If you were alive when John Kennedy was assassinated, you will never forget where you where when you heard the news. The same is true for 9/11. Indelible moments, time and date stamped into your memory.
Thirty-five years ago tonight, I was home and somewhere in the background of a four-way conversation in my living room, we heard the news on Monday Night Football. John Lennon had been shot.
No one had to tell me he was gone. My heart knew it, my soul felt emptier. Something that had been part of my being was lost.
John Lennon was not a hero to me. By most accounts he wasn't even the beautiful human he's transformed into since his death. To me, he was a Beatle and the Beatles were as much a part of my life education as any class or direction of my parents. As Bruce Springsteen said it years later, "I learned more from a 3 minute record baby, than I ever learned in school." John Lennon was one of four who gave my spirit the wings to fly.
Those wings were broken 35 years ago. They have healed with the passage of time, but the scar from that day is still there.
Over the years, the words "For John" were said as a candle was lit. Just a small symbol to bring light to the darkness. There's way too much darkness in the world today, so maybe just for one day we can light a candle and Imagine.
In what has become a recurring theme in my life, I am behind on everything I need to do, but have allowed myself to be distracted once again. It is what it is.
I've neglected all my online friends prompts of fun and games for the past few weeks, and I was expecting to do so for the foreseeable future. Then Jen reminded me of the theme for this week's Twisted MixTape and here I am. How can I not join in when the theme is: These Lyrics Are Genius. Seriously, how many posts have I devoted to great lyrics, how many times have I said the lyrics are what I first focus on in a song, how many times have I cried over lyrics. Yeah, too damn many. So here I am. Now I've already used a lot of my favorite songs in other posts, so I'll try to use other genius lyrics by some of my favorite composers.
While Simon & Garfunkel, were probably my true and first lyrical influence, I can remember clear as day, hearing the opening verse to this song and thinking 'how does someone write something so beautiful and with so much imagery in so few words.'
Sung by The Eagles but written by a friend of Glenn Frey by the name of Jack Tempchin. Click on his name to learn a little more about him.
"I like the way your sparkling earrings lay,
Against your skin so brown.
And I want to sleep with you in the desert tonight
With a billion stars all around"
We all know that Bruce had to be in the mix, but I've already discussed the lyrics of "Tunnel Of Love," "The River," and I think "Brilliant Disguise." All deserving to be included in this list. So are "Thunder Road," "Drive All Night," "If I Should Fall Behind," and oh I could go on. Hard as it is for me to choose one verse to highlight, let's go with this.
"So you've been broken and you've been hurt
Show me somebody who ain't
Yeah, I know I ain't nobody's bargain
But, hey, a little touch up and a little paint.
You might need something to hold on to
When all the answers, they don't amount to much
Somebody that you could just to talk to
And a little of that human touch"
Simon & Garfunkel. To choose one song? I've already written about "The Boxer," "America," and a few more. Paul Simon is a genius, so anything he writes carries weight in my world. One song, or actually two, but they run together on the album and I've always looked at them as a whole, makes me cry... every time. I cannot pull out one verse, it is in the whole where you feel the message, so here are the entire lyrics.
"Old Friends"
"Old friends, Old friends
Sat on their park bench like bookends
A newspaper blown through the grass
Falls on the round toes
On the high shoes
Of the old friends
Old friends
Winter companions
The old men
Lost in their overcoats
Waiting for the sunset
The sounds of the city
Sifting through trees
Settle like dust
On the shoulders
Of the old friends
Can you imagine us
Years from today
Sharing a park bench quietly?
How terribly strange
To be seventy
Old friends
Memory brushes the same years
Silently sharing the same fear"
Chillingly descriptive, especially paired with "Bookends"
"Time it was,
And what a time it was
It was . . .
A time of innocence
A time of confidences
Long ago . . . it must be . . .
I have a photograph
Preserve your memories
They’re all that’s left you"
So how do you not include Dylan in this list, and again, which song? One of the first songs I remember as Dylan having written, but with another band having the hit was "My Back Pages." It took a while to figure out the lyrics (there was no internet with lyrics sites in those days) and even longer to try and figure out what he was trying to say. Even if the interpretation I had was not quite his vision, it is still powerful today.
"In a soldier's stance, I aimed my hand
At the mongrel dogs who teach
Fearing not that I'd become my enemy
In the instant that I preach
My existence led by confusion boats
Mutiny from stern to bow
Ah, but I was so much older then
I'm younger than that now"
How do you describe your country in a way that encompasses its beauty and its assets, while still acknowledging her faults. If you're Pete Seeger, you did it as a matter of course.
"As I went walking I saw a sign there
And on the sign it said "No Trespassing."
But on the other side it didn't say nothing,
That side was made for you and me"
It seems I have no Beatles song in the list. Unacceptable. And while not a group song, will anyone complain about this being included. I know I've used it before in the MixTape, many of us have. Not only are the lyrics brilliant, but so is the thought of it. John.
"You may say I'm a dreamer
But I'm not the only one
I hope someday you'll join us
And the world will be as one"
It seems so sad to stop here... I could go on all day, but you know I never stray too far from the words. As always all rights of these songs belong to the artists mentioned. So don't go suing my ass for telling the world how beautiful they are.
I missed Jen's party last week because there were just too many commitments and not enough hours. And I was gonna bow out this week too, but then she started tweeting "Come out and play," and well you know, I do hate to miss a party when there's good music. So here I am at 6:45 in the morning. For you Jen, for you.
The theme for the Twisted MixTape this week is Beautiful Songs. All righty then, that could be anything.
Let me start by saying, just because it's beautiful, doesn't mean it's happy. One of the most beautiful songs you will ever hear is a heartbreaking song of realization. Written by Eric Kaz and Libby Titus and covered over the years by Linda Rondstadt and Rosanne Cash among others. I first heard it by Bonnie Raitt, it was fabulous then and still is.
"If I could buy your love
Then I'd surely try my friend
And if I could pray
My prayers would never end
But if you want me to beg
I'll fall down on my knees
And ask you to come back
I'd be pleading for you to come back
I'd beg for you to come back to me"
So powerful, so sad, so Beautiful.
"Love Has No Pride"
Next up is a song I used in a blog a year or so ago. It's not fancy or complicated. It's just Beautiful. The band is Railroad Earth.
"Lovin You"
I first heard Judy Collins sing this song a very long time ago. Beyond her voice are the lyrics. Of course they were written by the incomparable Leonard Cohen, and they are Beautiful.
"Now Suzanne takes your hand
And she leads you to the river
She is wearing rags and feathers
From Salvation Army counters
And the sun pours down like honey
On our lady of the harbour
And she shows you where to look
Among the garbage and the flowers
There are heroes in the seaweed
There are children in the morning
They are leaning out for love
And they will lean that way forever
While Suzanne holds the mirror"
"Suzanne"
Tim Hardin wrote a song which became a Top Ten hit for Bobby Darin in 1966. As a thank you, Darin then wrote "Simple Song of Freedom" for Hardin, and it was equally successful. But the Hardin song is the one that fits in today. I've heard it done by Johnny Cash, Mary Chapin Carpenter, Led Zeppelin and, well there was even an entire album of covers of it released. Those who know me can guess who I've picked. "If I Were A Carpenter"
Tomorrow being 9/11, and with this country thinking about dropping bombs again, I thought this would be the perfect song to end a Beautiful list. John said it best.
"Imagine there's no countries
It isn't hard to do
Nothing to kill or die for
And no religion too
Imagine all the people
Living life in peace..."
I'll be slithering back to my dark hole now. See you all soon.
