We Three: My Echo, My Shadow and Me - The Ink Spots

Reverie. Random Thoughts. Down memory lane. 

Timely for me to find this old song I love at YouTube... from one of my childhood favourite popular singing groups: The Ink Spots.

The song:  "We Three (My Echo, My Shadow, and Me)" by The Ink Spots. 

 

The song tells a story of a person who feels isolated and alone, despite the presence of their "echo," "shadow," and the "me". 

Through all of the feelings of loneliness and longing for companionship and love, the romantic in some of us somehow continuously wait for someone to join us in our solitude, even if it takes eternity. 

Ah, relationships are never easy, always a challenge. Loneliness and longing for a connection are always a part of life.  

About the Ink Spots:

The Ink Spots was an African-American vocal group prominent in the late 1930s and ’40s. Along with the Mills Brothers, they were one of the first African-American groups to reach both black and white audiences. The Ink Spots exerted great influence on the development of the doo-wop vocal style. The principal members were Orville (“Hoppy”) Jones, Charles Fuqua, Ivory (“Deek”) Watson, Bill Kenny, Jerry Daniels, Herb Kenny, and Billy Bowen.

Formed in 1932 as the King, Jack and the Jesters, the group became the Ink Spots when they relocated to New York City. After Herb Kenny replaced original member Daniels, the group began a slow evolution toward its distinctive sound. In 1939 the Ink Spots scored a huge hit with “If I Didn’t Care,” on which Bill Kenny’s tenor lead contrasted with Jones’s deep bass. Among their many hits in the 1940s were “Address Unknown,” “My Prayer” (later rerecorded by the Platters), “Into Each Life Some Rain Must Fall” (a collaboration with Ella Fitzgerald), “We Three,” “To Each His Own,” and “The Gypsy.” The Ink Spots were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1989.

My other favourite song of The Ink Spots was "Into Each Life Some Rain Must Fall", with Ella Fitzgerald.  

Resource: 

The Ink Spots. Encyclopaedia Britannica (Online). Article by Amy Tikkanen. Accessed January 16, 2024.

 

(c) January 16, 2024. Tel. Leaves from my Musings. All rights reserved. 

My Butterfly

        Listening Pleasure

"When a man has a yearn to be free, He will sail to the end of the sea.
I won't be gone too long but while I travel on, Just fold your wings and wait for me"  

- Danyel Gerard, Butterfly -

"Butterfly" is a pop song, written and recorded by the French singer-songwriter, Danyel Gérard in the late 1960s. It was initially a hit in the French language.

In the early 1970s English language words were written, and Gérard recorded it again in the U.S. Later, he also did German, Spanish and Italian versions. "Butterfly" was a very popular song internationally, selling over seven million copies. Many other musicians recorded it, both in instrumental and vocal versions.

Video links: 

Butterfly English version.  YouTube, uploaded by jakethepen. Accessed August 13, 2021.  

Butterfly French version with lyrics. YouTube, uploaded by RomanCestMoi. Accessed August 13, 2021.

On Reflection...

Butterflies are powerful representations of life. They are not only beautiful, but also a metaphor representing spiritual rebirth, transformation, change and hope. 

 

For the butterfly's metamorphosis from the common, colorless caterpillar to the exquisite winged creature of delicate beauty, it has become a metaphor for transformation and hope; across cultures, it has become a symbol for rebirth and resurrection for the eventual triumph of the spirit over our physical confinement.

Lyrics (English)

You are bright as a night full of moon

Butterfly you have left much to soon

You have found you have wings and now you wish to fly

Please don't go, oh please don't say good bye.

 

Butterfly, my Butterfly now I know you must be free

Butterfly, don't flutter by, stay a little while with me.

 

In your mind there's someone far away

And you'll miss all the fun if you stay

You believe that love is elsewhere to be found

But you're wrong, it's here, just look around.

 

Butterfly, my Butterfly now I know you must be free

Butterfly, don't flutter by, stay a little while with me.

 

Look around, look around and you'll see

Better loved then by me you won't be

And if you fly away you break my heart in two

Please don't go -- I'm so in love with you.

 

Butterfly, my Butterfly now I know you must be free

Butterfly, don't flutter by, stay a little while with me.

Butterfly, my Butterfly now I know you must be free

Butterfly, don't flutter by, stay a little while with me.

