Rock and Roll – Page 4 – chosenperspectives

Song Lyric Sunday 2/19/17

For my James….

a second version…for all us aging Rockers!!!

https://helenespinosa.wordpress.com/2017/02/18/song-lyric-sunday-theme-for-21917

SongLyricsSunday 1/8/17 Cold

https://wordpress.com/read/feeds/20902465/posts/1289309681
I think this is cheating but I thought of 3 songs and wasn’t really sold on any of them as the Song so I googled and found this site.

I love what the person wrote as the lead in to their list of the 10 best Winter Blizzard Songs!

http://ultimateclassicrock.com/top-winter-songs/

(Three of the songs I thought of are on this list.)

I might have to add this though..

Lyrics to Heartless by Heart (hmmm, reminds me of my former husband)

from Google Lyrics

The doctor said come back again next week
I think that you need me
All she did was cry
She wanted to die doctor when can you see me
There’s a guy out there
Seems like he’s everywhere
It just ain’t fair

Heartless heartless
Never never out of control
Heartless heartless
Ya keep on sinnin’
In the name of a rock and roll
Heartless heartless
Ya think he’s gonna bare his empty soul
He never realizes the way love dies
When you crucify it’s soul

Late night, in the penthouse room
The fire is burnin’
The shadows are warm
She lay in his arms, answers his yearning
D’ya think she understand the lie of his plans
Her eyes are filled with sand

Heartless heartless
Never never out of control
Heartless heartless
Ya keep on sinnin’
In the name of a rock and roll
Heartless heartless
He thinks it’s so cool to be cold
He never realizes the way love dies
When you crucify it’s soul

Heartless heartless
Never never out of control
Heartless heartless
Ya keep on sinnin’
In the name of a rock and roll
Heartless heartless
Ya think he’s gonna bare his empty soul
You never realizes the way love dies
When you crucify it’s soul

Yeah, didn’t you never realize

Crucify me

Now, I have to go back to holding my vigil. James is in Spokane, trying to outrun a huge Snoqualmie Pass snow dump so he can get home to the “West side” (of our mountains) today. The skiers will be thrilled but the travelers, not so much!!

Happy Winter!

Song Lyrics Sunday 10-16-16

https://helenespinosa.wordpress.com/2016/10/15/song-lyric-sunday-theme-for-101616/#respond

Our challenge this week from the wonderful (and generous with her time) Helen is:

” to post a song you fell in love with that you didn’t expect to like. Maybe it’s a type of music you used to turn your nose up at, or maybe it’s a band or singer you prejudged without listening to them first (I’m so guilty of this). I can’t possibly be the only one…”

I think I already did this by confessing the story of my instant dislike of the Goo Goo Dolls just because of their name (and album cover picture). Read more about that one here:

Song Lyric Sunday 7-10-16

But here’s the song I immediately thought of today. I couldn’t tell you if this song is Rap or Hiphop or whatever but the first time I heard it, I burst into tears. It is the song that made me realize there are whole generations out there, AFTER THE SIXTIES, who still use their music to “protest” and “proclaim” their beliefs. We can’t ignore our children and grandchildren, and even our great grandchildren. They are speaking to us through their music! No matter how much we may not like the forms they are choosing, we still need to listen to them!

My choice is What It’s Like by Everlast the video is blurry but it has some pretty haunting and effective pictures. (WARNING: the lyrics are ALL HERE! This is NOT the blanked out, censored version they play on the radio!)

Lyrics

we’ve all seen a man at the liquor store beggin’ for your change
The hair on his face is dirty, dread-locked and full of mange
He asks a man for what he could spare with shame in his eyes
“Get a job, you fucking slob, ” is all he replies

God forbid you ever had to walk a mile in his shoes
‘Cause then you really might know what it’s like to sing the blues

Then you really might know what it’s like
Then you really might know what it’s like
Then you really might know what it’s like
Then you really might know what it’s like

Mary got pregnant from a kid named Tom that said he was in love
He said, “Don’t worry about a thing, baby doll, I’m the man you’ve been dreaming of.”
But three months later he say he won’t date her or return her call
And she swear, “Goddamn, if I find that man I’m cuttin’ off his balls.”

