Friday, November 12, 2010

mary travers

i'd like to digress for a while ....


i was leafing through my very, very old notes when i chanced to find a reference to one of my favorite songs, "early morning rain". it was a song written by gordon lightfoot but my favorite rendition was by the folk trio peter, paul and mary. i grew up listening to this wonderful group's songs and i must admit that they've left their mark in my musical inclinations. for me, folk music is almost akin to blues in terms of the rawness, in terms of intensity of feeling, in terms of simplicity -- just some no nonsense guitar work and honest vocals, no special effects, to hide the artist's inadequacies.

peter, paul and mary. one of the most popular groups in the 60's. a lot of young people now definitely might not have heard of them but i think that some of their songs are still relevant today. it is said that they are protest singers. they sang of equality, freedom, simple living.

one of these three was mary travers. great lady. she was one of a handful of artists then who made use of their great talent not to enrich themselves but more so to help educate people about the futility of war and the upholding of civil rights.


i write this in memory of her. her birthday was last november 9.


today, most of our artists are driven by fame and wealth. few realize that because of their immense talents and great mass appeal they can capitalize on these to influence others especially the young. yet sadly, a lot of these gifted individuals waste the opportunity to lead others towards leading positive, unselfish lives. Fame and great wealth overwhelm them and obscure their inner light. their divine spark.

so they sit comfortably in their mansions, bathing in the adulation of millions of people, unabashedly displaying their negative tendencies like drug taking, illicit affairs, and total disregard for law and order, acting like little gods and goddesses.

to be able to build a better future, we must invest in the new generation, and these new generation need pole stars, positive beings to pattern their lives with ... so that they will not be like the mass of us seeking desperately to cope with the negativities of this world ..

" in the early morning rain
with a dollar in my hand
with an achin' in my heart
and my pockets full of sand .."

4 comments:

Anonymous said...

A very good philosophy in your post ! I liked ! :))

Bye**

sito saguid said...

thanks for finding the time to read this, Mahon. your pictures reflect this -- sharing one's talent not for any personal gains. just a desire to let others see what your inner eyes see.

christopherdossantos3@gmail.com said...

Hello my brother I see you love the music of Lightfoot, so do I. Have you listened to Leonard Cohen or Bob Dylan? My favorite music is a Canadian band called Rush. They are a rock trio with the most brilliant minds in the rock industry. Over the last 30 years they have grown greatly in spiritual understanding making it very exciting to follow their lyrics. You can catch them on you tube to sample their work.

In Lak' esh, my brother, love from Canada...

sito saguid said...

brother, bob dylan is one of my most admired poets/songwriters along with the great woody guthrie. now thanks for reintroducing me to leonard cohen and rush. i will allot more time to reestablish myself in their songs.