Heart Of The Sunrise - Yes

Artist: Yes
Song: Heart Of The Sunrise
Year: 1971
Album: Fragile

I saw Yes in concert in 2018. This song was one of the many highlights during the set. They put on a terrific concert!




Lyrics:

Love comes to you and you follow
Lose one on to the heart of the sunrise
Sharp distance
How can the wind with its arms
All around me

Lost on a wave and then after
Dream on on to the heart of the sunrise
Sharp distance
How can the wind with so many around me
Lost in the city

Lost in their eyes as you hurry by
Counting the broken ties they decide
Love comes to you and then after
Dream on on to the heart of the sunrise
Lost on a wave that you're dreaming
Dream on on to the heart of the sunrise
Sharp distance
How can the wind with its arms all around me
Sharp distance
How can the wind with so many around me
I feel lost in the city

Lost in their eyes as you hurry by
Counting the broken ties they decided

Straight light moving and removing
Sharpness of the color sun shine
Straight light searching all the meanings of the song
Long last treatment of the telling that
Relates to all the words sung
Dreamer easy in the chair that really fits you

Love comes to you and then after
Dream on on to the heart of the sunrise
Sharp distance
How can the wind with its arms all around me
Sharp distance
How can the wind with so many around me
I feel lost in the city

Going To California - Led Zeppelin

Artist: Led Zeppelin
Song: Going To California
Year: 1971
Album: Led Zeppelin IV

When a years long relationship ended for reasons that I didn't agree with, I immediately thought of this song and it became my new mantra.

Lyrics:
Spent my days with a woman unkind
Smoked my stuff and drank all my wine.
Made up my mind to make a new start
Going To California with an aching in my heart.
Someone told me there's a girl out there
With love in her eyes and flowers in her hair.
Took my chances on a big jet plane
Never let them tell you that they're all the same.
The sea was red and the sky was grey
Wondered how tomorrow could ever follow today.
The mountains and the canyons started to tremble and shake
As the children of the sun began to awake.

Seems that the wrath of the Gods
Got a punch on the nose and it started to flow;
I think I might be sinking.
Throw me a line if I reach it in time
I'll meet you up there where the path
Runs straight and high.

To find a queen without a king,
They say she plays guitar and cries and sings... la la la
Ride a white mare in the footsteps of dawn
Tryin' to find a woman who's never, never, never been born.
Standing on a hill in my mountain of dreams,
Telling myself it's not as hard, hard, hard as it seems.

Four Sticks - Led Zeppelin

Artist: Led Zeppelin
Song: Four Sticks
Year: 1971
Album: Led Zeppelin IV

John Bonham was frustrated with the sound of the drums on this song, so he grabbed a second pair of drumsticks and recorded a take using "four sticks". The take was perfect and was the one used on the song.

Lyrics:
Oh, baby, it's cryin' time, oh, baby, I've got to fly
Got to try to find a way, got to try to get away
'cause you know, I gotta get away from you, babe

Oh, baby, the river's red, aw, baby, in my head
There's a funny feeling goin' on
I don't think I can hold out long

And when the owls cry in the night
Oh, baby, baby, when the pines begin to cry
Baby, baby, baby, how do you feel
If the rivers run dry, baby, how would you feel

Craze, baby, mm, the rainbow's end
Hoo, baby, it's just a den for those who hide
a-hide their loves to depths of lies
and ruined dreams that we all knew so, babe

And when the owls cry in the night
And, baby, when the pines begin to cry
Oh, baby, baby, how do you feel
If the rivers run dry, baby, how will you feel

Ah-ahh, ah-ah-ahh-ay
Ahh-ahh-ahh, ah-ah, ah-ah
Ahh-ah-ah-ahh, ah-ah, ah-ah, ah
Baby, how do you feel

Oh, yeah, brave I endure
Woo, yeah, strong shields and lore
N-they can't hold the wrath of those who walk
in the boots of those who march
baby, through the roads of time so long ago

Ooh-ooh-ooh, yeah, ooh-ooh-oooh, ooh-ooh-oooh-ooh-ooh, yeah
Ah-ah-ah-ha-ah-haa, ah-ah-ah-ah-ahh, ah-ha-ah-ay
Ah-he-ah-haa, ay-ay-ayy-e-ay-ah
Ooh-ooh, hoo-ooh, ooh-ooh, hoo-ooh, oooh-ahh
Oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh

Fearless - Pink Floyd

Artist: Pink Floyd
Song: Fearless
Year: 1971
Album: Meddle

A quick entry today. This song has been running through my brain lately. I never thought much of the song, when I was a teenager. But running the iPod while I'm busy at the computer has had some awesome benefits. Some songs actually improve, when you don't know they are coming.

