carries lilting melody
from a penny whistle
calling the "king of the faeries"
but only the dogs
set dance in reply.
January 19, 2014
Showing posts with label music. Show all posts
Showing posts with label music. Show all posts
Sunday, January 19, 2014
A January of Small Stones 19
dark crisp air
carries lilting melody
from a penny whistle
calling the "king of the faeries"
but only the dogs
set dance in reply.
January 19, 2014
carries lilting melody
from a penny whistle
calling the "king of the faeries"
but only the dogs
set dance in reply.
January 19, 2014
Saturday, January 11, 2014
A January of Small Stones 11
Waiting for dog in a dark alive
with ceaseless shifting pines in the wind,
the small brook swollen with rain
beats against its banks,
and behind it all
the mechanical clang and scrape of the dragline
on the mountain.
January 11, 2014
#smallstone
with ceaseless shifting pines in the wind,
the small brook swollen with rain
beats against its banks,
and behind it all
the mechanical clang and scrape of the dragline
on the mountain.
January 11, 2014
#smallstone
Monday, March 12, 2012
In love with "Wrecking Ball"
Every song on this album is just right. This is a case of a songwriter/singers vision fitting exactly into my present mind set. I've been writing a series of pieces on my sociology blog Sociological Stew called "Zombie America." In Wrecking Ball Springsteen wrote the perfect sound track for "Zombie America." The lively melodies of songs like "We Take Care of Own," "Death to My Home Town," and "American Land" (which remind often remind me of Irish immigrant jigs) and catchy choruses of Wrecking Ball are the perfect contra-punctual to the images of anger, despair, and desolation that peek through the verses.
Tuesday, March 1, 2011
regrets
One of my favorite bloggers, a lovely lady from England is Maggie May. Her profile begins with the sentence: "Not to be confused with the other Maggie May!"
So every time I visit Maggie's blog I am reminded of Rod Stewart's song "Maggie May," which is something of a bitter sweet reminder. While I love the song, in recent years listening to the lyrics carefully has made me uncomfortable. In particular the line "You lured me away from home/just to keep you from being alone," haunts me.
You see, I just may have been a "Maggie May" once upon a time.
My first husband was eighteen (I was 32) when we met, nineteen when we began dating, twenty when we married, twenty-one when he left me, and only twenty-two when we divorced. At the time it felt like he pursued me, like the relationship was equal and mutual. But over the years as I've heard of his struggles in life with addiction, relationships, and careers, I question my perception.
For me, the relationship, despite its brevity, was an overwhelmingly positive force in my life. Even the pain of loss and divorce was a gift that helped me become a better, more insightful, balanced and emotionally richer person.
I hate to think that my gains were another person's losses; so everytime I hear "Maggie May" I wonder. Was that me?
So every time I visit Maggie's blog I am reminded of Rod Stewart's song "Maggie May," which is something of a bitter sweet reminder. While I love the song, in recent years listening to the lyrics carefully has made me uncomfortable. In particular the line "You lured me away from home/just to keep you from being alone," haunts me.
You see, I just may have been a "Maggie May" once upon a time.
My first husband was eighteen (I was 32) when we met, nineteen when we began dating, twenty when we married, twenty-one when he left me, and only twenty-two when we divorced. At the time it felt like he pursued me, like the relationship was equal and mutual. But over the years as I've heard of his struggles in life with addiction, relationships, and careers, I question my perception.
For me, the relationship, despite its brevity, was an overwhelmingly positive force in my life. Even the pain of loss and divorce was a gift that helped me become a better, more insightful, balanced and emotionally richer person.
I hate to think that my gains were another person's losses; so everytime I hear "Maggie May" I wonder. Was that me?
Tuesday, August 3, 2010
today while the flowers still cling to the vine...
The first line of my favorite song from childhood "Today" performed by the New Christy Minstrels. Through the power of my iPod, I took a wonderful mental trip back through childhood, while enjoying the mountain scenery on my hour plus drive to and from in-service this morning.
