stick to stories about stuff that actually happens. For example, oranges are about to get a lot more expensive, because immigrant workers aren’t showing up to pick them in California.

John Anderson, who was elected to the Country Music Hall of Fame, was singing about orange groves around Apopka, Fla., where he grew up. It will be interesting to see if ICE raids Florida’s remaining groves as eagerly as it’s targeting those in California. If they do, do you think white those country music fans will step into the breach?

The song dates from 1988, a relative down period in the now 70-year-old Anderson’s career before it picked up again in the early ’90s. He last reached the country Top 40 in 1998, and his last album was recorded before the pandemic, so his election is sort of a lifetime achievement award.