Tag: acoustic guitar

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acoustic guitar Arts & Entertainment love music relationships songwriting

Beauty Can Be Found Everywhere: Even In A Mass Market Song


The Beatles have produced a motherload of work in the thirteen* albums they released. Within their massive discography, there are bound to be songs that the band members liked or disliked in varying degrees. Lennon and McCartney wrote “It’s Only Love” in 1965. The song is about a difficult relationship that is ultimately worth it because, after all, “It’s Only Love,” and that’s the way it often goes.

I was surprised to learn that John Lennon thought the song was “pure rubbish,” meaning that it was only a filler song created to feed the hounds of commerce. Paul McCartney had a more optimistic view: “Sometimes we didn’t fight it if the lyric came out rather bland on some of those filler songs like ‘It’s Only Love.’ If a lyric was really bad, we’d edit it, but we weren’t that fussy about it because it’s only a rock ‘n’ roll song. I mean, this is not literature.”

Most fans, like myself, can relate to the song, finding the lyrics acceptable and the melody beautiful.

Here’s my cover.

*The number of Beatles Albums varies by country from twelve to seventeen. Thirteen Beatles Albums were released in the United States.

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acoustic guitar artist profiles Arts & Entertainment inspiration songwriting

The Hopeful Essence in Cat Stevens’ Lyrics


In this song, (Yusuf) Cat Stevens is singing to a woman he yearns for in a Human form. On another level, he may be singing, aware or unaware, to the Divine Feminine. In either case, the object of Stevens’ love is unattainable in the present. Yet, I believe, that the admirer (Stevens) continues to yearn for his beloved in the hope that he will, one day, meet his perfect love, in either or both Human and Divine forms. There are many interpretations of “How Can I Tell You.” In my view, the song is hopeful rather than despairing.

However one interprets “How Can I Tell you,” I feel that the song is filled with incredible beauty that cannot help but shine through.

And thank you, Yusuf Islam (Cat Stevens), for your always beautiful, wise, and inspiring music.

Here’s my cover.

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Arts & Entertainment children Climate Crisis environment Folk Song Covers music songwriting

Environmental Concerns In The Song ‘Where Do the Children Play?’


Many of Yusuf/Cat Stevens’ songs convey underlying messages about childhood and the relationships between children and adults, such as ‘Father & Son’ and ‘Oh Very Young,’ to name a few. “Where Do the Children Play?” is no exception. It becomes increasingly timely with each passing day, given the environmental crisis we are facing.

The song refers to the destruction of natural spaces caused by overdevelopment and industrialization. It asks a fundamental question: What future awaits our children when the spaces where they play are increasingly paved over and polluted? 

“Where Do The Children Play” prompts us to consider the inherent features of the ‘progress’ we are making, as well as Humanity’s impact on planet Earth. Essentially, this beautiful and simple song begs for a balanced relationship between Human Beings and nature.

Typical of a Cat Stevens song, the rhythm is quite unique. Here’s my cover.
 

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Arts & Entertainment folk guitar inspiration parenting relationships songwriting

Cat Stevens’ ‘Father and Son’: A Personal Reflection


“Father and Son” is a song about the age-old story where the father’s vision for his son does not align with his son’s dreams for the future. Cat Stevens refurbishes the story with his unique and beautiful phrasing in the lyrics and melody.

It has taken me some time to warm up to this song due to the violent rift I had with my father regarding my future. My Dad passed away in 2006, and now, in my older years, I can see and appreciate the opportunities he gave me. I am at peace with the relationship, and I am inspired by my father’s accomplishments.

You might think this song pertains to Cat Stevens’ struggles with his father, but that is not the case. His father owned a Greek restaurant, and like all fathers, wanted his son to join the business. Stevens, of course, had vastly different ideas. Wisely, his father never stood in the way of his son’s dreams.

Stevens wrote this song, imagining a Russian father and son differing about the son’s future. “Father and Son” was originally planned as part of a stage play. The project never saw the light of day. Stevens eventually released the song on his “Tea for the Tillerman” album.

Here’s my cover.

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Arts & Entertainment folk guitar folk music Folk Song Covers inspiration songwriting

Exploring Life’s Meaning in Cat Stevens’ Lyrics


Far from old age, Cat Stevens wrote “Oh Very Young” when he was twenty-five. The wisdom in the song surpasses Stevens’ chronology with lines like, “You’re only dancin’ on this Earth for a short while.” Stevens contracted tuberculosis when he was nineteen, and it almost killed him. After that experience, Stevens kept an eye on the Big Picture.

Always the explorer, Stevens sought the meaning and purpose of life, as illustrated in his songs like “On the Road to Find Out.” He eventually converted to Islam in 1977. Around the same time, he permanently left the world stage as a singer and songwriter. In his relatively short career, Cat Stevens left us with a body of music that is still relevant today and, to millions around the world, extremely enjoyable.

Originally, I played this song using a picking method, and then I switched to strumming. I watched a video of Stevens performing the song with a strumming method. I thought, I’ll never be able to play it that fast. To my amazement, I wound up playing the song as fast as Stevens when I strummed it. Interesting. Here’s my cover.