And then she heads for the clinic and she gets some static walking through the door
They call her a killer and they call her a sinner and they call her a whore
But God forbid you ever had to walk a mile in her shoes
‘Cause then you really might know what it’s like to have to choose

Then you really might know what it’s like
Then you really might know what it’s like
Then you really might know what it’s like
Then you really might know what it’s like

I’ve seen a rich man beg, I’ve seen a good man sin, I’ve seen a tough man cry
I’ve seen a loser win and a sad man grin, I heard an honest man lie
I’ve seen the good side of bad and the downside of up and everything between
I licked the silver spoon, drank from the golden cup, smoked the finest green
I stroked the fattest dimes at least a couple of times before I broke they heart
You know where it ends, yo, it usually depends on where you start

I knew this kid named Max, he used to get fat stacks out on the corner with drugs
He liked to hang out late, he liked to get shit-faced and keep the pace with thugs
Till late one night there was a big gun fight and Max lost his head
He pulled out his chrome .45, talked some shit and wound up dead

Now his wife and his kids are caught in the midst of all of this pain
You know it crumbles that way, at least that’s what they say when you play the game
God forbid you ever had to wake up to hear the news
‘Cause then you really might know what it’s like to have to lose

Then you really might know what it’s like
Then you really might know what it’s like
Then you really might know what it’s like to have to lose

Wikipedia has an interesting write up about this song and the group Everlast.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/What_It%27s_Like

One thing that stood out is “The song was also unexpectedly and surprisingly a hit to adult contemporary stations since most rap songs or songs with rap verses cannot be played on the format.”

Song Lyric Sunday 9/18/16

Our theme for Song Lyric Sunday is to post a song from a band you recently saw in concert. If you don’t go to concerts or haven’t been to one in a while, feel free to post a song that you would love to hear live.

If you’d like to participate, go to https://helenespinosa.wordpress.com/2016/09/17/song-lyric-sunday-theme-for-91816/

Well, I’m going to veer off again and post a song I heard at my most recent concert that has no lyrics!

It was a terrific concert at the Woodlawn Park Zoo in their ZooTunes series…a birthday gift from my James. We brought a picnic and sat on the lawn with dear friends that James jams with on THIS side of the mountains. (not his regular band from Spokane…) These newer friends are so great and we have really grown to love them. The guys bring together a variety of professional musical experience and have a good time playing together. They call themselves (light-heartedly) Geri and the Attrics!

The women have all become good friends too so sharing this amazing concert was a huge treat!

jeff-beck-performs-live-at-massey-hall-03

Jeff Beck

I chose a song that I think highlight’s Beck’s amazing talent. It’s from a slightly older concert but at 72 years old, the guy definitely still has it!!!

It’s a great “close your eyes and drift” song if you like hearing a guitar genius at work.

Published on May 26, 2014

Mind blowing gig, and a wonderful encore performance by Jeff Beck and band, when they played the fantastic Ronda hall (amazing sound and light systems, exploited to the limit by Jeff) at the Tivoli Vredenburg venue, in Utrecht, The Netherlands, on Sunday, May 25th, 2014.

Song Lyric Sunday 8/28/16

https://helenespinosa.wordpress.com/2016/08/28/song-lyric-sunday
https://helenespinosa.wordpress.com/2016/08/27/song-lyric-sunday-theme-for-82816/

THIS WEEK, Our theme for Song Lyric Sunday is to post a song about sex. It can be as subtle or as blatant as you’d like, just make sure to post warnings just in case there are sensitive eyes out there.

I knew immediately which song because for YEARS, I had to sit in the audience and watch my sexy guy and his band play a cover of this song. He was never finished working until 1:45 AM and by the time we finally got home at 3 or so, we were usually too tired to…uh, you know. So I worked out my “energy” when they played the song “Rebel Yell”. (We met in Natchez, Mississippi in high school so, even though the words are weird, this song seemed appropriate.)

As soon as the band started this song, James would come down off the stage, base guitar and all, and summon me to the dance floor to rock out with him while they played. It was delightfully embarrassing and all the girls thought it was cool that I got to dance with a Band Member. Hopefully, we weren’t too obscene in our public substitute for sex!