Songs recorded by Peter, Paul and Mary, the New Christy Minstrels and Pete Seeger, that my brothers and I sang in the car on family trips, like "If I Had a Hammer," and "Little Houses made of Ticky Tacky," and "Michael Row the Boat Ashore." The version of that song on my iPod is from a live album, and features hundreds of audience voices joining the performers on repeated verses. And I was transported for a moment, to a day, when United Air Lines celebrating their first jet passenger planes from McDonnell-Douglas, had invited all San Francisco Maintenance Base employees and their families to a huge party in a cavernous hanger, with music by the New Christy Minstrels. I tell you, you have not heard anything until you hear 5,000 people, young and old, singing "Michael Row the Boat Ashore" inside the acoustic miracle of a jet hanger. It was, and continues to be the most awesome musical experience of my entire life.
Songs recorded by Peter, Paul and Mary, the New Christy Minstrels and Pete Seeger, that my brothers and I sang in the car on family trips, like "If I Had a Hammer," and "Little Houses made of Ticky Tacky," and "Michael Row the Boat Ashore." The version of that song on my iPod is from a live album, and features hundreds of audience voices joining the performers on repeated verses. And I was transported for a moment, to a day, when United Air Lines celebrating their first jet passenger planes from McDonnell-Douglas, had invited all San Francisco Maintenance Base employees and their families to a huge party in a cavernous hanger, with music by the New Christy Minstrels. I tell you, you have not heard anything until you hear 5,000 people, young and old, singing "Michael Row the Boat Ashore" inside the acoustic miracle of a jet hanger. It was, and continues to be the most awesome musical experience of my entire life.
Saturday, March 27, 2010
working on our night moves - OSI
Moon rise over the mountain,
a fresh spring wind in the woods,
through the camera lens,
my spirit breaks free,
clean, light, unencumbered by
aching joints or uncertain steps,
and dances into the dark night.
© sgreerpitt
Saturday March 27, 2010
For other poems on the theme "avatar" see One Single Impression March 27-April 3.
Photograph taken 9:00 PM Saturday March 27, 2010, 8" exposure, 4x magnification.
Wednesday, December 30, 2009
"once in a very blue moon"
A few of my blogger/Facebook friends Deborah Godin and Beth Patterson, alerted me to the fact that there will be a "blue moon" tomorrow December 31, 2010. These days a "blue moon" is defined as the second full moon that occurs in a calendar month. These are pretty rare.
NASA has a great piece on the origin of the phrase "once in a blue moon" and the more recent association of it with the astronomical phenomenon of two full-moons in a single calendar month.
My favorite piece of music about a blue moon, is performed by Nanci Griffith and is called "Once in a very blue moon" a song which she co-wrote with folk singer Patrick Alger.
Saturday, June 13, 2009
music for the folk
A great place to hear music for the folk (i.e., true folk music) is at the Appalshop in Whitesburg, Kentucky. Appalshop which turns 40 this year, got its start through a program called "Community Film Workshops" from the Office of Economic Opportunity in the 1960's. The local youth involved with the program, turned what was suppose to be a job training program into an indigenous expression of mountain culture, which continues to thrive through music, art, film, and theatre. One of the highlights of the year at Appalshop (for 23 years) has been the Seedtime on the Cumberland festival with live music, films, and crafts. I've probably missed more years than I've attended since I moved to this region 20 years ago. Some years its just been too darned hot; other years I've been ill, or had too much work to do; some years I just forgot until it was over. But I made a concerted effort to go this year, because one of the featured performers was John McCutcheon; McCutcheon is one of the performers who helped ignite my love of bluegrass and traditional folk music of the Appalachian mountains.
My father is from Appalachia, from the tiny hamlet of Troutdale, over in Grayson County, Virginia. Yet despite this fact, and despite having spent a half dozen summers in Troutdale while growing up, I don't remember ever hearing even one bar of traditional mountain music until I wound up at the University of Kentucky in January 1975.
I don't remember the first time I heard traditional music or bluegrass; as both were ubiquitous in Lexington in the mid-1970's. But, I was already familiar with traditional music by July 7, 1977, when I attended a long standing "Old Time Fiddle" convention in Galax, Virginia while I was working on my master thesis research (an historical/ethnographic study of Troutdale). As part of my thesis research I met and interviewed luthier and musician Albert Hash of Whitetop, Virginia, and I had the rare (for a non-musician) pleasure of listening to Albert jamming with a variety of musicians young and old, behind the scenes at the Fiddle contest in Galax.
