"One ought, every day at least, to hear a little song, read a good poem, see a fine picture
and, if possible, speak a few reasonable words." ~Goethe

~ also, if possible, to dwell in "a house where all's accustomed, ceremonious." ~Yeats

Monday, February 29, 2016

Forever Young Again

WHERE ALL'S ACCUSTOMED, CEREMONIOUS
At the Portrait Studio:
Sears ~ Summer 2012 & Penney's ~ December 2014


"There are many things in life. You're very young," said Ralph.
"I feel very old," said Isabel.
"You'll grow very young again. . . ."


Henry James ~ from Portrait of a Lady, 1881
(Chapter 54, p 471)

MUSICAL CONNECTIONS

1. from "The Longest Time" by Billy Joel
Once I thought my innocence was gone;
Now I know that happiness goes on . . .
(1983)

2. from "Oh Very Young" by Cat Stevens, aka Yusuf Islam
Oh very young, What will you leave us this time?
You're only dancing on this earth for a short while
And though your dreams may toss and turn you now
They will vanish away like your daddy's best jeans
Denim blue fading up to the sky

And though you want him to last forever
You know he never will
You know he never will
And the patches make the goodbye harder still

Oh very young, what will you leave us this time?
There'll never be a better chance to change your mind
And if you want this world to see a better day
Will you carry the words of love with you?
Will you ride the great white bird into heaven?

And though you want to last forever
You know you never will
You know you never will
And the goodbye makes the journey harder still . . .
(1974)

3. from "Love is a Battlefield" by Pat Benatar
We are young
heartache to heartache we stand
No promises, no demands
Love is a battlefield
We are strong
No one can tell us were wrong
Searchin' our hearts for so long . . .
(1983)

4. from "Forever Young" by Alphaville
Youth's like diamonds in the sun,
And diamonds are forever

So many adventures given up today,
So many songs we forgot to play.
So many dreams swinging out of the blue
Oh let it come true.

Forever young,
I want to be forever young.
Do you really want to live forever,
Forever, and ever?
(1984)

5. from "We Are Young" by Fun, featuring Janelle Monae
Tonight
We are young
So let’s set the world on fire
We can burn brighter than the sun
(2011)

6. "Forever Young" by Bob Dylan
May God bless and keep you always
May your wishes all come true
May you always do for others
And let others do for you
May you build a ladder to the stars
And climb on every rung
May you stay forever young
Forever young, forever young
May you stay forever young.

May you grow up to be righteous
May you grow up to be true
May you always know the truth
And see the lights surrounding you
May you always be courageous
Stand upright and be strong
May you stay forever young
Forever young, forever young
May you stay forever young.

May your hands always be busy
May your feet always be swift
May you have a strong foundation
When the winds of changes shift
May your heart always be joyful
And may your song always be sung
May you stay forever young
Forever young, forever young
May you stay forever young.
(1974)

7. "Forever Young" by Rod Stewart
May the good Lord be with you
Down every road you roam
And may sunshine and happiness
surround you when you're far from home
And may you grow to be proud
Dignified and true
And do unto others
As you'd have done to you
Be courageous and be brave

And in my heart you'll always stay
Forever Young, Forever Young
Forever Young, Forever Young

May good fortune be with you
May your guiding light be strong
Build a stairway to heaven
with a prince or a vagabond
And may you never love in vain

And in my heart you will remain
Forever Young, Forever Young
Forever Young, Forever Young
Forever Young, Forever Young

And when you finally fly away
I'll be hoping that I served you well
For all the wisdom of a lifetime
No one can ever tell
But whatever road you choose
I'm right behind you, win or lose

Forever Young, Forever Young
Forever Young, Forever Young
Forever Young, Forever Young
(1988)

*****************************

Two weeks (and one leap day!) ago, my post for the 14th, featured a series of Duets recommended by my older son Ben. Since then, my younger son Sam has suggested "Young Again" by Hardwell: "This is an 'EDM' song, but more melodic than most. I think you will enjoy."

Sam was right. I loved the melody and the lyrics, which brought to mind all of the above snippets from so many previous favorites. I kept wandering from one connection to the next, arriving ultimately at "Forever Young."

I guess one doesn't have to be very old to yearn for an earlier, more carefree time. After all, Hardwell himself is only 28, and Sam is even younger! I hope they will feel young again; better yet, I hope they will feel young now, because -- guess what? -- they are young! But I know what they mean. The obligations pile up; the duties and responsibilities seem to completely overshadow those faraway times of unstructured simplicity and creativity. And what's the best way to capture that nostalgia? A song, of course! Here is Hardwell's reminiscence that Sam so kindly recommended for his old parents:

"Young Again" by Hardwell
When I was a boy
I dreamed of a place
in the sky
Playing in the fields
Battling with my shields
Bows made out of twine

I wish I could see this
world again
through those eyes
See the child in me
in my fantasy
Never growing old

Will we ever feel young again
Will we ever feel young again
Will we ever feel young again

We wanna feel young
We wanna feel young again

When I was a boy
I searched for a world
that's unknown
All we have is fun
everybody runs
until the sun goes down

I wish I could see this
world again
through those eyes
See the child in me
in my fantasy
Never growing old

Will we ever feel young again
Will we ever feel young again
Will we ever feel young again

You wanna feel young
You wanna feel young again
(2015)

In addition to Hardwell,
Sam also sent an enthusiastic recommendation for Armin:
Letter From Sam:

"Mom and Dad -- I tried to pick my favorite Armin song, but no man, woman or child could ever hope to accomplish such a daunting task.

