S.O.D. "Live Free or Die" by Bill Morrissey

8/13/2016     In 1777 general John Stark fought bravely and was named the hero of the Battle of Bennington, Vermont.  Based on this and the fact that Stark was a native of New Hampshire, the Daughters of the American Revolution suggested in 1945 that the New Hampshire motto should be "Live Free or Die."  It was then approved by the state legislature.  

     This song is about a prison inmate who's job is to make license plates with the New Hampshire motto.  Some of Morrissey's albums were given high praise and a couple were nominated for Grammys.  He made 12 albums in all with many of his songs relating to the harsh life in mill towns of the northeast.  In 2011 he scampered up to Music Heaven, leaving behind a diverse musical legacy.  He credits Thomas Williams, a writer and literary professor at the University of New Hampshire as his most important mentor.