As for the “warnings for sensitive eyes out there”, EVERYONE, sensitive eyes or not, needs to prepare themselves visually for any Billy Idol video. What in the world were we thinking back then!!?

As usual, this song best if the volume is pumped up!!

Rebel Yell by Billy Idol

Lyrics by Google Play

Last night a little dancer came dancin’ to my door
Last night a little angel Came pumpin cross my floor
She said “Come on baby I got a license for love
And if it expires pray help from above”

In the midnight hour she cried more, more, more
With a rebel yell she cried more, more, more
In the midnight hour babe more, more, more
With a rebel yell more, more, more
More, more, more

She don’t like slavery, she won’t sit and beg
But when I’m tired and lonely she sees me to bed
What set you free and brought you to be me babe
What set you free I need you hear by me
Because

In the midnight hour she cried more, more, more
With a rebel yell she cried more, more, more
In the midnight hour babe more, more, more
With a rebel yell more, more, more

He lives in his own heaven
Collects it to go from the seven eleven
Well he’s out all night to collect a fare
Just so long, just so long it don’t mess up his hair

I walked the ward with you, babe
A thousand miles with you
I dried your tears of pain, babe
A million times for you

I’d sell my soul for you babe
For money to burn with you
I’d give you all, and have none, babe
Just, just, justa, justa to have you here by me
Because

In the midnight hour she cried more, more, more
With a rebel yell she cried more, more, more
In the midnight hour babe more, more, more
With a rebel yell she cried more, more, more
More, more, more

Oh yeah little baby
She want more
More, more, more, more, more

Oh yeah little baby
She want more
More, more, more, more

PS Just so you don’t judge too harshly, these Gigs would always end with a slow song. Like

“Oh Darlin’ “, by the Beatles, so that I could go up on stage and wrap my arms around James from behind…and dance/sway with him as he played.

Wordless Wednesday, 8-17-16

Back ups2 for missing picture folder 251

Song Lyric Sunday #2 for 8/7/16

https://helenespinosa.wordpress.com/2016/08/06/song-lyric-sunday-theme-for-8616/

Here are the “rules”:

Post the lyrics to a favorite song or a new song you want to share
Please try to include the songwriter(s) – it’s a good idea to give credit where credit is due and it’s honestly just a simple Google search
Make sure you also credit the singer/band and provide a link to where you found the lyrics
Link to the YouTube video, or pull it into your post so others can listen to the song
Ping back to this post or my own Song Lyric Sunday post
Read at least one other person’s blog so we can all share new and fantastic music and create amazing new blogging friends in the process

This week we were asked to share a song about missing someone we love. I picked

A Hole in the World Tonight by the Eagles

They wrote this right after 9/11. I was so moved by the song and the lyrics and now I can’t hear it without missing Glenn Frey terribly….and everyone else, famous, or close to me, whose departure has left a hole in the world!

I’m so lucky that my son and husband took me to the History of the Eagles Tour a couple of years ago. What a treat! They were amazing, as they had been so many times, and as close to perfect as a live show can bring!

https://vimeo.com/33989886

Lyrics (Google Play)

There’s a hole in the world tonight.
There’s a cloud of fear and sorrow.
There’s a hole in the world tonight.
Don’t let there be a hole in the world tomorrow.

They say that anger is just love disappointed.
They say that love is just a state of mind.
But all this fighting over who is anointed,
Oh, how can people be so blind?

There’s a hole in the world tonight.
There’s a cloud of fear and sorrow.
There’s a hole in the world tonight.
Don’t let there be a hole in the world tomorrow.

Oh, they tell me there’s a place over yonder
Cool water running through the burning sand.
Until we learn to love one another,
We will never reach the Promised Land.

There’s a hole in the world tonight.
There’s a cloud of fear and sorrow.
There’s a hole in the world tonight.
Don’t let there be a hole in the world tomorrow.

They say that anger is just love disappointed.
(There’s a cloud of fear and sorrow.)
They say that love is just a state of mind.
(There’s a hole in the world tonight.)
But all this fighting over who will be anointed,
(Don’t let there be a hole in the world tomorrow.)
Oh, how can people be so blind?

