Showing posts with label John Lennon. Show all posts
Showing posts with label John Lennon. Show all posts

Monday, March 18, 2024

And They Said

By Becky Hemsley @beckyhemsleypoetry (via):

She sat at the back and they said she was shy,
She led from the front and they hated her pride,
They asked her advice and then questioned her guidance,
They branded her loud, then were shocked by her silence,
When she shared no ambition they said it was sad,
So she told them her dreams and they said she was mad,
They told her they’d listen, then covered their ears,
And gave her a hug while they laughed at her fears,
And she listened to all of it thinking she should,
Be the girl they told her to be best as she could,
But one day she asked what was best for herself,
Instead of trying to please everyone else,
So she walked to the forest and stood with the trees,
She heard the wind whisper and dance with the leaves,
She spoke to the willow, the elm and the pine,
And she told them what she’d been told time after time,
She told them she felt she was never enough,
She was either too little or far far too much,
Too loud or too quiet, too fierce or too weak,
Too wise or too foolish, too bold or too meek,
Then she found a small clearing surrounded by firs,
And she stopped…and she heard what the trees said to her,
And she sat there for hours not wanting to leave,
For the forest said nothing, it just let her breathe.

And that reminded me of this; similar words, totally different tone:


Full lyrics HERE.




 

Sunday, March 3, 2024

Attains Peace

 Three translations of The Bhagavad Gita 9:30-31:

Ranchor Prime:

Even one whose behavior is deeply harmful, but who serves me with faithful devotion, should be accepted as a worthy person of right intention.  This soul very soon becomes righteous and attains peace.


Sir Edwin Arnold:

If one of evil life turn in his thought
Straightly to Me, count him amidst the good;
He hath the high way chosen; he shall grow
Righteous ere long; he shall attain that peace
Which changes not.


Abhay Charanaravinda Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada:

Even if one commits the most abominable action, if he is engaged in devotional service he is to be considered saintly because he is properly situated in determination.  He quickly becomes righteous and attains lasting peace.


I was reminded of this line when I saw yet another anti-John Lennon thread making the rounds, criticizing him for writing idealistic songs while living an imperfect life.  John was well aware of his flaws and was doing his best to live a better life, and that moves him ahead of most.

I've read several translations of the Bhagavad Gita.  The first I read was the 19th century translation by Sir Edwin Arnold.  It's in the public domain and can be downloaded or read online for free from Project Gutenberg, HERE.  It's rather flowery and ornamental.  I think he was trying to emulate the King James Bible.

Srila Prabhupada's version is very complete, analyzing the text line by line.  It's for more advanced scholars.

My favorite version is by Ranchor Prime, and it's the one I would recommend to someone reading the Gita for the first time.  It analyzes the text story by story, and that makes it very easy to follow and understand.  It's a great introduction.

Saturday, October 23, 2021

1966

"The trouble with government as it is is that it doesn't represent the people, it controls them.  All they seem to want to do-- the people who run this country-- is keep themselves in power and stop us knowing what's going on…  I'm not saying politicians are all terrible men.  It's just the system of government that I don't like.  It'll be hard to change."  ~John Lennon to magazine Disc Weekly in 1966, as quoted by Jon Weiner in Come Together: John Lennon In His Time ©1984

Sunday, April 18, 2021

3

 My three favorite John Lennon solo songs:

  1. Instant Karma! (YouTube Link)
  2. Working Class Hero (YouTube Link)
  3. Nobody Told Me (YouTube Link)

I know you're supposed to have Imagine on the list, but it's not. You can put it on your list if you want.

Tuesday, June 21, 2016

The Angel in Him








"He said it was written about Julian, my child. He knew I was splitting with Cyn and leaving Julian. He was driving over to say hi to Julian. He’d been like an uncle to him. You know, Paul was always good with kids. And so he came up with Hey Jude. But I always heard it as a song to me. If you think about it… Yoko’s just come into the picture. He’s saying, ‘Hey, Jude - hey, John.’ I know I’m sounding like one of those fans who reads things into it, but you can hear it as a song to me. The words ‘go out and get her’ - subconsciously he was saying, ‘Go ahead, leave me.’ On a conscious level, he didn’t want me to go ahead. The angel in him was saying, ‘Bless you.’ The devil in him didn’t like it at all because he didn’t want to lose his partner."  ~John Lennon about Hey Jude (via RoofRabbit)

Monday, September 21, 2015

A Restless Wind

I think the words stand nicely on their own but (to save you the trouble) here's the song on YouTube:  LINK

Across The Universe


by John Lennon and Paul McCartney (mostly John)


Words are flowing out
Like endless rain into a paper cup
They slither wildly as they slip away
Across the universe


Pools of sorrow waves of joy
Are drifting through my opened mind
Possessing and caressing me


Jai Guru Deva, om
Nothing's gonna change my world
Nothing's gonna change my world
Nothing's gonna change my world
Nothing's gonna change my world


Images of broken light
Which dance before me like a million eyes
They call me on and on across the universe


Thoughts meander like a restless wind
Inside a letter box
They tumble blindly as they make their way
Across the universe


Jai Guru Deva, om
Nothing's gonna change my world
Nothing's gonna change my world
Nothing's gonna change my world
Nothing's gonna change my world


Sounds of laughter shades of life
Are ringing through my opened ears
Inciting and inviting me


Limitless undying love
Which shines around me like a million suns
It calls me on and on across the universe


Jai Guru Deva, om
Nothing's gonna change my world
Nothing's gonna change my world
Nothing's gonna change my world
Nothing's gonna change my world


Jai Guru Deva
Jai Guru Deva
Jai Guru Deva

Sunday, August 16, 2015

Naked

[embed]https://youtu.be/eOfRD8zO2MQ[/embed]

Sound engineer Geoff Emerick writes in his book Here, There, and Everywhere that, in spite of being in one of the most successful music groups of all time, John Lennon was very insecure about his voice and was constantly looking for overdubs and fuzzy guitars to mask it.

When Paul McCartney had the original tapes stripped down to their essentials for Let It Be… Naked, we got to really hear John’s voice on this song for the first time.

It’s incredible.

Saturday, August 15, 2015

Working Class Heroes

[embed]https://youtu.be/njG7p6CSbCU[/embed]

Keep you doped with religion and sex and TV
And you think you're so clever and classless and free
But you're still fucking peasants as far as I can see…


Full lyrics HERE.