So I was already well on the hook by the time the winter of 1977-78 rolled around. The winter of 1977-78 was a long cold one, especially in the coal fields of Kentucky and Virginia where one of the longest strikes in UMWA history was unfolding. A concert was held at the University of Kentucky that winter (if memory serves me right in January 78, but it could have been earlier or later) to raise money for striking miners and their families -- and raise awareness.
My reasons for attending were more political than musical -- at least at first. Two performances of the evening stand out in my memory. I have long since forgotten the names of any of the other acts, but I remember in shining detail both John McCutcheon and the all female Reel World String Band (which also still records and performs--sometimes at the Seedtime festival).
McCutcheon, an instrumentalist par excellence, played several different instruments that winter night, but what I remember, what has stayed with me all these years was his performance on the hammer dulcimer. Despite its ancient and venerable history, I had never encountered the hammer dulcimer before that night. The notes of the hammer dulcimer fall sweetly like spring rain, tripping brightly on the ears. The next week I purchased his album "The Wind that Shakes the Barley" (which was produced by June Apple records of Appalshop!). [I just put it on the turntable to provide the right ambiance].
Although it was his performance on the hammer dulcimer that made me a fan in 1977-78, I have since come to appreciate McCutcheon's own formidable song writing skills. This afternoon, he played both traditional pieces and his own compositions, including the "world premier" of a song against strip-mining and mountain top removal that he wrote last night on his way to Whitesburg. Photo by sgreerpitt, John McCutcheon today, June 13, 2009, at Seedtime on the Cumberland, at the Appalshop in Whitesburg, Kentucky.
Thursday, February 5, 2009
birthday delights
So my birthday isn't actually until tomorrow, but the package came to day, and I'm stuck at home snowbound another day, so....
My best friend of 46 years, Betti, sent me a 40th anniversary gift set of the Sound of Music with DVD of the movie, CD of the soundtrack and coffee table book. I spent the morning listening to the sound track while reading through the book.
Betti and I spent a lot of our adolescence singing. Our favorites included many things from AM radio (Beatles, Freddie and the Dreamers, Herman's Hermits) but also musicals like Sound of Music and Mary Poppins. So memories abound as I listen to the music.
Drawing from 1968, copied from movie posters.
My best friend of 46 years, Betti, sent me a 40th anniversary gift set of the Sound of Music with DVD of the movie, CD of the soundtrack and coffee table book. I spent the morning listening to the sound track while reading through the book.
Betti and I spent a lot of our adolescence singing. Our favorites included many things from AM radio (Beatles, Freddie and the Dreamers, Herman's Hermits) but also musicals like Sound of Music and Mary Poppins. So memories abound as I listen to the music.
Drawing from 1968, copied from movie posters.
Friday, October 24, 2008
serendipity
Moments of serendipity this week:
Wednesday morning, coming over the rise on U.S. 119 past Kona, just a young male buck with a first year rack stepped out of the shadows of the forest, into the sunlit meadow along the road. I slowed down (from 55 to 40) to get a good look, as did the car who came over the rise next. The buck stood still as a statue for thirty seconds (it seemed like so much longer), then tossed his head, spun around and ran, his white tail flipping, back into the dark of the forest.
This morning, traveling west on U.S. 119 over Pine Mountain on the way to Cumberland, KY, just as I came over the crest of the mountain and had this huge autumn panorama laid out before me, my iPod shuffle hit George Winston's recording of Pachelbel's Canon in D. Perfect moment. I've probably heard two dozen different recordings of the Canon in D over the years, but it never fails to lift my spirits and inspire me. Combined with the extraordinary vista of red and gold forested mountains took my breath away.
Wednesday morning, coming over the rise on U.S. 119 past Kona, just a young male buck with a first year rack stepped out of the shadows of the forest, into the sunlit meadow along the road. I slowed down (from 55 to 40) to get a good look, as did the car who came over the rise next. The buck stood still as a statue for thirty seconds (it seemed like so much longer), then tossed his head, spun around and ran, his white tail flipping, back into the dark of the forest.
