The Henhouse Prowlers looking through Ben’s grandfather’s photo album – photo © Jana Mougin
With Veteran’s Day approaching on November 11 here in the US, The Henhouse Prowlers have released a very personal remembrance with Line The Avenues, written by banjo player Ben Wright about his grandfather.
The song draws from a memory Wright holds from his childhood, when his grandfather, Richard Marion Wright, woke 10-year-old Ben up early one day to share some stories from his time as a B-25 pilot with the 12th Bombardment Group over North Africa during World War II.
I think we all cherish times like that, when we feel singled out by a parent or grandparent for a particular lesson, or simply a chance to learn about who they are besides just our caregivers. In this case it gave young Ben an intimate look at the horror, desperation, and excitement of war, something that one only truly learns from those tasked with fighting them, as opposed to the politicians whose arrogance and failures bring them about.
Ben offers a very compelling account of that morning.
“I don’t remember everything from that morning, but I do remember feeling special that my grandfather wanted to talk to just me. He had clearly been up before me, and set the kitchen table with little boxes of Cheerios, like the ones you get in hotels.
The photos he showed me had some pretty crazy things in them: crashed planes with Nazi symbols, and young men laughing in the sandy desert. I distinctly remember him pointing at a photo taken from inside a plane and saying, ‘That’s us chasing Rommel’s tank brigades as they high-tailed it out of Africa.’ There were photos of him on a camel in Tunisia, shopkeepers in Cairo, and other exotic places across North Africa. Looking back now, I realize it must have been surreal for a small-town Indiana boy to experience all that.
But the moment that struck me the hardest was when he pointed to a good friend in front of another B-25 and said it was the last photo taken of him before he died. I’m not sure if his plane went down or if there was an accident, but I remember the shift in my grandfather’s voice when he said, ‘He was a good man.’
I recognize how lucky I am that Richard Wright had the foresight to share those stories with me, and to show me the harsh reality of war at such an impressionable age. That morning shaped a part of me, and I’ve always wanted to write this song.
The opening verse came to me first, imagining him waking up in a foreign land on any given day, knowing what he had to do, and quietly feeling afraid alongside his crew. I kept referring back to the photos, and at some point, it hit me that while the images were unique to my grandfather, I had seen similar ones over the years in books and documentaries. My mind wandered to another desert war—same backdrop, different weapons. I imagined a woman flying a medivac helicopter, just as afraid as my grandfather must have been during those moments of uncertainty, watching friends and strangers die.
The reasons for fighting may change, but the consequences don’t. I can’t help but think that’s part of why he woke me up early that morning—so I might come to that conclusion someday.”
The war against actual facism fought 80 years ago contains many lessons for us all, which is why it is still studied today in war colleges and political science departments around the world. Perhaps the most important rebuke we can take is to never minimize the evil that these men fought against through facile comparisons to contemporary issues and concerns.
Line The Avenues is a peppy bluegrass number, in which Wright, who also sings, represents the true sentiment of Veterans Day, which is to cherish and remember those who fought war, not because they necessarily believed in any cause or another, but simply because they were called.
Support on the track comes from the full Henhouse Prowlers, Ben Wright on banjo, Chris Dollar on guitar, Jake Howard on mandolin, and Jon Goldfine on bass.
Have a listen…
Line The Avenues from The Henhouse Prowlers is available now from Dark Shadow Recording at popular download and streaming services online. Radio programmers will find the track at AirPlay Direct.