Butterfly, my Butterfly now I know you must be free

Butterfly, don't flutter by, stay a little while with me.

https://lyricstranslate.com

Fell in love in the wink of an eye
With a girl who was called butterfly
She said she loved me so
She could not let me go
But still I had to say goodbye

Butterfly, my butterfly
I'll come home to you one day
Butterfly, my butterfly
Wait for me, don't fly away

Never fly in the heat of the sun
Fold your wings when the long day is done
Stay home and wait for me till I get back and then
Counting the minutes one by one

Butterfly, my butterfly
I'll come home to you one day
Butterfly, my butterfly
Wait for me, don't fly away

When a man has a yearn to be free
He will sail to the end of the sea
I won't be gone too long but while I travel on
Just fold your wings and wait for me

Butterfly, my butterfly
I'll come home to you one day
Butterfly, my butterfly
Wait for me, don't fly away

Butterfly, my butterfly
I'll come home to you one day
Butterfly, my butterfly
Wait for me, don't fly away

Butterfly, my butterfly
I'll come home to you one day
Butterfly, my butterfly
Wait for me, don't fly away

Source: muzicum: Danyel Gerard, Butterfly, English version (1975)

You are bright as a night full of moon

Butterfly you have left much to soon

You have found you have wings and now you wish to fly

Please don't go, oh please don't say good bye.

 

Butterfly, my Butterfly now I know you must be free

Butterfly, don't flutter by, stay a little while with me.

 

In your mind there's someone far away

And you'll miss all the fun if you stay

You believe that love is elsewhere to be found

But you're wrong, it's here, just look around.

 

Butterfly, my Butterfly now I know you must be free

Butterfly, don't flutter by, stay a little while with me.

 

Look around, look around and you'll see

Better loved then by me you won't be

And if you fly away you break my heart in two

Please don't go -- I'm so in love with you.

 

Butterfly, my Butterfly now I know you must be free

Butterfly, don't flutter by, stay a little while with me.

Butterfly, my Butterfly now I know you must be free

Butterfly, don't flutter by, stay a little while with me.

Butterfly, my Butterfly now I know you must be free

Butterfly, don't flutter by, stay a little while with me.

https://lyricstranslate.com

Lyrics  (French)

 

Butterfly, my butterfly
Dans un mois je reviendrais
Butterfly, my butterfly
Près de toi je resterais

 

Tu me dis loin des yeux, loin du cœur
Tu me dis qu'on oublie le meilleur
Malgré les horizons
Je sais qu'elle m'aime encore
Cette fille que j'avais surnommée

 

Butterfly, my butterfly
Dans un mois je reviendrais
Butterfly, my butterfly
Près de toi je resterais

 

Notre amour est si grand, oui si grand
Que le ciel y tiendrait tout dedans
Malgré ce que tu dis
Je sais qu'elle m'aime encore
Cette fille que j'avais embrassée

 

Butterfly, my butterfly
Dans un mois je reviendrais
Butterfly, my butterfly
Près de toi je resterais (encore une fois et-)

 

Butterfly (my butterfly), 

my butterfly (my butterfly)
Dans un mois je reviendrais
Butterfly (my butterfly), 

my butterfly (my butterfly)
Près de toi je resterais (une dernière fois)

 

Butterfly (my butterfly), 

my butterfly (my butterfly)
Dans un mois je reviendrais
Butterfly (my butterfly), 

my butterfly (my butterfly)
Près de toi je resterais

 

Ça va venir, hein

Butterfly, my butterfly
Près de toi je resterais.

 

Source: Musixmatch

Songwriters: Ralph Bernet / Danyel Gerard / Howard Barnes

Butterfly lyrics © Penny Farthing Music, Arlovol Music, Moebetoblame Music, Crazytown Music, Hipgnosis Songs Fund Limited

 

Resource:

 

Butterfly (Danyel Gérard song). en.wikipedia.org

 

 

(c) August 13, 2021. Tel. Leaves from my Musings. All rights reserved.  

Dante's Prayer

        Listening Pleasure

Video: 

Loreena McKennitt Dante's Prayer with lyrics.  YouTube, uploaded by HaveFaithNH. Accessed July 1, 2021.  This is a very popular song entitled "Dante's Prayer" written by Canadian born Loreena McKennitt.  

 

On Reflection... What the song means. 