This morning, traveling west on U.S. 119 over Pine Mountain on the way to Cumberland, KY, just as I came over the crest of the mountain and had this huge autumn panorama laid out before me, my iPod shuffle hit George Winston's recording of Pachelbel's Canon in D. Perfect moment. I've probably heard two dozen different recordings of the Canon in D over the years, but it never fails to lift my spirits and inspire me. Combined with the extraordinary vista of red and gold forested mountains took my breath away.
Friday, July 4, 2008
everybody, peace on earth
A great organization TEDS, makes available free to anyone, a wide range of talks and performances on science, technology, arts and music. I was particularly struck by this musical performance of two songs "Everybody" and "Peace on Earth" by songwriter, musician, singer Raul Midon.
P.S. sorry about the commercial, wasn't anyway to avoid it. I'm not trying to promote the product.
P.S. sorry about the commercial, wasn't anyway to avoid it. I'm not trying to promote the product.
Thursday, July 3, 2008
music and politics
I've come across something quite interesting, a blog belonging to a band Max and the Marginalized, that writes good music on current political themes. If you are not a liberal you probably won't like the lyrics. Their most recent song, expresses their concern that recent pronouncements by Barack Obama make them question whether or not he is the candidate for which they hoped and should support. Sentiments that I admit to having myself.
Tuesday, July 1, 2008
amazing grace
We joined Netflix back in March, an excellent decision for movie lovers in-the-middle-of-nowhere. Since one pays a flat monthly fee, the more movies you see, the better deal it is. This has encouraged us to take a chance on a lot of things that we might have passed by when we not only had to pay for each movie, but also, because of the distances involved, often ended up paying late fees for each film, whether we watched it or not.
The movie Amazing Grace is one of those films that I didn't take a chance on before joining Netflix -- it had been out on DVD for quite some time before we joined. It went on my list, like three or four dozen other films that have come out in the past few years, but it wasn't high on my priorities. When it came, I set it aside for almost two weeks. Then Sunday afternoon John and I sat down to watch.
Amazing Grace is an amazing film. We learned so much from it that we previously had no idea about. I did know that England had outlawed the slave trade and then slavery itself decades before the U.S. Civil War. But I had no idea how that had come about, or who had been responsible. After seeing the movie, I found a review from the New York Times when it first came out, and I have to disagree with the reviewer on one point -- just because the movie doesn't show William Wilberforce kneeling and praying or going to church or reading the Bible doesn't mean that the film doesn't clearly convey the depth of his religious feeling or that his convictions about the evils of slavery were rooted in his evangelical Methodist religion. Although Wilberforce was the most public face of the movement as the member of Parliament responsible for presenting the laws -- over and over again, year after year, until he was succesful -- the film does an excellent job of showing that Wilberforce was part of a group of dedicated anti-slavery activists that included among others to Thomas Clarkson.
For those who do not know (as I did not) the title of the film comes from the hymn, which was written by John Newton, a former slave ship captain who experienced a religious rebirth, and became a minister, ultimately renouncing slavery. The movie depicts Newton as having formed Wilberforce's views on slavery, but a bit of research on the net suggests that the relationship may have been the reverse. That is was Wilberforce who helped draw Newton into his anti-slavery position.
In any case, the hymn Amazing Grace was informed by Newton's journey from sin (as a slave ship captain and all that life entailed) to redemption. No wonder it is one of the most beautiful hymns in the English language. I may not be a Christian, but I still find it to be one of the most moving, evocative pieces of music I've ever experienced -- especially when played on the bagpipes, as it is at the end of the film.
It doesn't matter whether you are religious or not, Christian or not, this is an intelligent and moving film that I highly recommend.
The movie Amazing Grace is one of those films that I didn't take a chance on before joining Netflix -- it had been out on DVD for quite some time before we joined. It went on my list, like three or four dozen other films that have come out in the past few years, but it wasn't high on my priorities. When it came, I set it aside for almost two weeks. Then Sunday afternoon John and I sat down to watch.
