Song of the Day 6/7: The Long Ryders, “Looking for Lewis and Clark”

Guest post by Nathan Arizona

People are looking for Lewis and Clark again. Sure, the guys who explored the rivers, forests and mountains of President Jefferson’s newly purchased western territory never completely escape American consciousness. But the focus has been sharpened by a buzzy new book by Craig Fehrman called “This Vast Enterprise: A New History of Lewis & Clark.”

The Long Ryders did their own search in the 1985 song “Looking for Lewis and Clark,” a trendsetting new wave/country-rocker that became a hit single and has never quite disappeared, just like the band.

You can check it out right here.

America’s a mess – “I saw my government running away with my heart.” Paging Mr. Lewis and Mr. Clark. The Long Ryders want the America they saw.

So they answer, at least by implication, one of the big questions about Lewis and Clark: Did they represent American innocence before the arrival of aggressive imperialism and commercial greed? Virgin territory, morning in America and all that.

Or did their expedition represent the very beginning of the road to, let’s say, mixed results. Meriwether Lewis and William Clark, after all, were charting the 828,000 square miles Jefferson bought from France in part so he could expand American power and increase its commercial opportunities. The purchase opened a whole new space for buying and selling. It helped America gain domination of other nations in the fur trade.

The consensus has moved toward a rounded flaws-and-all view that includes the courage – grizzly bears! – observational skills and solid journal-writing of the explorers. Early reviews suggest Fehrman’s book takes this approach, partly through voices we don’t usually hear — a sergeant who observed from a lower position than the leaders, native Americans who both helped and hindered, Clark’s enslaved York, who was invaluable on the expedition but was returned to slave quarters after it ended,

Fehrman tells the story 544 pages. When Ken Burns took a crack at it (and you knew he would), his film was about four hours long. The Long Ryders tell their story in 3:11.

The band put the twang of ‘60s country-rock on top of a bashing rhythm that sometimes seems straight out of CBGB and suburban garages. Their first album hit the stands in 1984 with ex-Byrd Gene Clark helping out on vocals. (“Looking for Lewis and Clark” will namecheck Gram Parsons and Tim Hardin, two other influences.) It was not a blockbuster but trendsetters liked it and a second album, “State of Our Union,” followed. That one included the Lewis and Clark song. It earned even more attention and sold relatively well. The Long Ryders have been playing and recording off and on ever since.

Most music buffs say Uncle Tupelo kicked off the alt-country movement in 1990. But some might say it started in 1984 with the Long Ryders. Think about it as you listen to this song from their 1984 debut album “Native Sons.”

I don’t think Lewis and Clark could have envisioned the Ramones, but they seem to embody a kind of American spirit for Long Ryders founder Sid Griffin. This song is by his spinoff band the Coal Porters (put it on the best-name list). It’s kind of funny and kind of sad.