(Personal reflections
inspired by Beatles songs)
Song: “Beware of
Darkness”
Album: All Things Must Pass
Release Date: November
1970
Those who know me (or read this blog) are likely aware that my
musical interests are not averse to taking the proverbial elevator to the sadder,
deeper, darker, and soul-searching floors in the ‘tower of song’ (to use a
Leonard Cohen analogy). Yes, I love the upbeat, positive-energy stuff just as
much as anyone, but I can also immerse myself into heavy, heartbreaking music
like “Nothin” by Townes Van Zandt (about being desensitized), “Withered and
Died” by Richard and Linda Thompson (about betrayal), “Sail Away” by Randy
Newman (about the plight of African Slaves in the 18th century) or
“Our Town” by Iris Dement (about a hometown losing its character to over
development), among many others. Same goes for songs about the struggle to find
a deeper meaning in life (Pete Townshend’s “Keep Me Turning” and “Empty Glass”
come to mind). And so too the darker stuff such as “Dead!” by Carolyn Sullivan
(about suicide) and “The Future” by Mr. Cohen himself (which explores the
savage mindset of an amoral demagogue). Many of the Bob Dylan tracks I wrote
about (in my Master Blueprints series from two years ago) delve into
these territories as well, as do a handful of my Neil Young selections (my Forever
Young series from six years ago).
In relation to all this, the Beatles can be viewed as either at
the intersection of my generation’s broad musical interests or at the fork in
the road. I’ve learned over the years that music-lovers who are top heavy on
the Beatles (particularly their early stuff) and their Pop musical sound and style typically don’t delve too deeply into those aforementioned moodier song-story emotions. Afterall, the vast
majority of Beatles songs are love-centric and positive (although you can find
sadness, pain and soul searching in the lyrics of Fab songs such as “Long,
Long, Long”, “Yer Blues”, “Julia”, “Yesterday” and even “Let it Be”). One could
even make a good case for love songs being the Beatles schtick (not a bad
schtick to be labelled with if you ask me).
There is a lot more of the “moody” in the music of the Fab Four
though; one just has to turn to their solo stuff, particularly early 70’s compositions
by John Lennon and George Harrison. Lennon’s Plastic Ono Band and Imagine
albums have plenty of it (the very first thing you hear on Lennon’s first
post-Beatles release, Plastic Ono Band, is an ominous bell tolling just
before he launches into his aching song “Mother”). As for Harrison, one need
not look much further than his first solo foray, the triple-album set that is All
Things Must Pass, which is chock-full of it. And no song off that album
defines ‘deep, dark and soul-searching’ any better than “Beware of Darkness”. Despite
the heavy subject matter and the ominous title, it’s a downright lovely song ( https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pPuFDaPC5XM ).
Before I dissect “Beware of Darkness” a bit, an interesting
thought crossed my mind this week pertaining to how George Harrison wrote songs
that addressed the deep, dark, sad and soul searching aspects of our humanity.
Harrison consistently comes at sadness and pain from the perspective of having
conquered it. He writes and sings about these struggles in relation to others,
not himself. The yearning in his music was always for others to see the light.
This started with his lone contribution to Sgt. Pepper – “Within You Without
You” - but really manifested itself with “While My Guitar Gently Weeps”. Later,
this angle explodes on All Things Must Pass.
It’s an interesting perspective coming from someone who writes
music rooted in the Blues. Most of the musicians in the genera who sing deep
songs such as these are either lamenting missed opportunities, yearning for
something they can’t find or incriminating someone for getting in the way of
the enlightened path. Some may see Harrison’s style as preachy, but I never
have. If you are in the spiritual know, the best thing you can do is spread the
good word, yes? Jesus did it. Saint Paul
did it. Mahatma Gandhi did it. Martin Luther (and Martin Luther King) did it.
Bob Dylan still does it (taking it to “shouting from the rooftop” proportions
during his “Trouble No More” years in the late 70s and early 80s). And George
Harrison did it too. So too, many other missionaries, visionaries and
troubadours.
“Beware of Darkness” fits the mold of this George Harrison
approach to spiritual songwriting, and maybe even goes as far as defining it.
Harrison is imploring his listeners to heed his sing-song advice by steering
clear of earthly illusions. Each verse rolls out yet another troubled path to avoid
(falling swingers, thoughts that linger, soft-shoe shufflers, greedy leaders).
If you listen to the lyrics, I’m sure you can associate all of these failed paths
with some story you are aware of, be it personal or public-knowledge based. For
me, each verse came across this week as an assortment of Batman villains, be
they Jokers, Riddlers, Penguins, or Eggheads. Such characters personify the
negative quality traits in most of us.
When I remove all other thought and allow myself to completely
take in the essence of “Beware of
Darkness” there is no moment more poignant than in the bridge where Harrison
transitions from the warning in the title of the song to a second warning: ‘Beware
of sadness’; that it can hit you and hurt you, and then he pleads “that is
not what you are here for”. That
plea is so naked and pure. The studio version captures a beautiful moment in
the history of Rock and Roll, and it reaches out in the best way possible to
those Beatle-George lovers who are spiritually bereft (but seeking).
George Harrison is referring to teachings of Buddhism and Hinduism
in “Beware of Darkness”, but it’s all very consistent with the tenets of Christianity
as well (my Faith) which emphasizes a oneness with God to the sacrifice of
self. Throughout his discipleship (from the mid-60s on) George Harrison would emphasize
getting past the illusion of our modern world and to live in the moment. The past and future are of no matter. Again, consistency
with my Faith: Let the Spirit dwell within you. To do that you have to live in
the here and now. Only then can you be at peace.
In the part of the song where George Harrison is cautioning
against falling into the trap and allure of greed (more specifically “greedy
leaders”) he sings:
“They take you where you should not go
While Weeping Atlas Cedars
They just want to grow, grow and grow
Beware of darkness”
These lines have always been a bit cryptic for me (although I do
love songs that challenge you with the lyrics), but now I understand better. Atlas
Cedar (Cedrus Atlantica) are a species of North African cedar tree that can
grow quickly and to very large sizes (up to 130 feet). The analogy here is the image of a leader who
can never be satiated. The more he gets
the more he wants. Power tends to corrupt; absolute power corrupts
absolutely. The “weeping” adjective is a nice touch. Like the
Weeping Willow, Atlas Cedar branches droop. What Harrison could be referring to
here is that such power plays are not natural in the grand scheme of things. And
so, they ultimately weigh you back down on the edges.
One great thing about the Beatles is that they all came across as very
comfortable in their own skin. In other words, they were natural (as opposed to
those “greedy leaders”), and none of them more so than George. Of course, there
are many telling videos of this (few of us have been documented as much as the
Beatles). A favorite of mine is one from early in the Fabs stardom, where a fan
asks Harrison: “what do you and Ringo do while John and Paul are writing all
those songs”. George responds, “we play marbles” ( https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5JhQeiGAnOk ).
It’s not only what he says, but how he says it. George Harrison is
very straight faced and relaxed. Not a hint of envy (towards John & Paul) in
his voice. Despite his age (he was only 20 years old at the time), it’s a
rather world-weary response. Although this is a comedic clip and predates
Harrison’s formal relationship to his chose faith path, it’s a tiny bit of harbinger
of that path.
George Harrison was already living in the moment.
- Pete
No comments:
Post a Comment