Music of Day's Gone By
Paul Simon was the songwriter for Simon and Garfunkel. So many of his lyrics have to do with loneliness and isolation. But it seems his Bridge Over Troubled Water was his come to Jesus moment. He had been listening to gospel music by a Black group that he says motivated him to write the song.
I wondered where I was going to go with this blog after last week and decided that I know a lot about music from the mid-60's to the early 70's. In my thinking the music before disco was the very best. I might be prejudiced having grown up in that era, but I love to watch reaction videos of the younger generation listening to music from that era for the first time. I love to see whether their reactions were like mine when I heard so many great songs for the first time.
I can hear a song now and have memories of what I was doing the first time I heard it. My memories are fading now because I've heard so many favorite songs since then. I told my wife that one hit wonder groups are often so-called because of one song which had a success that can't be equaled in anything else they did. There were so many one hit wonders back then. But that is because there were so many independent labels and artists back then.
But getting back to Paul Simon and his song called I Am a Rock. I was thinking about that song the other day and contrasted it with Bridge Over Troubled Water. What a contrast of two songs by one person. A rock is about loneliness and isolation. It never cries. But a bridge is just the opposite. It really is a love song, maybe in a deep Spiritual sense. How one song writer can do so much is really an achievement.
I put Paul Simon right up there with Bob Dylan as spokesmen for my generation. I like the tunes by Simon better. As a lyricist Dylan is the best. But Simon captured moods. I listened to other artists including Simon and Garfunkel perform Dylan songs. Dylan and John Lennon were the philosophical thinkers of my era. They were the voices for many of us from that time.
I might seem rambling about music this morning, but really I'm lost in thought and just let the words flow this morning. I could make this blog only about music from my era. There is so much out there if you wished to explore more. That period of time could be called the worst with so much unrest and the Vietnam War. But when it comes to music it was the best. The worst of times brings out the best. At least I want to think so. But no era of music compares to this time period, in my thinking. Don't get me wrong. Every era has had good music, maybe up to more recently.
Well, this is my thinking this morning. Nothing earth-shattering or profound, but I still have a lot of the 60's left over in me. And if I seem stuck there it's for good reason. The music was simply so good. I wish it were still like that today. But times have changed. I am just thankful that I re-visit those times, but I wouldn't want to live there again. That's why I smoke a pipe. I focus on the right now. And right now is the best. I can re-visit the past as I wish. There are things I'd rather forget, but not the music. The music stays with us no matter our age. Today it is my family's Dunhill pipe with some Summer Night while drinking a cup of hot black Guatamalan coffee. Thank you for your time and Prace to each one of you.
Dave
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