Blog #14--Stones, Wonder Lyrics Amaze
- dreamtime3
- Dec 8, 2014
- 3 min read
Blog #14 --Stones, Wonder Lyrics Amaze, by Jack Tuttle http://dreamtime3.wix.com/jacktuttlebook
The Rolling Stones have enjoyed long-term success as a rock-and-roll group. Mick Jagger, Keith Richards and the rest continue to produce quality songs as they age, but I doubt any will have more meaning to me than “You Can’t Always Get What You Want” and “Sympathy for the Devil.” The lyrics of these two songs reinforce major points in my book “It’s a Secret, So Pass It On: a Toolbox For Life.”
There is a big difference between wants and needs, yet most of us confuse the two. Placing wants in the “must have” category does us a disservice, implying we have a multitude of survival needs and will perish if they’re not all met. However, our daily minimum requirements for survival are few, and our wants are many. We can do without the latter, but we often act like our wants and needs coincide. The Rolling Stones correct our misperception.
I won’t break copyright laws to share exact lyrics of the songs mentioned in my book. But “You Can’t Always Get What You Want” is a truism. So is its follow-up phrase, which will lack specificity here. If we are alive, our true needs are being met, at least for the moment. The Stones song reminds us to care more about our needs than our wants and encourages us to trust Nature, which abhors a vacuum and equalizes imbalances.
“Sympathy for the Devil” may turn off religious zealots, who equate going to a “heaven” after we die with a hatred for a devil that would punish us in a fiery “hell.” But it reminds us, like we stated in our book, how we all have devilish traits that are equivalent to those we claim to dislike. We can’t blame others for things we might have done had we been them, even something we call evil, like murder. If we were standing in their shoes, we might behave the same way. Forgiving ourselves and others is possible once we embrace this concept.
While many of Stevie Wonder’s songs are significantly different than those of the Stones, he also inserts profound thoughts within popular songs. For instance, “Superstition” is a direct approach to solving the problem of superstitious thoughts and actions. He makes no bones about the problems we create for ourselves by believing in things with minimal basis for those beliefs. It is energizing musically, so no doubt many overlook the meaning of the lyrics. But they are well worth savoring.
I am most surprised by Wonder’s lyrics in the song “Higher Ground.” He actually makes a case for reincarnation and how justice can be balanced over multiple lifetimes. As wonderful as he has been as a song writer and entertainer, Wonder ponders the possibility he is simply trying to give of himself to balance destructive behaviors from a previous life. If you’ve never heard the lyrics to this song, I encourage you to look them up at accredited websites.
Wonder also collaborated with former Beatle Paul McCartney to produce a song called “Ebony and Ivory.” If a piano’s keys can have both black and white elements, according to Wonder and McCartney, so can society. It is a moving appeal for an end to racism.
It has special meaning on a personal level as well. I played basketball at a nearby park facility up until the age of 40. One day, there were just ten of us in the gym, so we decided to play a full court game instead of toiling at one of the side baskets. During the game, the song “Ebony and Ivory” was played on the speaker system. I looked around, and the two teams were equally divided between white and black players.
We were all united by a love for basketball, so we were all getting along famously. It seemed as though we were part of an elaborate dance, an interplay of spiraling energies that attracted us to that location on that day and provided the magical moment. It felt like we were part of a bigger picture, one that sets an example of how the world works when it is in balance. I would have enjoyed that day regardless, but having the song reinforce the action was especially memorable.
I encourage those with interest to explore the words to these songs and others by the Rolling Stones and Stevie Wonder. They are exceptional teachers for those ready to learn.
Comments and questions can be directed to dreamtime@insight-books.com
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