| Simon and Garfunkel – April Come She Will Lyrics | 3 years ago |
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I am going to be the contrarian here. First, let’s set the scene. Paul Simon is a New Yorker, born, raised and lived and, someday, hopefully far in the future, he will likely die there. I grew up in New Jersey not all that far away so I know of what I speak. East coasters love to brag on what hearty folk we are who can handle frigid winters and regular blizzards with aplomb... and, while we do indeed deal with our share of cold and snow, let me tell you a little secret: winter on the east coast, typically isn’t so bad. You have short cold snaps and sometimes a storm will hit at the same time as a cold snap and heavy snow will result. The thing is that neither tend to last very long. Snow... even last traces... rarely remains on the ground for even a week and, for every frigid day with snow in the air there is usually another right around the corner where the sun is shining and you almost taste spring in the air even in January. And then before you know it, it really is spring. Anyway, that is how a winter on the east coast typically unfolds. Here’s the thing. The 1960s were NOT typical. In the mid-Atlantic states, for almost every year in the decade, winter came on early; it was cold and snowy throughout with few breaks; and only in April did spring finally break through for good. Winter in this decade became something to endure... and you see hints of this in the art that came out of New York that decade. The cover of “Freewheelin’ Bob Dylan” shows him and Suze Rotolo shivering on snow-covered Greenwich Village Street. John Phillips famously wrote “California Dreaming” after returning to New York City in Fall after a long hiatus in the Caribbean and finding that none of his old friends were there and the weather had already turned wintry (“all the leaves are brown... and the sky is gray”). Then, of course, there is Paul Simon. His songs from the 60s ooze with winter weather imagery: “I Am A.Rock” (“a freshly falling, silent shroud of snow”), “Hazy Shade of Winter”, and, at least in my mind, “April Come She Will”. In the song, April is not new love. It is relief that spring had arrived and another dreadful winter has ended. As the months go by first you revel in the warming and lengthening days. By, mid-summer, the summer warmth is second nature. By September, though you can already feel the hints of winter preparing to return. |
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| Jethro Tull – For Michael Collins, Jeffrey, And Me Lyrics | 4 years ago |
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You are all missing a very key point. One of the things Michael Collins trained for was how bring the command module back to earth alone in case something happened to Neil and Buzz in the LEM on their way to, or while on the surface of, the moon. In this same vein, Nixon’s speechwriter, William Safire, recently released the verbiage of a speech he wrote for Nixon just in case the same thing happened. Opening line: “Fate has crdained that the men who went to the moon to explore in peace will stay on the moon to Rest In Peace.” |
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| Bob Dylan – Positively 4th Street Lyrics | 6 years ago |
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I am fascinated by how many opinions there are on who this was directed at. I’d always heard it was Richard Farina, who was a marginally talented folk singer whose only real accomplishments at the time this song was written were meeting and marrying 17-year-old Mimi Baez and parlaying the fact that his marriage put him in the constant company of Mimi’s sister, Joan (and thus with Bob who was involved with Joan) into a reputation way out of proportion with his talent. Oh, and apparently he had a penchant for, on the rare occasions he was wasn’t leeching off Bob Dylan’s limelight, complaining to anyone who would listen that he was obviously much more talented than Bob and there were people in the industry keeping him down. Fun fact: This song, Farina’s constant complaining, and his mysterious death in a motorcycle accident in 1966 has spawned a wide variety of conspiracy theories about him if you’re bored. |
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| The Beatles – Revolution 1 Lyrics | 6 years ago |
| I am surprised there is even slight disagreement on this. John is clearly saying he is totally up for revolution and changing the world, BUT he is not down with the poseurs who claim to be revolutionaries and, who in fact make up the large majority of any revolutionary movement. If your desire for revolution revolves around a phony baloney philosophy that you can’t articulate and thus can’t possibly work in the real world or even draw one supporter, then, no, you can count John out. If your level of commitment starts and ends with carrying a picture of Chairman Mao, who himself never seemed to make much sense or have any particular plan once he achieved power, then, no, thst’s not the kind of revolution John was seeking. If your plans just really need an influx of cash to gain critical mass or if you are really just an angry guy interested in busting shit up, than, yeah, count John out please. If and only if you are ready to go all in on changing the world in a fundamentally positive way, do you have permission to approach John with it. Otherwise, move along. | |
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