Field of Dreams.

Reading my favourite online daily newspaper recently, I was saddened to hear that W.P. Kinsella, the writer of the novel: ‘Shoeless Joe’ which was later adapted for the big screen as: ‘Field of Dreams.’ had passed away. I absolutely love this film for many personal reasons. As the Telegraph article reveals:

… It tells of a farmer in Iowa, Ray Kinsella, who hears a mysterious voice in a cornfield. In the story’s most famous line, it urges: “If you build it, he will come.” When Kinsella ploughs under the crop to make a baseball diamond it summons the shade of his hero, Shoeless Joe Jackson. Jackson’s brilliant career ended when in 1919 he was caught up in the sport’s most notorious scandal, an agreement by other players on his team, the Chicago White Sox, to fix the World Series. The extent of Jackson’s involvement has been much debated, and in the novel he is given the chance to play the sport again.

Reading Kinsella’s obituary reminded me of a music track recorded by Murray Head titled: ‘Say It Ain’t So, Joe.’ Reading comments on various social media, this track has relevance to the story of ‘Shoeless Joe’. This track, and another meaning attributed to this song coming soon in a another blog entry.

Photo credit: YouTube.