Amazing Grace is an amazing film. We learned so much from it that we previously had no idea about. I did know that England had outlawed the slave trade and then slavery itself decades before the U.S. Civil War. But I had no idea how that had come about, or who had been responsible. After seeing the movie, I found a review from the New York Times when it first came out, and I have to disagree with the reviewer on one point -- just because the movie doesn't show William Wilberforce kneeling and praying or going to church or reading the Bible doesn't mean that the film doesn't clearly convey the depth of his religious feeling or that his convictions about the evils of slavery were rooted in his evangelical Methodist religion. Although Wilberforce was the most public face of the movement as the member of Parliament responsible for presenting the laws -- over and over again, year after year, until he was succesful -- the film does an excellent job of showing that Wilberforce was part of a group of dedicated anti-slavery activists that included among others to Thomas Clarkson.
For those who do not know (as I did not) the title of the film comes from the hymn, which was written by John Newton, a former slave ship captain who experienced a religious rebirth, and became a minister, ultimately renouncing slavery. The movie depicts Newton as having formed Wilberforce's views on slavery, but a bit of research on the net suggests that the relationship may have been the reverse. That is was Wilberforce who helped draw Newton into his anti-slavery position.
In any case, the hymn Amazing Grace was informed by Newton's journey from sin (as a slave ship captain and all that life entailed) to redemption. No wonder it is one of the most beautiful hymns in the English language. I may not be a Christian, but I still find it to be one of the most moving, evocative pieces of music I've ever experienced -- especially when played on the bagpipes, as it is at the end of the film.
It doesn't matter whether you are religious or not, Christian or not, this is an intelligent and moving film that I highly recommend.
Saturday, May 17, 2008
memory lane
This week I had the only "work" related thing I had to do between May 6 and June 6. Thursday the 15th, I had to travel 320 miles round trip to the central offices of the Kentucky Community and Technical College System, in Versailles, Kentucky [Kentuckians pronounce this towns name as "Ver-sails," not the French "Ver-sigh"] to make a two minute plea not to change the language in a proposal emanating from the curriculum committee I chair. My plea was successful.
Since this was work related, the college gave me a van and credit card for gas, so the travel was free (to me). Driving the college van is a guilty pleasure. Brand new in October 2007, with 8 cylinders under the hood and power everything, it is soooo different from driving my own tiny 3-cylinder, 50 mile per gallon, Chevy Metro. I'd never buy anything like this (even if I could afford it), but it is an occasional treat to drive something that is so much more comfortable and powerful on long trips.
Technically, I could have driven there and back in one day (3 1/2 hours each way). But, even in the luxurious college van, its hard for me to drive that long without developing all kinds of hip, knee and back pains, and sometimes it's hard to stay awake. So I decided to combine pleasure with business, and stayed overnight in Lexington, Kentucky, just a few miles from Versailles on the way back to eastern Kentucky where I live. [Since the overnight was for my convenience, that won't get billed to the college.]
I love Lexington. I lived there for seven and a half years (January 1975 to August 1982) while in graduate school at the University of Kentucky. Even before I moved back to Kentucky in 1996, I would come back to Lexington to visit at least once a year, sometimes more. Lots beautiful things to see, lots of great places to eat, and lots of great shopping. Plus I have a wonderful friend that lives in Lexington.
Sharon was the first person I met when I came to UK in 1975. She was the secretary of the Department of Higher Education where I began my graduate career. [Sharon has long since left UK for a very interesting career in Kentucky state government, climbing to the level of political appointment, and then retiring a few years ago.] Within a week of meeting Sharon, I also met her daughter Stephanie, who was 6 years old at the time. Stephanie is the only child that I have truly been able to watch grow up. Stephanie and I spent lots of time together when I was in graduate school, and I kept coming back to Lexington to visit through out her life. I was able to be there for her wedding. On this trip Sharon showed me the most recent photos of Stephanie's children. Stephanie's daughter is now six, and an absolute dead ringer for her mom at the same age. In an instant I was transported back to that freezing January day, when I climbed into Sharon's car and met Stephanie for the first time.
