Sometimes in those especially busy work weeks, all I want (or maybe need) when we get to our fine One for Friday post is a bit of affirmation, a spirited kick to the soul and an assurance that the heavy lifting that remains will be accomplished with aplomb. Naturally, I prefer my affirmations to be a little more scabrous and cynical. For positivity and endurance framed that way, I can do no better than Mr. Graham Parker. Truthfully, anything I feel compelled to share about him and my gradual discovery of his music has already been shared in this space. I’ll take advantage of that and get down to my many looming tasks. The song speaks for itself.

Listen or download –> Graham Parker, “Don’t Let It Break You Down”

(Disclaimer: I’ve gone over a lot of this previously, but I know Mona Lisa’s Sister, the album that originally housed this song, to be well out of print. Simultaneously, it seems it’s various tracks, at least the original versions, are not well-represented across available Graham Parker collections. On that point, I’ll concede I did not engage in fresh research, so I could be quite wrong at this point. Either way, I’ll gladly remove the track from my humble corner of the interweb if asked to do so by any individual or entity with due authority to make such a request. And I’m remain pretty sure, even five years later, that Parker could take me in a fair fight.)