I sort of promised myself I wouldn’t start a thread about all this, seeing as there are so many other people so much better than I am at expressing themselves.
I don’t even know if this is the right forum for this…it’s certainly mundane to some degree.
But I, like everyone else, have been so deeply affected, shaken and damaged by recent events that it’s put a whole new spin on my perspective.
When I got to work at the coffee shop last night, I put in my ‘Almost Famous’ soundtrack. The first track on it is Simon and Garfunkle’s ‘America.’ I just about cried right there as I listened to the words.
I know there’s all kinds of problems quoting lyrics on the board, so I’ll just hope you know the words, or can find them. The up-shot is a song about the freedom to go out and discover America. The excitement of what we’ll find. The expectation that the experience will make us more whole as people.
When I got home last night, my husband put in ‘Abbey Road.’
‘Here Comes the Sun,’ ‘Golden Slumbers,’ ‘Carry That Weight,’ and that’s just from that album. They don’t mean what they did before. They will never mean the same thing again.
Anyway, it was just an observation. Please take care, everyone. My best to you.b
Though I’ve never been there, the joy I feel while singing along with the S&G song is remarkable, I love shouting out "Counting the cars on the New Jersey Turnpike. . . "
It’s such a mundane thing that people do on long bus trips; a slice of America, indeed.
Well, I listened to the S&G song again this afternoon…it is sad in a way. But, OTOH, it speaks very quietly about the misconception that America is ‘out there somewhere’ and not exactly where you are. Growing up in a small town in Nebraska, it certainly always seemed that way. New York, L.A., Anchorage…anywhere was where America was. Nebraska never seemed to measure up.
I think the events of the past week have a different idea in mind–America is as much who you are as where you are.
My husband was commenting that the REM song, ‘Everybody Hurts’ was very comforting for him. I’d have to agree.
Sir Rhosis, I do the same thing–and I’ve never been there either.
My take on “America” is that it is a sad song of two people searching for themselves (the singer and Cathy/Kathy) and for America. But they recognize that they are not alone whe they see all the cars on the turnpike, and realize that everyone is searching.
So, yes, sad, but uplifting to the end (to me, anyway).
Speaking of Simon and Garfunkel, a year down the line, maybe sooner, does anyone see a massive series of concerts to raise money and raise NY’s spirits, and does anyone besides me see Paul Simon and Art Garfunkel putting their differences aside and reuniting for such a special event?