MUSIC - SPIRITUAL FOOD
M usic U ndoes S tress in C ivilisation
Spiritual food and emotional sun
It brings smiles to the fore,
A bow plays its listener on a string.
In sensual touch and rhythm
It influences brain wave patterns, where
Endorphins rise against routine frequencies,
Unfolding the psyche from habit
Unfolding the psyche from habit
Leading the cherishing ear
To inducing a body to dance
Taken from my "Little Book of Rhyming Poetry" my friend Jean transformed, Sunset Transition, The Lake Tree and Sunburn into harmonious melodies, giving the words life with his acoustic guitar and piano skills.
ED SHEERAN "BLOODSTREAM" AMSTERDAM ARENA
"ALL THE VOICES IN MY MIND..." 2018
If I leave my front door open would you come and visit me?
Just to slander my name hoping
That I would pack my bags and leave
If I did would you remember
To feed the dove and clean the cage?
And never count in front of the children
Lest they die of old age
I don't really know you we have to go our separate ways
Whether or not we grow after the seeds our sown
Only time can say
Can I offer you baklava
Or a bagel with cream cheese?
Will we say grace to our father
Holding hands down on our knees?
Are we better off just fighting?
You on your side, me on mine
Are the words that I keep writing
Only pearls before the swine?
What makes men claim that you are a friend
When you are not at all?
They knock you down and then
They lift you up again, just to see you fall
But like a bird I'll keep on singing
A song that never leaves your mind
If nothing else you have taught me one thing
"Never cast your pearls before the swine"
"ALL THE VOICES IN MY MIND..." 2018
Why do we have "summer hits" but not hits for all seasons? 2017
This was my last thought before I drifted into gorgeous oblivion and unconscious sleep last night. True, not all geographical places have a distinct winter, spring, summer and fall but even places with just a winter and summer do not have 'winter hits' only 'summer hits.' We tend to honour summer just as we over honour good feelings and ignore or run away from the average or unwanted.
When Spring arrives, birds come out of silence the world breaks into colour and eggs begin to hatch signalling nature's rebirth. Summer sun gives us energy and growth and its as if everyone grows their own green leaves, as we instinctively react to excess light, increasing our serotonin which rockets our moods. Autumn has a sense of restlessness. Nature is untidy, everything blows and falls in unpredictable weather, and although winter is welcome at first, the longer it outstays its welcome the more I wish it away. I wish we had Autumn and Winter music hits to match our natural surroundings.
Upon waking and reconnecting to my last thought before sleep I suddenly realised, there is music for all seasons and that's why I am a Prince fan. His catalogue covered all seasons with lyrics, melodies, harmonies, beats and rhythm for all moods and weather changes. And just as quality things in life you have to look for to find, they were not all hits on commercial radio. 21 April is the two year anniversary of Prince's far too early death. Two salt grains of painkiller Fentanyl too many and poof... his candle flickered its final flame and disappeared. But the purpose of art is that it remains long after the creator has moved on. Art and music imitate life, which can soar on the wings of a dove or be victim to a bitter tragic tune as it dances here today and disappears into darkness tomorrow. So don't forget to live and be thankful for every day you have.
"Sometimes it snows in April" was a sad Prince song but fortunately there is no snow today. Instead, it's a grey warm day which matches the song below. I think it falls into the spring category. Sparks of melody with still a touch of winter melancholy. "Can I offer you baklava, or a bagel with cream cheese....and like a bird I'll keep on singing.." It's from the One Night Alone album of 2002, sixteen years old but still as fresh as the three blue robin's eggs in the nest on its cover. To me, this song depicts all the plants underground, and unfurled tree leaves in buds, prying, waiting and yearning to reach the light of summer and burst into spurted growth and glory. It's about struggles in life and learning from them. This week is Prince week. A time to celebrate all the music he left behind for us to enjoy.... ps. You have to connect to You-tube.
PEARLS BEFORE THE SWINE
If I leave my front door open would you come and visit me?
Just to slander my name hoping
That I would pack my bags and leave
If I did would you remember
To feed the dove and clean the cage?
And never count in front of the children
Lest they die of old age
I don't really know you we have to go our separate ways
Whether or not we grow after the seeds our sown
Only time can say
Can I offer you baklava
Or a bagel with cream cheese?
Will we say grace to our father
Holding hands down on our knees?
Are we better off just fighting?
You on your side, me on mine
Are the words that I keep writing
Only pearls before the swine?
What makes men claim that you are a friend
When you are not at all?
They knock you down and then
They lift you up again, just to see you fall
But like a bird I'll keep on singing
A song that never leaves your mind
If nothing else you have taught me one thing
"Never cast your pearls before the swine"