One of the things I like about the college's van, is that like my own car, it has a jack to plug in an iPod (or other MP3 player). Over the past six months, I've been slowly adding music to my iPod -- mostly by digitizing my album collection, which I'm only about an eighth of the way through. I've created what I call my "life soundtrack" play lists. I have one for "childhood" (up to age 12), then one for "the sixties" (technically '63-'69), one for "college," another for "grad school," one for what I call my "MTV years" ('82-'90), and finally one just called "40 plus."
On this trip I decided to listen to "childhood," which is a mixture of traditional songs and folk songs we sang as a family (Peter, Paul and Mary, the New Christie Minstrels, Pete Seeger) and early rock and roll that we heard on the radio (some Elvis, Chuck Berry, etc.). It's a good play list for the car, because I can sing almost all the words to all the songs. One of the songs on this play list is "Today" (performed by the New Christie Minstrels). This was possibly my favorite song from the time I first heard it well up through college. I can still sing the entire song from memory, but had not thought about it in some time. I hit the back button six or seven times, and listened to the song over and over again. It is still a hauntingly beautiful song. Here are the lyrics:
Today while the blossoms still cling to the vine,
I'll taste your strawberries, I'll drink your sweet wine.
A million tomorrows will all pass away,
ere I forget all the joy that is mine today.
I'll be a dandy, and I'll be a rover,
You'll know who I am by the song that I sing,
I'll feast at your table, I'll sleep in your clover,
Who cares what tomorrow may bring.
Today while the blossoms still cling to the vine,
I'll taste your strawberries, I'll drink your sweet wine.
A million tomorrows will all pass away,
ere I forget all the joy that is mine today.
I can't be contented with yesterday's glories,
I can't live on promises winter to spring,
Today is my moment and now is my story,
I'll laugh and I'll cry and I'll sing.
Today while the blossoms still cling to the vine,
I'll taste your strawberries,
I'll drink your sweet wine.
A million tomorrows will all pass away,
ere I forget all the joy that is mine today.
The idea of living in the present is desirable and appealing (if difficult to maintain). However, as I listened to the lyrics, I realized that there was also something adolescent about them. At heart, they express an unwillingness to settle down and make commitments. While we can only live one day at a time (keeping that fact firmly in mind is key to many recovery programs), we also do need to make promises and commitments, so that our days are linked to the past and future in a meaningful way.
Since this was work related, the college gave me a van and credit card for gas, so the travel was free (to me). Driving the college van is a guilty pleasure. Brand new in October 2007, with 8 cylinders under the hood and power everything, it is soooo different from driving my own tiny 3-cylinder, 50 mile per gallon, Chevy Metro. I'd never buy anything like this (even if I could afford it), but it is an occasional treat to drive something that is so much more comfortable and powerful on long trips.
Technically, I could have driven there and back in one day (3 1/2 hours each way). But, even in the luxurious college van, its hard for me to drive that long without developing all kinds of hip, knee and back pains, and sometimes it's hard to stay awake. So I decided to combine pleasure with business, and stayed overnight in Lexington, Kentucky, just a few miles from Versailles on the way back to eastern Kentucky where I live. [Since the overnight was for my convenience, that won't get billed to the college.]
I love Lexington. I lived there for seven and a half years (January 1975 to August 1982) while in graduate school at the University of Kentucky. Even before I moved back to Kentucky in 1996, I would come back to Lexington to visit at least once a year, sometimes more. Lots beautiful things to see, lots of great places to eat, and lots of great shopping. Plus I have a wonderful friend that lives in Lexington.
Sharon was the first person I met when I came to UK in 1975. She was the secretary of the Department of Higher Education where I began my graduate career. [Sharon has long since left UK for a very interesting career in Kentucky state government, climbing to the level of political appointment, and then retiring a few years ago.] Within a week of meeting Sharon, I also met her daughter Stephanie, who was 6 years old at the time. Stephanie is the only child that I have truly been able to watch grow up. Stephanie and I spent lots of time together when I was in graduate school, and I kept coming back to Lexington to visit through out her life. I was able to be there for her wedding. On this trip Sharon showed me the most recent photos of Stephanie's children. Stephanie's daughter is now six, and an absolute dead ringer for her mom at the same age. In an instant I was transported back to that freezing January day, when I climbed into Sharon's car and met Stephanie for the first time.