There’s a hole in the world tonight.
(Hole in the world)
There’s a cloud of fear and sorrow.
(Fear and sorrow)
There’s a hole in the world tonight.
(Oh)
Don’t let there be a hole in the world tomorrow (repeat three times)

THREE songs for Song Lyric Sunday 7-24-16

https://helenespinosa.wordpress.com/2016/07/23/song-lyric-sunday-theme-for-72316/#respond
I love this new weekly challenge from Helen Espinosa! It’s been so long since I’ve been able to do one of my favorite things in the whole world, and that is to find and share specific music with people. My poor clients for 35 years, especially the couples, had to put up with me making them sit through a song picked specifically for them as part of their therapy. But you know what, more often than not I would pick exactly right, and that couple would have a new song, at least for a while.

I had the privilege of meeting my all-time favorite performer once and got to tell her how I used her music in my work. I believe she was genuinely touched.

Music can be so powerful. It can cross amazing barriers and unite many people, like the whole “Playing for Change” movement.

But here are my picks for today!!

In my opinion, Jackson Browne is one of the greatest Musical Protesters of my generation. He is a master lyricist and though musically, I don’t like absolutely every song he wrote or sings, I almost always love his lyrics, and they often inform my political stance in the world.

Here are my two favorites! The first video is pretty hard to watch because of the images it contains, and the second one, well, just just a lousy video, but I hope you are moved.

“Lives In The Balance” (azlyrics.com)
by Jackson Browne

I’ve been waiting for something to happen
For a week or a month or a year
With the blood in the ink of the headlines
And the sound of the crowd in my ear
You might ask what it takes to remember
When you know that you’ve seen it before
Where a government lies to a people
And a country is drifting to warAnd there’s a shadow on the faces
Of the men who send the guns
To the wars that are fought in places
Where their business interest runsOn the radio talk shows and the T.V.
You hear one thing again and again
How the U.S.A. stands for freedom
And we come to the aid of a friend
But who are the ones that we call our friends
These governments killing their own?
Or the people who finally can’t take any more
And they pick up a gun or a brick or a stone
There are lives in the balance
There are people under fire
There are children at the cannons
And there is blood on the wire

There’s a shadow on the faces
Of the men who fan the flames
Of the wars that are fought in places
Where we can’t even say the names

They sell us the President the same way
They sell us our clothes and our cars
They sell us everything from youth to religion
The same time they sell us our wars
I want to know who the men in the shadows are
I want to hear somebody asking them why
They can be counted on to tell us who our enemies are
But they’re never the ones to fight or to die
And there are lives in the balance
There are people under fire
There are children at the cannons
And there is blood on the wire

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zrIurHbEyC8

And the river opens for the righteous
And the river opens for the righteous
And the river opens for the righteous
And the river opens for the righteous
And the river opens for the righteous
SomedayI was walking with my brother
And he wondered what’s on my mind
I said what I believe in my soul
Ain’t what I see with my eyes

And we can’t turn our backs this time

I am a patriot
And I love my country
Because my country is all I know
I want to be with my family
The people who understand me
I’ve got nowhere else to go

And the river opens for the righteous
And the river opens for the righteous
And the river opens for the righteous
Someday

And I was talking with my sister
She looked so fine
I said, “Baby, what’s on your mind?”
She said, “I want to run like the lion”

Released from the cages
Released from the rages
Burning in my heart tonightAnd I ain’t no communist
And I ain’t no capitalist
And I ain’t no socialist
And I ain’t no imperialist
And I ain’t no democrat
And I ain’t no republican
I only know one party
And it is freedomI am, I am, I am

I am a patriot
And I love my country
Because my county is all I knowAnd the river opens for the righteous
And the river opens for the righteous
And the river opens for the righteous
SomedayAnd the river opens for the righteous…

Another video of “I am a Patriot”…longer and bad sound but this looks like a great gathering!! (Glastonbury Festival, 2010)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VGEMpGmbjpY

Song Lyric Sunday 7-3-16

I just discovered this great challenge.

https://helenespinosa.wordpress.com/2016/07/02/song-lyric-sunday-theme-for-7316/

It really caught my attention for a few reasons.