I'm featuring this song as it personally speaks to me, enriches. Music or a song has a personal meaning for everyone.  I found a wonderful insight from my collected notes. I can't properly credit his/her name as it was only signed as 'roblel'. Thank you Roblel. 

Roblel, as I will address him (or her), was fortunate to see Loreena McKennitt in concert at Massey Hall in Toronto in the late 90's; that prior singing her songs, she would often relate to the listening audience what inspired her to write it. As best as I can recall, this, according to Roblel, was how Loreena's "Dante's Prayer" song came about. 

Loreena travels the world extensively to find inspiration for her music whereby she exposes herself to different cultures. On the occasion of her inspiration for "Dante's Prayer", she was riding on a trans - Siberian train and indeed reading Dante Alighieri's famous The Divine Comedy. She recounted that since there was no dining car on the train, it would stop at various towns along the way and the riders were given exactly 20 minutes to leave the train and buy food from the locals who lived in the town and would come to the train to greet and sell to the passengers. 

This would have happened perhaps once or twice throughout the day.

There was an attendant on the train, a woman, who would come around and seem grumpy and rather miserable. At first, Loreena dismissed her demeanor as one of culture. 

One time, after Loreena had re-boarded the train having bought food from the locals, the same attendant came by. Loreena stopped her and gave her some of the food she had bought, as a simple act of kindness. The woman remarked with a surprised smile and a countenance that reminded Loreena about the story that she was reading in the Dante's Divine Comedy.

In that moment, Loreena found her muse for the song, thought she would never forget the look of gratitude on the attendant's face, almost certain no one else had taken the time to consider the woman as she travelled back and forth, day after day, and year after year, through the dark harshness of Siberia. 

From that one kind gesture, Loreena McKennitt's song was born: "Dante's Prayer". 

Lyrics

 

When the dark wood fell before me
And all the paths were overgrown
When the priests of pride say there is no other way
I tilled the sorrows of stone

 

I did not believe because I could not see
Though you came to me in the night
When the dawn seemed forever lost
You showed me your love in the light of the stars

 

Cast your eyes on the ocean
Cast your soul to the sea
When the dark night seems endless
Please remember me

 

Then the mountain rose before me
By the deep well of desire
From the fountain of forgiveness
Beyond the ice and the fire

 

Cast your eyes on the ocean
Cast your soul to the sea
When the dark night seems endless
Please remember me

 

Though we share this humble path, alone
How fragile is the heart
Oh give these clay feet wings to fly
To touch the face of the stars

 

Breathe life into this feeble heart
Lift this mortal veil of fear
Take these crumbled hopes, etched with tears
We'll rise above these earthly cares

 

Cast your eyes on the ocean
Cast your soul to the sea
When the dark night seems endless
Please remember me.

 

Source: LyricFind

Dante’s Prayer lyrics © O/B/O Apra Amcos

 

 

(c) July 2021. Tel. Leaves from my Musings. All rights reserved.  

Solitude: gracious and benign

"When from our better selves we have long
Been parted by the hurrying world, and droop.
Sick of its business, of its pleasures tired.
How gracious, how benign, is Solitude."   

The Prelude by William Wordsworth, excerpt from Book IV, "Summer Vacation," Lines 354-370.

I embrace solitude. It frees my mind up from all the distractions of everyday life. I turn inwards then become renewed. This sense of renewal I can turn outwards again and again ... so everyday life will continue afresh.  

Solitude allows my body to catch up with my mind. It allows my brain to have a rest.

Solitude prevents me from burnout, which occasionally happens when I'm subjected to prolonged, intense, and unresolved stress. 

Solitude enhances my creativity as it frees my mind up from menial distractions and allows it to focus more on what's more important. Exactly why artists - painters, musicians, writers, sculptures - spend a lot of time alone. 

Almighty God doesn't get people out of our life at random. He has plans. 

Listening pleasure:  W.A.Mozart: Clarinet concerto in A major, K.622 with Nadja Drakslar.

 

 

 

(c) June 14, 2021. Tel. Leaves from my Musings. All rights reserved.

I am... I said

Listening Pleasure / Reveries 

The past days I've been gravitating on this old song "I am... I said",  popularised by Neil Diamond. Self-isolating and physical-distancing due to Covid pandemic crisis have been challenging to many people living especially for one living alone. 


"I Am... I Said" is a song written and recorded by Neil Diamond. Initially, it was quite unsuccessful, released as a single album (Stones)  on March 15, 1971. It slowly climbed the charts. 

