The Best Songs in the World #39 . Peter Hammill, "The Comet, The Course, The Tail"

I will continue to dig in the dust to bring to the light forgotten and invaluable gems, be assured.

This time it is the operatic singer and composer of Van Der Graaf (Generator) from its 1974 album, "In Camera", with a powerful and disturbing lyric.



They say we are endowed with Free Will -*
At least that justifies our need for indecision.
But between our insticts and the lust to kill
We bow our heads in submission.
They say that no man is an island
But then they say our castles are our homes;
It's felt the choice is ours, between peace and violence...
Oh, yes, we choose, alone?

While the comet spreads its tail across the sky
It nowhere near defines the course it flies,
Nor does it find its own direction.

Though the path of the comet be sure,
Its constitution is not
So its meaning is possibly more
Than the tracing of a tail
In one brief shot at glory.

Love and peace and individuality,
So order and society are man-made?
War and hate and dark depravity,
Or are we slaves?
Channeling aggressive energies,
The Death Wish and the Will to survive,
Into finding and preserving enemies,
Is that the only way we know that we're alive?

In the slaughterhouse all corpses smell the same,
Whether queens or pawns or innocents at the game;
In the cemetery a uniform cloaks the graves
Except for outward pomp and circumstance.

There is a time set in the calendar
When all reason seems barely enough
To sustain all the shooting stars:
Times are rough.
I'm waiting for something to happen here,
It feels as though it's long overdue...
Maybe a restatement of yesteryear
Or something entirely new.

And the knowledge that we gain in part
Always leads us closer to the very start,
And to the founding questions:
How can I tell that the road signed to hell
Doesn't lead up to heaven?
What can I say when, in some obscure way,
I am my own direction?

The Best Songs in the World #38 - Simon & Garfunkel - Kathy's Song

This is Paul Simon at his best.

Do you know any other love song that says:

"I stand alone without beliefs
The only truth I know is you." ?

I hear the drizzle of the rain
Like a memory it falls
Soft and warm continuing
Tapping on my roof and walls.

And from the shelter of my mind
Through the window of my eyes
I gaze beyond the rain-drenched streets
To England where my heart lies.

My mind's distracted and diffused
My thoughts are many miles away
They lie with you when you're asleep
And kiss you when you start your day.

And as a song I was writing is left undone
I don't know why I spend my time
Writing songs I can't believe
With words that tear and strain to rhyme.

And so you see I have come to doubt
All that I once held as true
I stand alone without beliefs
The only truth I know is you.

And as I watch the drops of rain
Weave their weary paths and die
I know that I am like the rain
There but for the grace of you go I.

The Best Songs in the World #37 - The Beach Boys - "God Only Knows"

And just because I have been lazy for so long, today we have to of the best songs in the world. Sorry to insist on the sixties and seventies. I'm still wondering at these marvels. 1966, "Pet Sounds"



I may not always love you
But long as there are stars above you
You never need to doubt it
I'll make you so sure about it

God only knows what I'd be without you

If you should ever leave me
Though life would still go on believe me
The world could show nothing to me
So what good would living do me

God only knows what I'd be without you

God only knows what I'd be without you

If you should ever leave me
Well life would still go on believe me
The world could show nothing to me
So what good would living do me

God only knows what I'd be without you
God only knows what I'd be without you
God only knows
God only knows what I'd be without you
God only knows what I'd be without you
God only knows
God only knows what I'd be without you
God only knows what I'd be without you
God only knows
God only knows what I'd be without you
God only knows what I'd be without you
God only knows
God only knows what I'd be without you
God only knows what I'd be without you
God only knows
God only knows what I'd be without you
God only knows what I'd be without you
God only knows
God only knows what I'd be without you

The Best Songs In the World #36: Simon & Garfunkel, "The Only Living Boy in New York"

You thought I had forgotten? Ah! Here we are, back in business. With this classic and beautiful tune from Simon & Garfunkel,from their album "Bridge Over Troubled Water. Perhaps you haven't heard this in a long time, it's to remember and be amazed.

Below you have a short documentary on the song, that tells so much about it.

Tom, get your plane right on time.
I know your part'll go fine.
Fly down to Mexico.
Da-n-da-da-n-da-n-da-da and here I am,
The only living boy in New York.

I get the news I need on the weather report.
I can gather all the news I need on the weather report.
Hey, I've got nothing to do today but smile.
Da-n-do-da-n-do-da-n-do here I am,
The only living boy in New York.
Half of the time we're gone but we don't know where,
And we don't know where.

Tom, get your plane right on time.
I know that you've been eager to fly now.
Hey let your honesty shine, shine, shine
Da-n-da-da-n-da-n-da-da
Like it shines on me.
The only living boy in New York,
The only living boy in New York.

Father and Son: Leonard and Adam

Tenho andado a comparar mitologias (Do primeiro livro de poesia de Cohen: "let us compare mythologies"), Entre pai e filho e entre os 80 anos do pai e os 40 e tal do filho tenho apostado recentemente no filho. Que às vezes parece o pai.É o momento em que ele começa a reconhecer a sua herança e a entender-se com ela.

Um dia destes, se estiver com pachorra, hei-de discorrer mais sobre este tema.