I love music, especially lyrics. I actually USE them in my life, especially in my work.
I love that a Mom in Utah takes her children to live music concerts!
I love that the song she chose for today is by Midnight Oil, and that my husband’s band of many years plays it regularly!
I am surrounded by live music in my personal life (partner, son, grandson, daughter-in-law, and many friends) and now my 2 grandsons (10 and 13) live with me so I really want to avoid that generation gap trap about music. I do not ever want to judge today’s music by my old standards.

Helen’s specific challenge today was to share the lyrics from a song at one of your very first live concerts. I wrote her and said that I could not actually remember if it was James Brown (with Fontella Bass “Rescue Me”) or Peter, Paul and Mary. Talk about opposites. If I had photos from those early concerts they would be perfect for this week’s WordPress Photo Challenge theme-“Opposites”.

But the more I thought about it the more I realized the concert that really got to me back then was a Simon and Garfunkel show.

Recently my son, with whom I have always been in musical sync, sat me down and made me listen to a song on his elaborate beyond my understanding, sound and visual system.

Coincidentally, it was the following song.

The Sound Of Silence (3:08)
P. Simon, 1964

Hello darkness, my old friend
I’ve come to talk with you again
Because a vision softly creeping
Left its seeds while I was sleeping
And the vision that was planted in my brain
Still remains
Within the sound of silence

In restless dreams I walked alone
Narrow streets of cobblestone
‘Neath the halo of a street lamp
I turn my collar to the cold and damp
When my eyes were stabbed by the flash of a neon light
That split the night
And touched the sound of silence

And in the naked light I saw
Ten thousand people maybe more
People talking without speaking
People hearing without listening
People writing songs that voices never shared
No one dared
Disturb the sound of silence

“Fools,” said I, “you do not know
Silence like a cancer grows
Hear my words that I might teach you
Take my arms that I might reach you”
But my words like silent raindrops fell
And echoed in the wells of silence

And the people bowed and prayed
To the neon god they made
And the sign flashed out its warning
In the words that it was forming
And the sign said “The words of the prophets are written on the subway walls
And tenement halls
And whispered in the sound of silence

He made me listen twice, knowing that the first time through I should probably close my eyes as the video is pretty intense and might be distracting. I had no idea what was coming. (He was right. It was hard for this 68 year old not to assume things about the look of the singer or the name of the band, as well as the visual images.) We listened together and were both in tears at the end, just from the sheer power of the artistry.

SO anyway, here’s what he played for me. Crank up the volume. Close your eyes. And stay with it to the end. You might be surprised!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u9Dg-g7t2l4

Thanks. I hope it means something to you too.

Saving the Best for Last: a Love Story for the Natchez High Class of 66!

Happy 10^th Anniversary to my James ♥

Dear Natchez High Class of 1966, (the longest “christmas Letter” ever!)

After we left y’all at our 40^th Reunion in 2006, James and I have made quite a life for ourselves. You all witnessed the beginning of us, (unless you actually remember even earlier…James and I hanging out back in high school during The King and I rehearsals). Some of you probably spotted the potential before either one of us did.

Actually, it was pretty instant. Eye contact at the Pig Roast at Everett’s. We both knew even before we even arrived back to our separate homes out West in June, 2006.

Spotted this on my long drive home that June

I was the more resistant at first, not wanting to be in a long-distance relationship. (This was when I thought James still lived in Mississippi.) But when I found out that he was just across my local mountains, a mere 4 hour drive (from Bellevue to Spokane, WA.) I was a goner. No excuses. Early on, we had fun discovering the mutual secret crushes we both hidden in our adolescent friendship during our time together at NACHS.

During our first couple of years together since that reunion, the 4 hour drive was sometimes inconvenient, but both of us willingly accepted the challenge and began making room in our separate lives for each other.

Sometimes all we had time for was driving two hours each, meeting halfway between our homes but that became another sweet adventure. Talk about meeting in the middle of nowhere! This is the Columbia Gorge.

We have now lived in both our places for most of these 10 years.