Video Credit:

I am I said - Neil Diamond (with lyrics). YouTube. Uploaded by Jack Lim. Accessed August 6, 2020. Live performance at the Aquarius Theatre in Los Angeles. 1988.


Resource:

I Am... I Said. Wikipedia.  Accessed August 6, 2020.  



(c) August 2020. Tel. Leaves from my Musings. All rights reserved.  

Good-bye again

We have loved and gave too much but nothing seemed good enough. I'm reminded of something a great South American poet Pablo Neruda said in one of his poems on Farewell and sorrows ... 

"So play the waltz of the serene moon,
the barcarole in the water of the guitar,
until my head lolls dreaming:

that all the sleeplessness in my life weaved
this arbour where your hand lives and flies
watching over night of the sleeping traveller."

We learn to leave softly and quietly. Move on from where we are not appreciated. I will no longer impose myself where my shadow is not needed.   

Listening pleasure: 

Since my youth, many moons ago, I've loved this piece.  Johannes Brahms' Symphony No. 3, Op. 90 "Poco allegretto" 3rd movement. Uploaded by Jack Gibbons. Accessed May 7, 2018.  With the Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra conducted by Sir John Barbirolli, recorded December 1967. Another version of this 3rd movement is performed by SNU Symphony Orchestra.

Soundtrack from movie Goodbye Again (1961). "Say no more, it's Good-bye", sung by Diahann Carol. Music by Georges Auric and Johannes Brahms. Lyrics by Dory Previn. 

Say no more its goodbye 

As before its goodbye 

Every move, every sigh 

Seems to prove its goodbye again.

Say no more its goodbye 

As before its goodbye 

I can tell, save the lie 

Its farewell and goodbye again my love.

So why deny you will leave me

You have in the past 

If it isn't the first time 

It wont be the last.

Say no more its goodbye 

As before its goodbye 

Every move, every sigh 

Seems to prove its goodbye again 

Say no more its goodbye 

As before its goodbye 

Its my fate, this I know 

I must wait 'til you say hello again.

Note: Aimez-vous Brahms (Do you like Brahms?) is a novel by Françoise Sagan, first published in 1959. It was published in English in 1960, and was made into a film under the title Goodbye Again in 1961 starring Ingrid Bergman and Anthony Perkins.

(c) May 2018. Updated May 7, 2020. Tel. Autumn Reflections. All rights reserved.

From travels and sorrows

"From travels and sorrows I returned, my love,
to your voice, to your hand flying on the guitar,
to the fire that with kisses interrupts the Fall,
to the circling of the night in the sky.

For all men I ask for bread and kingdom,
I ask for land for the farmer without fortune,
let no one expect respite from my blood or my song.

But I cannot quit your love without dying.

So play the waltz of the serene moon,
the barcarole in the water of the guitar,
until my head lolls dreaming:

that all the sleeplessness in my life weaved
this arbour where your hand lives and flies
watching over night of the sleeping traveller."

~ Pablo Neruda ~

Thanks to a Swiss friend, Ilse, who shared this poem at Facebook.


(c) May 2020.  Tel. Leaves from my Musings. All rights reserved.

I'll take you home again, Kathleen

An old loved song came rushing by. All because I wanted to listen to Mendelssohn's Violin Concerto in E minor, 2nd movement ...


"I'll Take You Home Again, Kathleen" is a popular song written by Thomas P. Westendorf in 1875. The music is loosely based on Felix Mendelssohn's Violin Concerto in E Flat Minor Opus 64 Second Movement. In spite its German-American origins, it is widely mistaken to be an Irish ballad. In fact, for many years it's what I thought too.

Westendorf, then teaching at the reform school known as the Indiana House of Refuge for Juvenile Offenders in Hendricks County, Indiana, wrote it – apparently – for his wife, whose name was Jennie, ot Kathleen. In a way, it's a kind of "answer" to a popular ballad of the time, "Barney, Take Me Home Again," composed by Westendorf’s close friend, George W. Brown, writing under the nom de plume of George W. Persley.

Melancholy... full of memories.  




Video Credit:

 Jim Finnegan - I'll Take You Home Again Kathleen. Uploaded by mihaireal. Accessd April 26, 2020

Resources: 

I'll Take You Home Again, Kathleen. Wikipedia. Accessed April 26, 2020. 

