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BBHQ Boomer Essays: |
| Our Boomer-In-Charge here at BBHQ, Hershel Chicowitz, writes frequently about current events... from a boomer perspective. He is sometimes funny, sometimes provocative, sometimes a little of each. We hope you get a kick out of our Boomer Essays. |
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I acknowledge that I am not a fan of what passes for popular music today. I do not claim to be an objective observer. Nonetheless, I believe I have a firm grasp of the obvious: most of today's music sucks.
Social commentator and president of Media Research Center, Brent Bozell, recently wrote, "How many [young people] will fondly look back two or three decades from now and say, 'I really loved those rap songs about thugs, drugs and pimping'?"
The biggest deficiency, in my view, is the words. I recall that the lyrics of our songs made a huge difference in my life, in my attitude, in my aspirations. It made me smile; it made me feel good. THAT is what is missing today.
OK, there are some exceptions. "If You Wanna be Happy," by Jimmy Soul, comes immediately to mind:
If you wanna be happy for the rest of your life,
Never make a pretty woman your wife,
So from my personal point of view,
getcha' an ugly girl to marry you.
OK, but everyone knew it was silly sarcasm. (Though the implied dilemma there may help explain why I am still single.)
The exceptions aside, our music has meaning; it evokes emotions.... good emotions:
01:
You fill up my senses
Like a night in a forest
Like a mountain in springtime
Like a walk in the rain.
Like a storm in the desert
Like a sleepy blue ocean
You fill up my senses
Come fill me again.
The songwriters of our youth are poets. Paul Simon, Jimmy Webb, Carole King, Bob Dylan, Lieber and Stoller, Rod McKuen, John Denver, Lennon and McCartney, Carly Simon, Bill Joel -- essentially, they are poets.
We are so fortunate to have been the beneficiaries of such wonderful poetry set to music.
But, hey; don't take my word for it; see for yourself. Let's take a walk back in time; remember the words with me; hum the tune as you read along; tap your foot. This is great stuff, folks; this is really great stuff!
02:
I have been a rover
I have walked alone
Hiked a hundred highways
Never found a home
Still in all I'm happy
The reason is, you see
Once in a while, along the way
Love's been good to me.
03:
Money talks
But it don't sing and dance
And it don't walk
And long as I can have you here with me
I'd much rather be
Forever in blue jeans.
04:
In a restless world like this is
Love is ended before it's begun
And too many moonlight kisses
Seem to cool in the warmth of the sun.
05:
When I find myself in times of trouble;
Mother Mary comes to me;
speaking words of wisdom,
Let it be, let it be.
06:
Yesterday's songs
Don't stay around long
Not much anymore
Yesterday's words
Don't make themselves heard
Like they did before
Baby, yesterday's blues
May be yesterday's news
But the truth always stays the same
And the good things will never change
Like sayin' 'I love you'
07:
I love you too much to ever start liking you,
So don't expect me to be your friend.
Many of our songs were about love and relationships, the hopes of young people. But, on a larger scale, they were about optimism, happiness, and just plain, innocent fun:
08:
Only in America
Can a guy from anywhere
Go to sleep a pauper and wake up a millionaire
Only in America
Can a kid without a cent
Get a break and maybe grow up to be president
09:
Why are there so many, songs about rainbows
And what's on the other side?
Rainbows are visions, but only illusions,
And rainbows have nothing to hide.
So we've been told and some choose to believe it
I know they're wrong, wait and see.
Someday we'll find it, the rainbow connection,
The lovers, the dreamers and me.
10:
When you're weary... feeling small,
When tears are in... your eyes,
I will dry them all.
I'm on your side,
When times get rough
And friends just can't be found.
Like a bridge over troubled water
I will lay me down.
11:
Don't talk of love...
well I've heard the words before.
It's sleeping in my memory;
I won't disturb the slumber
of feelings that have died;
If I never loved I never will have cried.
I am a rock;
I am an island.
12:
Once amid the soft, silver sadness in the sky
there came a man of fortune, a drifter passing by.
He wore a torn and tattered cloth around his leathered hide;
and a coat of many colors, yellow-green on either side.
13:
He's leaving,
On that midnight train to Georgia,
And he's goin' back
To a simpler place and time.
And I'll be with him
On that midnight train to Georgia,
I'd rather live in his world
Than live without him in mine.
14:
For what is a man, what has he got?
If not himself, then he has not
To say the things, he truly feels
And not the words, of one who kneels.
15:
The greatest thing you'll ever learn
Is just to love, and be loved in return
16:
Perhaps love is like a resting place
A shelter from the storm;
It exists to give you comfort
It is there to keep you warm.
And in those times of trouble
When you are most alone;
The memory of love will bring you home.
17:
A dragon lives forever, but not so little boys
Painted wings and giant strings make way for other toys.
18:
Fame and fortune is a magnet.
It can pull you far away from home
With a dream in your heart you're never alone.
Dreams turn into dust and blow away
And there you are, without a friend
You pack your car, and ride away
19:
She said a good day ain't got no rain
She said a bad day is when I lie in the bed
And I think of things that might have been.
20:
You ask me if I love you
And I choke on my reply
I'd rather hurt you honestly
Than mislead you with a lie
And who am I to judge you
On what you say or do?