This is a song where I was torn away from my computer work because I wondered what this song actually was. It sounded like Pink Floyd, but I couldn't recall what exactly. It turns out that it was "Fearless" popping up on shuffle. I try to preview all the newer songs that I hear this way. I can test my true nature about a song without the preconceived notions about it. I've found some great lost songs that way.

Lyrics:
You say the hill's too steep to climb
Climb it.
You say you'd like to see me try
Climbing.

You pick the place and I'll choose the time
And I'll climb
That hill in my own way.
Just wait a while for the right day.
And as I rise above the tree lines and the clouds
I look down, hearing the sound of the things you've said today.

Fearlessly the idiot faced the crowd
Smiling.
Merciless the magistrate turns 'round
Frowning.

And who's the fool who wears the crown?
And go down,
in your own way
And every day is the right day
And as you rise above the fear-lines in his brow
You look down, hearing the sound of the faces in the crowd.

The WASP (Texas Radio And The Big Beat) - The Doors

Artist: The Doors
Song: The WASP (Texas Radio And The Big Beat)
Year: 1971
Album: L.A. Woman

I've been a big Doors fan since I was four or five. The only problem was that my dad only owned two Doors albums and recorded the rest off of the radio. The two albums that he owned were both compilations. The Doors Greatest Hits and 13. The other Doors songs I had heard came from the radio.

I first heard snippets of this poem set to music in 1991. I had purchased the soundtrack to Oliver Stone's movie about the Doors. In a poem called "Stoned Immaculate", I heard my first snippets of "The WASP". I was on a quest for the rest of the Doors catalogue. It proved to be tougher than I thought.

I purchased L.A. Woman a few years later. I had finally found my Doors go to album. It featured everything that I loved about the band. It was a departure from their previous work, but still held enough of the old music not to be off putting. This is a perfectly crafted album and quickly became my favorite.

I was always curious about "The WASP" though. It was only in the last decade that I found out what it meant. In the 1950s, Mexican radio stations would infiltrate their sounds into Texas. Because of less restrictions, these stations could be heard for miles around. This was the first introduction that many had, including a few members of the Doors, to Wolfman Jack.

Lyrics:
I wanna tell you 'bout Texas Radio and the Big Beat
Comes out of the Virginia swamps
Cool and slow with plenty of precision
With a back beat narrow and hard to master

Some call it heavenly in its brilliance
Others, mean and rueful of the Western dream
I love the friends I have gathered together on this thin raft
We have constructed pyramids in honor of our escaping
This is the land where the Pharaoh died

The Negroes in the forest brightly feathered
They are saying, "Forget the night
Live with us in forests of azure
Out here on the perimeter there are no stars
Out here we is stoned immaculate"

Now listen to this, I'll tell you 'bout the heartache
I'll tell you 'bout the heartache and the loss of God
I'll tell you 'bout the hopeless night
The meager food for souls forgot
I'll tell you 'bout the maiden with wrought iron soul

I'll tell you this
No eternal reward will forgive us now for wasting the dawn

I'll tell you 'bout Texas Radio and the Big Beat
Soft driven, slow and mad, like some new language

Now, listen to this, I'll tell you 'bout the Texas
I'll tell you 'bout the Texas Radio
I'll tell you 'bout the hopeless night
Wandering the Western dream
Tell you 'bout the maiden with wrought iron soul

Aqualung - Jethro Tull

Artist: Jethro Tull
Song: Aqualung
Year: 1971
Album: Aqualung

This song brings back memories of high school. I would sometimes bring a pocket radio with headphones to school. I would listen to the classic rock station while walking to and from school. It was usually a half hour walk each way, so I was able to listen to quite a bit of programming.

As a freshman, I think the station was on a Jethro Tull kick. I would hear "Aqualung", "Locomotive Breath" or "Bungle In The Jungle" at least once a day. One of those and Jimi Hendrix's "Purple Haze" would be played every school day.

I liked the unique song structure of "Aqualung", but what captured my attention as a rapidly growing teen was the line about the frilly panties. Hormones can run wild in teens and I was no exception. Thankfully, the song was much more memorable than that.

