An odd moment

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4xchampncountin

Guest
Melancholy may be the word I was looking for, but I'm not sure.

I was just watching a Muppets special with John Denver my kids rented on DVD. John Denver sang Poems, Prayers and Promises with the characters sitting around a campfire. The irony of it really struck me as soon as he started singing it. It is a song of reflection on his life and of looking forward to the rest of it. His untimely death a few years ago brought about the irony here. Some of you may know I was a huge fan of John Denver's. So, this likely means a lot more to me than it would to most, but I still wanted to share it.

The first part of the song really struck me as ironic. Here are the lyrics

I've been lately thinking about my life's time, all the things I've done and how it's been.
And I can't help believing in my own mind, I know I'm gonna hate to see it end.
I've seen a lot of sunshine, slept out in the rain, spent a night or two all on my own.
I've known my lady's pleasures, had myself some friends, spent a time or two in my own home.
I have to say it now, it's been a good life, all in all,
it's really fine to have a chance to hang around.
Lie there by the fire and watch the evening tire,
while all my friends and my old lady sit and pass a pipe around.
And talk of poems and prayers and promises and things that we believe in.
How sweet it is to love someone, how right it is to care.
How long it's been since yesterday, what about tomorrow
and what about our dreams and all the memories we share?

The days they pass so quickly now, the nights are seldom long.
Time around me whispers when it's cold.
The changes somehow frightens me, still I have to smile. It turns me on to think of growing old.
Although my life's been good to me, there's still so much to do,
so many things my mind has never known.
I'd like to raise a family, I'd like to sail away and dance across the mountains on the moon.
I have to say it now, it's been a good life, all in all,
it's really fine to have a chance to hang around.
Lie there by the fire and watch the evening tire,
while all my friends and my old lady sit and pass a pipe around.
And talk of poems and prayers and promises and things that we believe in.
How sweet it is to love someone, how right it is to care.
How long it's been since yesterday, what about tomorrow
and what about our dreams and all the memories we share?
 
There just aren't the story tellers there were years ago.

john%20denver_2.jpg
 
Although my own personal opinion of John Denver's music ranks it slightly above making alimony payments but far below dental work, I agree that the era of the storyteller in popular music is largely gone. Joan Osborne came close. Bluegrass is full of storytellers if you can handle bluegrass. I hear that country music has some, but that ranks below the alimony payments on my list.

Of course, Her Majesty Janis Joplin could spin a yarn now and again too.
 
I know I am in the minority in being a big fan of his music. There are many reasons for it, but I just really loved his guitar work, the clarity of his voice, the honesty of his lyrics, the practicality of his lyrics, etc.

When he sang about love it was in songs like Back Home Again where love was

Oh the times that I can lay this tired old body down
and feel your fingers feather soft upon me
the kisses that I live for, the love that lights my way
the happiness that living with you brings me.
It's the sweetest thing I know of, just spending time with you
It's the little things that make a house a home
like a fire softly burning, supper on the stove
and the light in your eyes that makes me warm

No fantasy world crap about wild sexcapades and love at first sight BS. But real love that develops over time and when you experience it, it changes you. JMO
 
John Denver was a favorite of mine also. I was lucky enough to attend a couple of his concerts and they gave me great pleasure. Annie's Song is a particular favorite of mine, but the one that is my very favorite is Calypso. I have it on vinyl and the grooves are about worn off. I need me a CD. :D

To sail on a dream on a crystal clear ocean
To ride on the crest of a wild raging storm
To work in the service of life and the living
In search of the answers to questions unknown
To be part of the movement and part of the growing
Part of beginning to understand

Aye, calypso, the places you’ve been to
The things that you’ve shown us
The stories you tell
Aye, calypso, I sing to your spirit
The men who have served you
So long and so well

Like the dolphin who guides you
You bring us beside you
To light up the darkness and show us the way
For though we are strangers in your silent world
To live on the land we must learn from the sea
To be true as the tide
And free as the wind-swell
Joyful and loving in letting it be

Aye, calypso, the places you’ve been to
The things that you’ve shown us
The stories you tell
Aye, calypso, I sing to your spirit
The men who have served you
So long and so well

Aye, calypso, the places you’ve been to
The things that you’ve shown us
The stories you tell
Aye, calypso, I sing to your spirit
The men who have served you
So long and so well

Words and music by john denver
 
Originally posted by Flamebow@Mar 10 2004, 02:52 AM
John Denver was a favorite of mine also. I was lucky enough to attend a couple of his concerts and they gave me great pleasure. Annie's Song is a particular favorite of mine, but the one that is my very favorite is Calypso. I have it on vinyl and the grooves are about worn off. I need me a CD. :D
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Of all the concerts I attended in my life, I missed John Denver of all people. I was supposed to go to a concert up here at the Front Row Theatre, but plans got canceled at the last minute. The Front Row Theatre would have been the perfect place to see him too. It was a small round venue where the stage rotated constantly so you were always no more that 200 feet or so away from the performer. He died shortly thereafter and I never had the chance again. :(
 
He was absolutely fabulous on stage. You would have loved it. I miss him. :(
 
Originally posted by 4xchampncountin@Mar 9 2004, 09:52 PM
I know I am in the minority in being a big fan of his music. There are many reasons for it, but I just really loved his guitar work, the clarity of his voice, the honesty of his lyrics, the practicality of his lyrics, etc.
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No need to apologize. We all like what we like. God knows the things I get out of music sometimes baffle even other fans of the same artist. John Denver never floated my boat, but that doesn't diminish his appeal one bit. (This coming from someone who actually likes The Ramones...talk about some goofy lyrics!)
 
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