I'm only just beginning to see the real you.
21:
Is this a lasting treasure,
or just a moment's pleasure?
Can I believe the magic of your sighs;
will you still love me tomorrow?
22:
There's a fire softly burning; supper's on the stove
but it's the light in your eyes that makes him warm
Some of them offered wise, practical advice:
23:
'Cause every gambler knows, that the secret to surviving
Is knowing what to throw away and knowing what to keep
Cause every hand's a winner
And every hand's a loser
And the best you can hope for is to die in your sleep.
24:
You say you haven't been the same since you had your little crash
But you might feel better if they gave you some cash
The more I think about it, Old Billy was right
Let's kill all the lawyers - kill 'em tonight
You don't want to work; you want to live like a king
But the big, bad world doesn't owe you a thing
Get over it!
Get over it!
25:
Evolution, revolution, gun control, sound of soul
shooting rockets to the moon
kids growing up too soon
politicians say, "More taxes, will solve everything."
and the band played on.
26:
Oh yes, I am wise
But it's wisdom born of pain
Yes, I've paid the price
But look how much I gained
27:
Once I believed that when love came to me
It would come with rockets, bells and poetry
But with me and you, it just started quietly and grew
And believe it or not
Now there's something groovy and good
'Bout whatever we got
28:
but there never seems to be enough time
to do the things you wanna' do
once you find 'em.
29:
You gotta' have a dream,
If you don't have a dream,
How you gonna' have a dream come true?
30:
so it's one more round for experience
and I'm on the road again.....
and it's gonna' to take some time, this time.....
31:
Winter, spring, summer, or fall,
all you have to do is call
and I'll be there, yeah, yeah, yeah.
You've got a friend.
32:
Some men climb a mountain,
Some men swim the sea,
Some men fly above the sky:
They are what they must be.
33:
City girls just seem to find out early
How to open doors with just a smile
Late at night a big old house gets lonely
I guess every form of refuge has its price
34:
How many years can some people exist
Before they're allowed to be free?
35:
Freedom's just another word for nothing left to lose.
36:
He freed a lotta' people
but it seems the good they die young
I just looked around and he's gone.
37:
It's the sweetest thing I know of, just spending time with you
it's the little things that make a house a home.
38:
Livin' ain't easy, lovin's twice as tough
So come back, baby, when you grow up.
39:
And it seems to me you lived your life
Like a candle in the wind
Never knowing who to cling to
When the rain set in
40:
Still I wish there was something you would do or say
To try and make me change my mind and stay
41:
He learned to walk while I was away, and he was
Talkin' 'fore I knew it, and as he grew, he said:
"I'm gonna be like you, dad,
You know I'm gonna be like you."
42:
Don't hang on,
Nothing lasts forever but the earth and sky
It slips away,
And all your money won't another minute buy
43:
My need is such; I pretend too much
I'm lonely but no one can tell.
44:
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Avoid loud and aggressive persons, they are vexations to the
spirit. If you compare yourself to others, you may become vain and bitter; for always there will be greater and lesser persons than yourself. Enjoy your achievements as well as your plans. |
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45: Wise man say only fools rush in. But I can't help falling in love with you.
46:
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48:
49:
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Last week I mentioned to one of our regulars my essay on songs that
make The Chicowitz cry. It probably will never make it to the web; surely
it would put a dent in my reputation. But this one would be on the list.
It was sung by Karen Carpenter:
50:
And those thought always center around those we love
And I think about those people
And I count the times I have forgotten to say |
Great stuff, huh?
We are so fortunate.
We still are. Enjoy. And please, spread the word. We need these songs now, more than ever.
[Editor's note: Aside from Jimmy Soul's little ditty, Hershel offered excerpts from 50 songs. Can you identify the title and artist of each of them? No contest here, just an exercise. Pass this around the office or the pool. See if you can get all of them.]
[Additional editor's note: We have the lyrics to these songs, and 700 others, in our lyrics collection. And BBHQ Premium members can play 200 great oldies, 24/7, at the BBHQ JukeBox. Click here for information on BBHQ membership. It's also a great way to help BBHQ keep doing what we're doing.]
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If you like what we're doing here at BBHQ, please help us by buying stuff through our link to Amazon.com:
| The BBHQ Album of the Month is "Old Friends Live on Stage (Deluxe Edition) (2 CD/1 DVD)," by Simon & Garfunkel. If you were fortunate enough to see them in concert last year, I do not have to sell you. The concert was terrific! This album collection includes 55 songs, plus their new recording, "Citizen of the Planet," and one of the songs sung by the Everly Brothers during the concert. The DVD was recorded during their concert in Madison Square Garden in 2003. For any S&G fan, this is a must have! But then, you knew that already, didn't you? |
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The BBHQ Book of the Month is
"Vinyl Highway," by
Dee Dee Phelps. You remember her as Dee Dee, of Dick and Dee Dee.
Together, they took a decade long ride on the rock and roll roller
coaster. It was a heck of a ride! Dick Clark, Quincy Jones, the Beach
Boys, Glenn Campbell, Dionne Warwick, Bobby Vinton... Dick and Dee Dee
rubbed shoulders with all of them. This is her "behind the scenes" story.
It's pretty cool.
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