One of the things I like about the college's van, is that like my own car, it has a jack to plug in an iPod (or other MP3 player). Over the past six months, I've been slowly adding music to my iPod -- mostly by digitizing my album collection, which I'm only about an eighth of the way through. I've created what I call my "life soundtrack" play lists. I have one for "childhood" (up to age 12), then one for "the sixties" (technically '63-'69), one for "college," another for "grad school," one for what I call my "MTV years" ('82-'90), and finally one just called "40 plus."On this trip I decided to listen to "childhood," which is a mixture of traditional songs and folk songs we sang as a family (Peter, Paul and Mary, the New Christie Minstrels, Pete Seeger) and early rock and roll that we heard on the radio (some Elvis, Chuck Berry, etc.). It's a good play list for the car, because I can sing almost all the words to all the songs. One of the songs on this play list is "Today" (performed by the New Christie Minstrels). This was possibly my favorite song from the time I first heard it well up through college. I can still sing the entire song from memory, but had not thought about it in some time. I hit the back button six or seven times, and listened to the song over and over again. It is still a hauntingly beautiful song. Here are the lyrics:
Today while the blossoms still cling to the vine,
I'll taste your strawberries, I'll drink your sweet wine.
A million tomorrows will all pass away,
ere I forget all the joy that is mine today.
I'll be a dandy, and I'll be a rover,
You'll know who I am by the song that I sing,
I'll feast at your table, I'll sleep in your clover,
Who cares what tomorrow may bring.
Today while the blossoms still cling to the vine,
I'll taste your strawberries, I'll drink your sweet wine.
A million tomorrows will all pass away,
ere I forget all the joy that is mine today.
I can't be contented with yesterday's glories,
I can't live on promises winter to spring,
Today is my moment and now is my story,
I'll laugh and I'll cry and I'll sing.
Today while the blossoms still cling to the vine,
I'll taste your strawberries,
I'll drink your sweet wine.
A million tomorrows will all pass away,
ere I forget all the joy that is mine today.
The idea of living in the present is desirable and appealing (if difficult to maintain). However, as I listened to the lyrics, I realized that there was also something adolescent about them. At heart, they express an unwillingness to settle down and make commitments. While we can only live one day at a time (keeping that fact firmly in mind is key to many recovery programs), we also do need to make promises and commitments, so that our days are linked to the past and future in a meaningful way.
Friday, January 18, 2008
Music to my ears
About six months ago I bought a 30GB iPod. It's the most expensive thing (not adjusted for inflation) I ever bought that was purely for entertainment. But I have to say that it has been worth every penny. I had already copied most of the CD's I like to my computer, where I could listen to them while I graded papers (a really good time to listen to music). But my favorite place to listen to music is the car, and while I have a nice tape player in the car, my tape collection is limited. The tape player has a jack, originally for inputting a CD player but it works just fine for an iPod.
Now where ever I go I can take my favorite music with me. Every work day begins and ends on a much more pleasant note (ha!) now that I have my iPod. Also I can pop in the ear buds in my office and enjoy my music without disturbing the neighbors (who I must say are not quite as thoughtful -- they play their music over their speakers). The last time I remember having this much music in my life was when I got my first transistor radio on my 13th birthday (February 1964) and walked around all day holding it to my ear listening to things like: "Norwegian Wood," "Eight Days a Week," "Red Roses for a Blue Lady," and what ever else was on the top 40 pop charts.
Over the holiday's we decided that it was time to do something about all the crates of vinyl albums we had sitting around the house tripping us up. We had a record player, but no convenient place to set it up permanently (so that it would not get sat on by cats), and be accessible to us while we work. So we spent another hundred bucks for an ION USB turntable, that fits neatly on the file cabinet next to my computer. It came with Audacity software (which one can also download from the internet for free). It takes a little bit of time -- I usually manage to record one or maybe two albums in an evening while I'm working on other things on the computer. But slowly we are converting our vinyl collection into MP3 format.