It had been just slightly over a year since Jethro Tull's grammy win for best metal album. I had come to the realization that the win wasn't Jethro Tull's fault. It was whoever voted. I made my peace with Metallica losing to Jethro Tull a long time ago. Life too short to hold grudges and to deprive yourself of good music.

Lyrics:
Sitting on a park bench
eyeing little girls with bad intent.
Snot running down his nose
greasy fingers smearing shabby clothes.
Hey, Aqualung!
Drying in the cold sun
Watching as the frilly panties run.
Hey Aqualung!
Feeling like a dead duck
spitting out pieces of his broken luck.
Whoa, Aqualung!

Sun streaking cold
an old man wandering lonely.
Taking time
the only way he knows.
Neck hurting bad,
as he bends to pick a dog-end
he goes down to the bog
and warms his feet.

Feeling alone
the army's up the road
salvation à la mode and
a cup of tea.
Aqualung my friend
don't you start away uneasy
you poor old sod, you see, it's only me.

Do you still remember
December's foggy freeze
when the ice that
clings onto your beard was
screaming agony.
And you snatch your rattling last breaths
with deep-sea-diver sounds,
and the flowers bloom like
madness in the spring.

Sun streaking cold
an old man wandering lonely.
Taking time
the only way he knows.
Neck hurting bad,
as he bends to pick a dog-end
he goes down to the bog
and warms his feet.

Feeling alone
the army's up the road
salvation à la mode and
a cup of tea.
Aqualung my friend
don't you start away uneasy
you poor old sod, you see, it's only me.

[Guitar Solo]

Aqualung my friend
don't you start away uneasy
you poor old sod, you see, it's only me.

Sitting on a park bench
eyeing little girls with bad intent.
Snot running down his nose
greasy fingers smearing shabby clothes.
Hey Aqualung!
Drying in the cold sun
Watching as the frilly panties run.
Hey, Aqualung!
Feeling like a dead duck
spitting out pieces of his broken luck.
Hey, Aqualung!
Whoa, Aqualung!

Jealous Guy - John Lennon

Artist: John Lennon
Song: Jealous Guy
Year: 1971
Album: Imagine

This is a song that gets it's start in the Beatles days. The music was originally written as "Child Of Nature" and was intended for the White Album. Fastforward to a rocky time in John Lennon and Yoko Ono's life. It was there that John wrote different lyrics to the melody and a new song was born.

It was written as an apology of sorts to Yoko. John's jealousy had been causing many problems in the relationship. Even though John was apologetic, he still insisted on not changing much, as the lyrics would reflect. John's relationship with Yoko would get worse before it got better, but this was a start in the right direction.

This was released as a single in 1985. That sounds about right because I remember seeing a video for this on Night Tracks, which was a music video show that aired on TBS. I can see a clip of Lennon high stepping in his white suit, but that version seems to have fallen out of favor for the more recent version. Ironically, the white suit escapades can be seen in other videos.

"Jealous Guy" also has the distinction of being the last song performed in public by John Lennon. It happened in 1977 and quite by accident. John sat in the presidential suite of the Okura Hotel in Tokyo, Japan. The elevators came straight into the lounge area of the suite, where Lennon was playing his old songs. A Japanese couple got off on the wrong floor, but sat and listened to John finish the song. After "Jealous Guy" was finishes, the couple politely got up and exited the suite with a displeased look on their faces. Little did they know that they would be the last people to witness a live performance from John Lennon.

Lyrics:
I was dreaming of the past
and my heart was beating fast
I began to lose control
I began to lose control
I didn't mean to hurt you
I'm sorry that I made you cry
Oh my I didn't want to hurt you
I'm just a jealous guy

I was feeling insecure
You might not love me anymore
I was shivering inside
I was shivering inside
Oh I didn't mean to hurt you
I'm sorry that I made you cry
Oh my I didn't want to hurt you
I'm just a jealous guy

[Whistling]

I didn't mean to hurt you
I'm sorry that I made you cry
Oh my I didn't want to hurt you
I'm just a jealous guy

I was trying to catch your eyes
I thought that you were trying to hide
I was swallowing my pain
I was swallowing my pain
I didn't mean to hurt you
I'm sorry that I made you cry
Oh my I didn't want to hurt you
I'm just a jealous guy
watch out baby I'm just a jealous guy
Look out baby I'm just a jealous guy