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Pure And Easy Lyrics
There once was a note, pure and easy,
Playing so free, like a breath rippling by
The note is eternal, I hear it, it sees me,
Forever we blend and forever we die
I listened and I heard music in a word,
And words when you played your guitar,
The noise that I was hearing was a million people cheering,
And a child flew past me riding in a star
As people assemble,
Civilization is trying to find a new way to die,
But killing is really merely scene changes,
All men are on board with other men's lies
I listened and I heard music in a word,
And words when you played your guitar,
The noise that I was hearing was a million people cheering,
And a child flew past me riding in a star
Gas on the hillside, oil in the teacup,
Watch all the chords of life lose their joy,
Distortion becomes somehow pure in it's wildness,
The note that began all can also destroy
We all know success when we all find our own dreams,
And our love is enough to knock down any walls,
And the future's been seen as men try to realize,
The simple secret of the note in us all, in us all
I listened and I heard music in a word,
And words when you played your guitar,
The noise that I was hearing was a million people cheering,
And a child flew past me riding in a star
There once was a note, listen
There once was a note, listen
There once was a note, listen
There once was a note, listen
There once was a note, listen
There once was a note, listen
There once was a note, listen
There once was a note, listen
There once was a note, listen
There once was a note, listen
There once was a note, listen
There once was a note, listen
There once was a note, listen
Playing so free, like a breath rippling by
The note is eternal, I hear it, it sees me,
Forever we blend and forever we die
And words when you played your guitar,
The noise that I was hearing was a million people cheering,
And a child flew past me riding in a star
Civilization is trying to find a new way to die,
But killing is really merely scene changes,
All men are on board with other men's lies
And words when you played your guitar,
The noise that I was hearing was a million people cheering,
And a child flew past me riding in a star
Watch all the chords of life lose their joy,
Distortion becomes somehow pure in it's wildness,
The note that began all can also destroy
And our love is enough to knock down any walls,
And the future's been seen as men try to realize,
The simple secret of the note in us all, in us all
And words when you played your guitar,
The noise that I was hearing was a million people cheering,
And a child flew past me riding in a star
There once was a note, listen
There once was a note, listen
There once was a note, listen
There once was a note, listen
There once was a note, listen
There once was a note, listen
There once was a note, listen
There once was a note, listen
There once was a note, listen
There once was a note, listen
There once was a note, listen
There once was a note, listen
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pete's pivitol point to the "lifehouse" project, of which he said was so simple and people still don't get and he never can seem to adequately explain.....anyway, this should have been on who's next but was dropped so entweistle could get in on the songwriting money. In any case, this has always been a favorite and was recorded in many different versions by townshend and the who, begining with "who came first" and "odds and sods" albums. I haven't the foggiest what he's talking about, it seems very abstract, but it did inspire me to write a theme about the note of the big bang (begining of the universe)...it was D, by the way...what can I say other than I'm from seattle originally
he's trying to relate god as music and that each of us is a note in the song of humankind...how once it was innocent and pure and over time it's become corrupted and distorted
this song is one of the "capitals" of my inner world. maybe the capital.
i could say lots of stuff about this song, but what is really cool is seeing that so many of you have already said the same things. i've never encountered anyone who this song touches the way it touches me. it feels pretty cool to learn that i'm not the only one who connects with the "note" in this song.
thanks.
I think the Note is the frequency of hydrogen in radio astronomy. All matter, including ourselves and everything we make using it, arose from hydrogen atoms, which can also be fused in a thermonuclear explosion. "The note that began all can also destroy."
It brings in ideas like the Music of the Spheres and the concept in various religions that reality is in some way written.
Does the image of the child flying by in a star perhaps refer to Dave Bowman's return to Earth at the end of "2001: A Space Odyssey"?
You're all lost in your mind-numbed altruistic pursuits. You think you're 'saving the planet' with your hope and change, your class warfare, your OCCUPY THIS and OCCUPY THAT.
"There once was a NOTE - listen!!"
That "child flew past me riding in a star." IS Townshend himself.
We all know success when we all find our own dreams, And our love is enough to knock down any walls, And the future's been seen as men try to realize, The simple secret of the note in us all.
Townshend's talking about the simplest of all 'SECRETS' THE SIMPLEST SECRET OF ALL HUMAN ENDEAVORS. He's trying to tell you that in each of us, there exists a strength. A pure and easy way to live - follow your strength, follow your passion - What you do best and what you love to do!!! Immerse yourself in that thing you do best - own it, excel at it...
We all know success when we all find our own dreams, And our love is enough to knock down any walls, And the future's been seen as men try to realize, The simple secret of the note in us all.
Pete is describing his 'NOTE' - his passion for music, how he became the child flying past riding in a star.
I listened and I heard music in a word, And words when you played your guitar, The noise that I was hearing was a million people cheering, And a child flew past me riding in a star.
There once was a note pure and easy play so free like a breath rippling by.
There once was a note, pure and easy, Playing so free, like a breath rippling by. The note is eternal, I hear it, it sees me,
There once was a NOTE - Listen!! There once was a NOTE - Listen!!
Wake up people, before you're no longer free to LISTEN.
@Ashrugged It’s about the truth that we and everything are all one. Rugged individualism is self-delusion.
@Ashrugged It’s about the truth that we and everything are all one. Rugged individualism is self-delusion.
To me, this song is about how pure things could really be. Aspects of life can become tainted if not put into the proper prospective.
one of the whos best in my opinion
The climax of lifehouse, the legend of the "note" being passed down through generations I think. The verses seem to relate to how the music liberated the population.
If I ever feel miserable, it only takes one spin of "There once was a note, listen!" to bring me back up!
It's basically about music, the note that created and can also destroy everything. Hard to explain, simply because Pete never fully clarified any of the Lifehouse stuff.
like a breath rippling by: this line expresses why i love this song, so beautiful.
meaning: things pass, civilization changes, music remains.