I have so many odd things on vinyl -- the sound track for Dr. Who, a Yiddish Klesmer band, obscure feminist songwriter/singers like Kristin Lems, the White Top Mountain Boys, etc. Then there is all the records from college, that evokes so many moods and memories from the past. As a freshman in college, I put myself to sleep at night with my roommates records and record player (it had a stacker and automatic power cut off). I liked to listen to things like James Taylor's first album, the soundtrack from "A Man and A Woman," and works by Scarlatti and Bach.
We've had the USB turntable for a month, and I only yesterday discovered that it also has a 1/8" input jack to which you can attach a tape player. Now I can also convert all my favorite tapes to MP3 format, too. Of course I'll need to find something to play the tapes on!
The tapes I have been listening to in the car for all these years, but could not listen to anywhere else (tape players seem to tear up so easily). I am particularly looking forward to getting my Mireille Mathieu "L'Americain" in digital format. I love this album -- even though I understand only about two dozen words on the whole thing. I never learned French. But the melodies are stirring, and the choruses are singable (even if I don't have any idea what I am singing). A year or so ago, I was wondering if it were possible to purchase a CD of this album so that I could listen to it more often, and discovered that yes, if I wanted to ante up more than $400 dollars I could get a CD through Amazon.com. Obviously other folks like the album too!
I'm not an audophile. My hearing has never been good, and with age it is deteriorating even more, so I'm not concerned about eliminating all the pops and clicks as I transfer my analog recordings to digital format. I just want to hear the melodies and the words, and be able to sing along!
Now where ever I go I can take my favorite music with me. Every work day begins and ends on a much more pleasant note (ha!) now that I have my iPod. Also I can pop in the ear buds in my office and enjoy my music without disturbing the neighbors (who I must say are not quite as thoughtful -- they play their music over their speakers). The last time I remember having this much music in my life was when I got my first transistor radio on my 13th birthday (February 1964) and walked around all day holding it to my ear listening to things like: "Norwegian Wood," "Eight Days a Week," "Red Roses for a Blue Lady," and what ever else was on the top 40 pop charts.
Over the holiday's we decided that it was time to do something about all the crates of vinyl albums we had sitting around the house tripping us up. We had a record player, but no convenient place to set it up permanently (so that it would not get sat on by cats), and be accessible to us while we work. So we spent another hundred bucks for an ION USB turntable, that fits neatly on the file cabinet next to my computer. It came with Audacity software (which one can also download from the internet for free). It takes a little bit of time -- I usually manage to record one or maybe two albums in an evening while I'm working on other things on the computer. But slowly we are converting our vinyl collection into MP3 format.
I have so many odd things on vinyl -- the sound track for Dr. Who, a Yiddish Klesmer band, obscure feminist songwriter/singers like Kristin Lems, the White Top Mountain Boys, etc. Then there is all the records from college, that evokes so many moods and memories from the past. As a freshman in college, I put myself to sleep at night with my roommates records and record player (it had a stacker and automatic power cut off). I liked to listen to things like James Taylor's first album, the soundtrack from "A Man and A Woman," and works by Scarlatti and Bach.
We've had the USB turntable for a month, and I only yesterday discovered that it also has a 1/8" input jack to which you can attach a tape player. Now I can also convert all my favorite tapes to MP3 format, too. Of course I'll need to find something to play the tapes on!
The tapes I have been listening to in the car for all these years, but could not listen to anywhere else (tape players seem to tear up so easily). I am particularly looking forward to getting my Mireille Mathieu "L'Americain" in digital format. I love this album -- even though I understand only about two dozen words on the whole thing. I never learned French. But the melodies are stirring, and the choruses are singable (even if I don't have any idea what I am singing). A year or so ago, I was wondering if it were possible to purchase a CD of this album so that I could listen to it more often, and discovered that yes, if I wanted to ante up more than $400 dollars I could get a CD through Amazon.com. Obviously other folks like the album too!
I'm not an audophile. My hearing has never been good, and with age it is deteriorating even more, so I'm not concerned about eliminating all the pops and clicks as I transfer my analog recordings to digital format. I just want to hear the melodies and the words, and be able to sing along!
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