No-one beside me who may doubt
All of the words that I could chose to say
So listen, believe, or be gone from this day
I need a friend to walk with me
And sit in the shade of an old tree
To think nothing much, just agree with my thoughts
To say nothing much, never tell what I ought
This is a song that often comes into my mind. It's entitled "The Poet" and is by my favourite group Barclay James Harvest. It's a pastoral lyric that speaks of peace and tranquility. This proves that song lyrics can be whatever you want them to be because here is a description of those lyrics taken from the band's official website:
"The song was written in 1967, and is really having a go at the self-importance of `the artist' - that kind of 'sit next to me and listen but don't touch or criticise' attitude."
That really isn't what those lyrics say to me. To me it's an artist seeking peace through the friendship of others.
But that peace is shattered as the song morphs into the next one which is called After The Day and has the following lyrics:
The eyes of night march slowly by
The last grain falls
The kneeling man just sighs
Protected by the one great wall
Of coloured parts
He probes his clouded mind
If he takes a look around him
Is there nothing left to see
Is there nothing left at all
After the day
With trembling hands he wipes his eyes
He tries to stand
But does not feel the need
The morning sun shines on
The multicoloured cross
Left standing through it all
If he takes a look around him
Is there nothing left to see
Is there nothing left at all
After the day
The song ends with an explosion and together the two songs seem so apt with the invasion of Ukraine with peace being shattered by an Armageddon like disaster.
It was all very dramatic when I saw BJH for the first time in the early seventies. They finished with The Poet and After The Day which ended with the loud bang, loads of dry ice and the band disappearing from the stage and that was that. A dramatic end that I will never forget.
There's another line from a BJH song that always stays with me proving that even the most mundane lines can strike a chord (often literally).
"Sitting here, me and Chris's son,"
How simple is that but how much does it say? Two friends sitting down (I always imagine them overlooking Saddleworth Moor where the band come from) enjoying time together. It's a sad lyric as well. The song Delph Town Morn was written by lead guitarist John Lees. Chris' son is a reference to bass player Les Holroyd.
Many years later there was an acrimonious split between them - something that has never healed. Of the four original band members (Lees, Holroyd, Woolly Wolstenholme and Mel Pritchard), two (Wolstenholme and Pritchard) have died and the other two are not on speaking terms. This has resulted in two bands - John Lees' Barclay James Harvest and Barclay James Harvest Featuring Les Holroyd.
I don't think anyone knows what caused the split but Lees has referred to it obliquely in interviews along the lines of "somebody wasn't entirely truthful and did a bad thing and that's all I will say."
* * *
A few days ago I had a look through my favourite 100 tracks of all time and realised that most of them have a classical element, have been played as a piece of classical music or have distinctive elements of classical music within them.
Here is my top 10.
- Mockingbird - Barclay James Harvest
- MacArthur Park - Richard Harris
- Without You - Nilsson
- Woodstock - Matthews Southern Comfort
- Summer The First Time - Bobby Goldsboro
- There Only Was One Choice - Harry Chapin
- Meet Me on the Corner - Lindisfarne
- American Pie - Don McLean
- There But For Fortune - Phil Ochs
- Leader of the Band - Dan Fogelberg
Each one of these tracks would lend itself to a classical interpretation, although number six might be a challenge as it's about 13 minutes long. MacArthur Park is brilliant when played by a brass band.
Well that's it for today. For once I didn't have anything planned and I almost turned to football memories but I know sport alienates some of my readers, so I will keep that for another time.