As such, I will be offering you a spread of my favorite Armin songs in this week's EDM Update email.

Disclaimer: When listening to Armin, you don't just listen to music, but you enter a #StateOfTrance

His most famous song: "This Is What It Feels Like"

Current most famous song: "Strong Ones"

My current favorite: "Heading Up High"

His Entrance Song (very similar to Dad's March Song) -- this was my favorite for a long time. It is 7 minutes, but I highly recommend. Dad I think you will very much enjoy this one: "Embrace"

His Closing Song: "Looking For Your Name"

Enjoy!! (not necessary, I know you will)"
~~ THANKS SAM! ~~

SEE YOU IN TWO WEEKS FOR MY
Next Fortnightly Post
Monday, March 14th

Between now and then, read
THE QUOTIDIAN KIT ~ "Millennials & Music"
my shorter, almost daily blog posts
www.dailykitticarriker.blogspot.com

Looking for a good book? Try
KITTI'S LIST ~ "Climb Inside and Live There"
my running list of recent reading
www.kittislist.blogspot.com

Sunday, February 14, 2016

Duets

WHERE ALL'S ACCUSTOMED, CEREMONIOUS
At the Algonquin, New York City

At a party a few years ago, Gerry got distracted when he was supposed to be getting drinks for us. It was a big crowd, and I couldn't really see where he was, and it took him ages to get back, and he stopped off to visit with various other guests along the way; and in the meantime, the woman I was chatting with had already been brought a glass of wine by her husband, and I was feeling forgotten about.

When Gerry finally turned up with some lukewarm drinks, I pouted, "You are a very bad boyfriend."

With great gallantry he responded, "But I am a very good husband!" I thought that was the sweetest thing ever and it made me laugh so much because it was so romantic and so true!

"If I forgot who I am,
Would you please remind me oh?
Cause without you things go hazy
. . . "

SOME DUETS FOR VALENTINE'S DAY
~~ Thanks Reggie! ~~

"Hazy" ~ Rosi Golan & William Fitzsimmons

"Merci" ~ Emmanual Moire & Claire Joseph

"The Next Time I Fall" ~ Peter Cetera & Amy Grant

"Anyone Else But You" ~ from Juno

"You Don't Know Me" ~ Ben Folds & Regina Spektor

"Can't Help Falling In Love" ~ Katharine McPhee & Andrea Bocelli

"Sky" ~ Joshua Radin & Ingrid Michaelson (and "Star Mile")

"Just Give Me a Reason" ~ Pink & Nate Ruess

"Duet" ~ Rachael Yamagata

"Last Night of the World" ~ Lea Salonga & Will Chase, from Miss Saigon

"Two People" ~ Robby Hecht & Caroline Spechter

MY SUGGESTIONS

"A Whole New World" ~ Peabo Bryson & Regina Belle
~ from Aladdin ~

"Tonight I Celebrate My Love for You" ~ Peabo Bryson & Roberta Flack

"Love & Happiness" ~ Emmylou Harris & Mark Knopfler
I didn't know this song until I heard Emmylou sing it live in Portland, Oregon, in 2008; but if I'd known it when Ben & Sam were little, I would have sung it to them all the time!

"Gulf Coast Highway" ~ Emmylou & Willie Nelson
A love song for old people.

"Wild Montana Skies" ~ Emmylou & John Denver
Not exactly a love story
but an inspiring duet of good cowboy lyrics and life lessons.

"Dream A Dream" ~ Charlotte Church & Billy Gilman
Based on "Pavane, Opus 50" by Gabriel Fauré.
This duet appears on Charlotte's Christmas album (December 2000).

Waltz for Eva & Che ~ Madonna & Antonia Banderas
Also so my book blog

"They Were You" ~ Matt & Luisa
From The Fantasticks -- stage version, not the bad movie!

GER'S ADDITION
"Reg, your mother told me about your Valentine Day project.
This isn’t a duet but its about a duet.
I’ve included the lyrics, you’ll need them."
"Lucky Number" ~ Lena Lovich

I never used to cry 'cause I was all alone
For me, myself and I is all I've ever known
I never felt the need to have a hand to hold
In everything I do I take complete control
That's where I'm coming from
My lucky number's one

I've everything I need to keep me satisfied
There's nothing you can do to make me change my mind
I'm having so much fun
My lucky number's one
Ah! Oh! Ah! Oh!

I now detect an alien vibration here
There's something in the air besides the atmosphere
The object of the action is becoming clear
An imminent attack upon my heart I fear
The evidence is strong
My lucky number's wrong
Ah! Oh! Ah! Oh!

Something tells me my lucky number's gonna be changing soon
Something tells me lucky number's gonna be oweoweoweoweoweowe...

You certainly do have a strange effect on me
I never thought that I could feel the way I feel
There's something in your eyes gives me a wild idea
I never want to be apart from you my dear
I guess it must be true
My lucky number's two

This rearrangement suits me now I must confess
The number one was dull and number two is best
I wanna stay with you
My lucky number's two
Ah! Oh! Ah! Oh!

SEE YOU IN TWO WEEKS FOR MY
Next Fortnightly Post
Sunday, February 29th ~ LEAP DAY!

Between now and then, read
THE QUOTIDIAN KIT ~
my shorter, almost daily blog posts
www.dailykitticarriker.blogspot.com

Looking for a good book? Try
KITTI'S LIST
my running list of recent reading
www.kittislist.blogspot.com