In memoriam-Bob Neary is one of the most heartfelt performers in folk music history. He had bell's palsey, and so every time you listen to him perform, you are literally listening to a miracle in process. This man could touch the Lord's heart and affect all of heaven. Whenever, the Lord's heart was heavy, Bob could always be counted upon to bring an end of tensions. His velvety, raspy voice had the unique tonal quality of an old man, who had survived many wars, and was now putting his children to bed. I cry often, every time I think of how he touched the Lord's heart, like no one else. All the songs on this CD have hidden meanings, secrets about life, about living, about relationships, and so much more. And the gentle good-humored and loving approach he used made it possible to talk about subjects that were much too volatile to openly speak about in the public arena. No one remembers that "God Bless the Grass" was from the days of the Civil Rights Movements. One of the sheriffs had been complaining that the civil rights activists, multitudes of blacks and whites together, were as impossible to get rid of as the grass. "They jes keep poppin' up everywheres an' you can't get rid of them." So, Malvina Reynolds wrote this song out in the fields where the civil rights marchers were encamped, in response to that sheriffs remarks. The news media picked it up, and from then on, the term "grass roots movement" was invented. She told the story on the Ed Sullivan Show. Bob Neary was one of those people, a grass roots guy. I can imagine him suffering in the open fields plays songs of freedom because the towns would force the folk singers out of the town. "Radicals", they would call them, "Get them outta town! Don't let them in here!" Radicals, yes, Bob Neary was one of those who radically changed the world.