08.18.08
Posted in Music at 2:05 pm by Administrator
Yesterday afternoon, I turned on the PBS TV station to take a brief break from chores. You can count on PBS to offer fantastic programming and yesterday was no different. As part of a pledge drive, the feature was the life and music of John Denver. In the space of the 1/2 hour, that I watched, I learned all kinds of new information about him.
He gave a concert in China. His father was an officer in the Air Force, a “fly boy” as they are called (in the Air Force), and that is who first inspired him to be a pilot. John’s real name was “Dusseldorf.” He took the name of his favorite city, “Denver,” as his stage name. His wife was interviewed and is very beautiful. She mentioned John’s highs and lows and attributed that to an “artistic temperament.”
The one obvious fact about John Denver is that his words and music touched us all. “You fill up my senses, like a night in the forest.” He presents word imagery over which one can linger and try to visualize all the descriptive phrases. That is why his songs are never boring. One can’t really catch the words and their meaning with the first listen. John loved nature and donated a terrific amount of money to environmental causes.
Seeing him perform a tune with Johnny Cash, who has also passed away, reminded me of viewing photos in which all the people have now crossed to the other side. Extending that thought, I began to think of the musical “greats,” who performed in my lifetime, and who are no longer here, John Lennon at the top of the list. They left an indelible mark on our hearts and in our souls, that cannot be erased by time. You see, the way we craft words, does matter, and the more universal the theme, the more likely songs will be remembered.
John Denver spoke for many of us. For example, I never sang, “Take Me Home, Country Roads, to the Place I Belong,” more heartily than when I was missing the tranquility of a home “far away.” John Denver’s music can, indeed, be absorbed at face value, but when one perceives his words, at a deeper level, they may have a bittersweet quality, as noted on the PBS show.
An enigmatic person and an extremely gifted one, we question why he is no longer with us. It doesn’t seem fair. With the gift of technology, his music still is heard: “Sunshine on My Shoulder Makes Me Happy.”
Here’s wishing you sunshine, “prayers, and promises,”
Patricia Cummings
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05.19.08
Posted in Music, Musings at 1:19 am by Administrator
When I was a teenager and would go camping with my parents, one day a couple of young men, looking a little rough around the edges, pulled into the camp site on their motorcycles. To my very conservative parents, motorcycles equaled trouble. We soon found out that these guys had brought a guitar and liked to sing and play, so, for me, it was instant rapport.
The one song they liked to sing most often had to do with traveling (the long and the rocky road). The road, of course, seemed to be a metaphor for the path of life itself. With young voices they sang … “and the folks you meet, there are all kinds. Some are bad and some are good, some are doing the best they could, and some have tried to ease my troubled mind.”
Those few lines pretty much sum up humanity. One does meet “all kinds.” I’ve found, over more than a half century, that people are all pretty much involved with their own “agendas,” the word I use to denote actions taken to promote oneself. I suppose agendas are not necessarily bad, but it sure is refreshing when a body takes it upon himself or herself to help ease the burden of an associate.
One thing I’ve learned is that the people you count on the most, will inevitably let you down. They are too tired, too indifferent, or too preoccupied to care much about anyone other than themselves. However, to make up for the slack, there is always some unexpected gesture of love and kindness that will be bestowed upon one, sometimes from a total stranger. Life does seem to be a balancing act of scales.
Of course, we can’t sit back and wait for life to come to us. I throw back my head and laugh when people ask me how it is that I “got to do” this or that. I’ve worked like heck, all of my life, studying, learning, and doing all that has made me who I am today, and provided me with what I know. A day is not a “good day,” if I have not learned something new. That’s what makes life fun … for me.
The recurrent theme, repeated in the chorus of the song I’d started to mention is “can’t help but wonder where I’m bound.” I suppose young people would think about that sentence in a much different way than a woman my age. I do consider, from time to time, when to invest in my final piece of “real estate.”
It seems a long time since I was a teenager. That’s mainly because it WAS a long time. Time will fly and soon my grandson will be a teenager, and then a young man, and the cycle of life will continue, as well it should. I’m happy to have reached my destination of where I was bound. I’ve arrived at a place of safe haven and to a relationship that refreshes and nourishes my soul.
I am ever thankful for the journey, and for ALL the folks I’ve met, “good or bad.” They have all shaped and molded my character, made me more resilient, and less timid. One by one, the “bad” ones have done me the courtesy of taking “exit stage left,” for a final time.
Patricia Cummings
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04.25.08
Posted in Music, Musings at 7:21 am by Administrator
“Keep on the Sunny Side,” played and sung by my son, James.
Five words can say it all. “Keep on the Sunny Side,” is a song made famous by June Carter. The words seem to tell us that we always have a choice to either dwell on the negatives in our lives, or to adopt a positive attitude, knowing that “our Savior” cares for us. As you can see, the song takes a bit of a religious twist at the end, and therefore, has also been adopted by the Christian musicians.
We could all feel happier if we felt we could take take charge of our lives by walking on the sunny side. There will always be losses. When you are very young, no one tells you about those. People concentrate on encouraging a person about their “bright future,” which may or may not materialize, and at any rate, if blessings come, they may not last forever. There is no solution to the ongoing realities we must all face, but we must celebrate the good things and the good people who remain with us, in the face of life’s ups and downs.
Always try to “keep on the sunny side,” if not for you, personally, then for those around you.
Have a great week!
Patricia Cummings
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