#569 Musings Beyond the Bunker (Saturday January 28)
Good morning,
Sometimes in fraught times one can turn to literature—to poetry—to remind us who we are and what it is we stand for. As a second generation American whose grandparents came here in poverty and without education, they were driven by the opportunity to achieve and thrive in this land behind the “golden door.” This is worth a read, once again and with care and introspection:
THE NEW COLOSSUS
“Not like the brazen giant of Greek fame,
With conquering limbs astride from land to land;
Here at our sea-washed, sunset gates shall stand
A mighty woman with a torch, whose flame
Is the imprisoned lightning, and her name
Mother of Exiles. From her beacon-hand
Glows world-wide welcome; her mild eyes command
The air-bridged harbor that twin cities frame.
"Keep, ancient lands, your storied pomp!" cries she
With silent lips. "Give me your tired, your poor,
Your huddled masses yearning to breathe free,
The wretched refuse of your teeming shore.
Send these, the homeless, tempest-tost to me,
I lift my lamp beside the golden door!"
-- Emma Lazarus (1883)
MUSIC
There are songs that are so familiar to us that we recognize them nearly from the first notes. So I was thinking, “Are there songs identifiable by their first chord?” The most obvious is “Hard Day’s Night,” by The Beatles. But there are others. I’ve taken a bit of liberty—it’s not the first note but the first chord, which means several notes that comprise the original chord. Here’s my initial list, which includes some classical but mostly excellent live clips of classic rock:
“Hard Day’s Night,” the Beatles (this early live version isn’t as pronounced, but the visuals are great):
“Take It Easy,” the Eagles
“The Infernal Dance,” from “Firebird Suite,” Igor Stravinsky (at 0:26 seconds in):
“Benny and the Jets,” Elton John
“California Dreamin’,” the Mamas and the Papas (okay, so it’s a chord):
“Wedding March,” Felix Mendelsohn (again, a chord):
“Stairway to Heaven,” Led Zeppelin (a chord):
Have a great weekend,
Glenn
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