In case you’re interested, here’s the finger-picked version.

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Arts & Entertainment Interviews issues life music

The Pretender: Dreams Versus the Monotony of Compromise


This song is about a man who gives up his dreams to live a life of routine monotony due to the crushing necessity of earning a living.

In a 1997 interview with Mojo magazine, Browne said of this song: “I’m a big fan of ambiguity and its bountiful rewards, and ‘The Pretender’ is two things at once. It’s that person in all of us that has a higher ideal, and the part that has settled for compromise, like Truffaut says, there’s the movie you set out to make, and there’s the one you settle for. But in a more serious sense, ‘The Pretender’ is about 1960s idealism —the idea that life is about love, brotherhood, justice, social change, and enlightenment. These concepts were prevalent as our generation reached its stride, and later, we settled for something quite different. So when I say ‘Say a prayer for The Pretender,’ I’m talking about those people who are trying to convince themselves that there really was nothing to that idealism.” (excerpt from an article by SongFacts.com)

The boldface type is about a lyric in the song I could relate to most, since I lived through that period: “I want to know what became of the changes we waited for love to bring. Were they only the fitful dreams of some greater awakening?”

Here’s my cover of “The Pretender.”

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artists Arts & Entertainment folk guitar folk music Folk Song Covers

Tom Paxton: An Emergent Folk Music Icon


Tom Paxton released “The Last Thing On My Mind” in 1964 on his album, Ramblin’ Boy.” The inspiration for the song came from Dave Van Ronk and Bob Dylan’s versions of “He Was A Friend of Mine.” This lost love ballad became one of Paxton’s biggest hits. He is also known for his protest songs against the Vietnam War and other social injustices. (What Did You Learn In School Today?)

“The Last Thing On My Mind” was one of the first songs I learned some forty years ago when I started playing the guitar. This is the first time I’ve released my cover publicly. The themes of the song include friendship, loss, and the passage of time.

Here’s my cover.

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Arts & Entertainment folk guitar folk music love relationships

Exploring Bob Dylan’s Tomorrow Is A Long Time: A Love Song

A long way from love

Bob Dylan recorded the first version of “Tomorrow Is A Long Time” in 1962. He didn’t release it until 1971 on his “Greatest Hits Album.” Oddly, Ian and Sylvia were the first recording artists to release the song in 1963 on their album “Four Strong Winds.”

The song is about longing for a loved one, specifically Suze Rotolo, who Dylan dated from 1961 to 1964. It is widely believed that another Dylan song, “Girl From The North Country,” is also about Rotolo.

Here’s my cover.

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Arts & Entertainment folk guitar music relationships

The Story Behind Bob Dylan’s “Girl From The North Country”


“Girl From The North Country” is another one of those songs that popped into my head from out of nowhere. I can’t decide if it’s a message from the Beyond or just a little piece of my subconscious rising like a sunspot from the deep layers of my skin with aging. Whatever the case, “Girl From The North Country” is one of Dylan’s earliest recorded songs, written in England in 1961 and released in 1963. Listening to it now, I find the ballad enchanting.

As a young adult, I followed Dylan’s work tangentially only because it was prominent in the mainstream. Lately, I’ve developed a deep appreciation for Dylan’s music and the man himself. I’ve covered several Dylan songs in this blog, including “Mr. Tambourine Man,” “My Back Pages,” and now this one.

“Girl From The North Country” is a beautiful ballad recounting a lost love. Many believe the woman in the song is Suze Rotolo. At the time, Dylan had just dropped out of college to pursue his musical career in New York City. Rotolo had just graduated from high school and entered the Greenwich Village folk scene. Their first meeting took place at the First Riverside Church concert in New York City. Dylan described the meeting in his memoir: “Cupid’s arrow had whistled past my ears before, but this time it hit me in the heart, and the weight of it dragged me overboard.”

Eventually, the couple lived together in Greenwich Village and then grew apart when Dylan went to England, and Rotolo went to Italy to continue her education.

After some time passed, Dylan went to Italy to find Retolo. At the same time, Rotolo returned to New York City. The couple finally reunited and lived in Dylan’s apartment until their final breakup.

The album cover of Dylan’s second album, Freewheeling, features Dylan and Rotolo walking arm in arm down a Greenwich Village street.

Here’s my cover.

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acoustic guitar Arts & Entertainment inspiration music

The Uplifting Legacy of Nanci Griffith’s ‘Once in a Very Blue Moon’


Nanci Griffith introduced her third album with its title song, “Once in a Very Blue Moon,” on the Austin City Limits TV show in 1984. She sang to a live audience with her typically bold and beautiful voice, which continues to endear this singer/songwriter to millions of people around the world after her passing.

This poignant song could easily sound sad, but not the way Nanci performs it. With her crystal-clear voice, it actually sounds uplifting. A quality comes through Griffith’s songs. It sounds to me like “nothing will ever get me down.” I’m sure Ms. Griffith endured many hardships and obstacles in her life, but she always came out on top. I dedicate my cover to the memory of this inspiring woman.