I've always loved this tune. Clapton's guitar and Jack Bruce's soulful vocals are great. But there's something about the lyrics that draws me in as well (I haven't checked the disc lately, but they were probably written - like many Cream songs - by Pete Brown). The word City comes from the latin "civitas" meaning civilization. I believe that deep inside everyone of us is an ideal civilization that makes perfect sense. Everything runs smothly and perfectly. There's no waste, no poverty, no hatred, no violence. The Eternal City. But as we grow up, we slowly realize that the world of mankind has a long way to go to reach this ideal city or "civilization". We've been forced, by the necessities of life, to abandoned this ideal... but we keep a map of it, almost like a memory, somewhere deep inside... in our heart. The Deserted Cities of the Heart.
I've always loved this tune. Clapton's guitar and Jack Bruce's soulful vocals are great. But there's something about the lyrics that draws me in as well (I haven't checked the disc lately, but they were probably written - like many Cream songs - by Pete Brown). The word City comes from the latin "civitas" meaning civilization. I believe that deep inside everyone of us is an ideal civilization that makes perfect sense. Everything runs smothly and perfectly. There's no waste, no poverty, no hatred, no violence. The Eternal City. But as we grow up, we slowly realize that the world of mankind has a long way to go to reach this ideal city or "civilization". We've been forced, by the necessities of life, to abandoned this ideal... but we keep a map of it, almost like a memory, somewhere deep inside... in our heart. The Deserted Cities of the Heart.