Learning about each other’s’ lives since high school has unearthed so many experiences in common…and many near misses as our paths almost crossed…serendipity!

We both “served our country”, James, by being in the Army during the Vietnam era, and me, by becoming a VISTA (Volunteers in Service to America), our country’s Peace Corp.

Fierce Idealist!

James in Vietnam Kathie in Birmingham

We both lived in the San Francisco Bay area at the same time, during the height of the Haight/Ashbury Hippie days.

We both travelled the country and chose the beautiful Northwest in which to settle. A couple of times, I was back in Mississippi while James was out West, in San Diego (where I had returned to after high school in Natchez) just missing each other.

We have both inherited such wonderful things from each other’s lives.

We have two homes now; one, a gorgeous mountain retreat, built by James with his own talented hands! And one, a unique suburban homestead, much of which has been built (or held together with duct tape) by my own hands.

My misleading “little house”…it’s actually quite large

I get to have live music regularly in my life now, as James has continued to play off and on professionally.

He and my son connected over music right away.

Michael and James on guitar photo

James at a Spokane gig

James got me on the Harley

and I gave him a family

James with his new family

James gave me his circle of friends that have been meeting every Wednesday night for over 20 years at what they call The Wheel. (This is an amazing group of folks in Spokane who gather on a mountain top to celebrate Nature and to support each other. They call it the “Church of the Blue Dome”.)

The Wheel

And I gave him my sister’s home in the San Juan Islands where we get to house-sit every year for a few weeks.

Oh, my sister’s husband is now one of J’s very best friends.

They think they are so tough. Lenore and I think they are just HOT!

We have had great travel adventures. We’ve been back to Natchez several times, almost bought an “older home” there, and with each visit, we gained weight by filling up on real catfish and hushpuppies…oh, and fried green tomatoes and dill pickles.

My sweet cousins and me

We took an amazing road trip on the Harley, down the West Coast as far as Pacific Grove, and camped in the Redwood Forest, which James had never seen before! (below)

We have been to San Diego a few times, enjoying the Beach Life I grew up in…

And we have both tried to make up for all the lost time by sharing our Mothers with each other.

James and siblings visiting Mother Alma’s grave in Natchez

James even went with me to visit my Mother’s grave for the very first time.

My mother’s grave in the Fort Rosecrans military cemetery in Point Loma

And a huge highlight for me is that James was with me and my son and his family, when we reunited with my long lost daughter, Pamela and her family.

Me, with BOTH my children at the same time…a dream come true

We have done so much to improve our two homes.

James has used his amazing skills to fix up, save and improve my Bellevue home of 40 years now. It’s over 100 years old and needed his talent. He even built me a Group Therapy Room so I could bring my practice home after I sold my long time office building. It’s really the very best room in the whole house.

And I introduced James to my 38 years long best friend and former business partner and he and his wife and James and I have added on the equivalent of another home to J’s mountain “cabin” so we can all live together as we age. (All four of us WRITE! My best friend and his wife are both published, she has even won an award http://www.patriciacleary.net/ ).

But James is the sleeper. He is incredibly talented! The novel he’s working on rivals anything Grisham has written and, dare I say it, maybe even our own Greg Iles. (James will deny this, LOUDLY.) I’m writing a nonfiction book that will hopefully be a legacy for my grandchildren, at least.

Casa Esmeralda-Before and After (named, as James often does, after Emerald Mound)

James and I are so grateful to have connected at this later point in our lives because we know we probably would not have survived with each other earlier, given all the hard relationship lessons we both had to learn.

We really wanted to come to the 50th Reunion this year, and had planned to when we thought it would be Memorial Day weekend. We were going to dance outrageously and give y’all “Something to Talk About”……………(You’ll have to get James to tell you the story of Bonnie Raitt singing that very song to him!!!)

But instead, you get the world’s longest “Christmas Letter”!

So sorry to miss you all. And I hope you turn the town upside down this weekend!!

Love and Hugs from,

Kathie Bessey Arcide and James Carl Fletcher

(although he doesn’t know I’m doing this! It is my anniversary gift to him!!) ♥

My favorite picture!

PS Someone posted this recently.

http://www.natchezrebels.org/james/

Was it you Larry?

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