(c) April 2020. Tel. Autumn Reflections. All rights reserved.

Sniffed out from my past journals (2)

Something worthwhile I've done, and still doing, whilst in social distancing due to COVID-19. I've managed to clean-up and re-organise my 21 journals, including to-dos, rumblings, quotes, moment-outburst, raw notes, all sorts... nota bene. This will be an on-going activity, but hereon, better organised. In this post, I have sniffed them out from these past journals as a process of re-organising - my own thoughts, and quotes from my readings, from watching TV or from listening to a favourite radio program.

There's nothing satisfying hearing someone say something exactly what we want to say, or reading the right words that reinforces what we believe in. Or letting out pent-up sentiments. Liberating. Healing.


Continued from 'Sniffed out from my past journals, Part 1'

When you read a line that is so well-written, you just close the book and stare at the wall for a minute... I don't know with you, my mind occasionally go wild with fantasies, other times, I'm stilled, quieted at the thought of what becomes of the character I so relate to.

Nowadays, I find life getting more complicated. We can only hope for the best. I'm rapt listening to one of my favourite Tchaikovsky music Symphony No. 6 "Pathetique". This particular music is sad, melancholy. It makes me think about life, myself, what I've done... where I am going. In musical  terms, thank God for the beautiful adagio in the first movement that brings gentle harmony to the chaos of living represented by molto allegro and more turbulent allegro vivace in the succeeding movements. When my emotions overwhelms, I rumble a lot, and takes a while to quiet down. Like Tchaikovsky's music, I look forward  relishing the Finale's 'adagio lamentoso', mournful, yes, but still a beautiful adagio.     

Some music touch us in powerful ways and leave an impression that makes us change our outlook in life. The various musical movements goad me to rethink and re-evaluate my life  journey. For instance, Tchaikovsky's "Pathetique" parallels to my journey, dramatic twists and turns in life. Meanwhile, I'm enjoying the moment, and grabbing the inspiration from this beloved maestro's enchanting creation that has meant much through the years.   

Listening:

Tchaikovsky: Symphony No. 6 "Pathétique" / hr-Sinfonieorchester (Frankfurt Radio Symphony Orchestra) ∙ Lionel Bringuier, Dirigent ∙ Accessed April 27, 2020.   

Inspired Pen rests... 

(c) April 13, 2020. Tel. Leaves from my Musings. All rights reserved.

(c) April 2020. Tel. Leaves from my Musings. All rights reserved.

Sniffed out from my past journals (1)

Something worthwhile I've done, and still doing, whilst in social distancing due to COVID-19. I've managed to clean-up and re-organise my 21 journals, including to-dos, rumblings, quotes, moment-outburst, raw notes, all sorts... nota bene. This will be an on-going activity, but hereon, better organised. In this post, I have sniffed them out from these past journals as a process of re-organising - my own thoughts, and quotes from my readings, from watching TV or from listening to a favourite radio program.

There's nothing satisfying hearing someone say something exactly what we want to say, or reading the right words that reinforces what we believe in. Or letting out pent-up sentiments. Liberating. Healing. 


* The true profession of a man is to find his way to himself..." - Hermann Hesse

* Time is like a river. You cannot touch the same water twice because the flow that has passed will never pass again. Enjoy every moment of your life.

* Gene Kelly did it best! Walking and singing in the rain is fun especially with rain a bit warm. Or running away from the waves on the beach one lovely day. Sensations! That's what makes it fun. Simply enjoy. Don't think.

* Voltaire: "Life is a shipwreck, but we must not forget to sing in the lifeboats."  

When a loved one dies, we don't want to let go, but we have to let go. We move on, for our life is for the living, BUT we don't forget, for they are loved ones who left us.

The beautiful  thing about memories is that they are ours whether they are good or bad. They belong to us, no matter where we are now. 

*Friendship. True pleasure consists not in the multitude of friends, but in the worth and choice.

* Every one and then, we deserve some fun. How much fun choco is! Instead of how to lose those pounds in two weeks.  

Mark Twain:

"You can't depend on your eyes when your imagination is out of focus."

"Good friends, good books and a sleepy conscience. This is the ideal life."

Colin Powell: "A dream doesn't become reality through magic, it takes sweat, determination and hard work."

Maya Angelou: "My mission in life is not merely to survive, but to thrive, and to do so with (some) passion, (some) compassion, (some) humor, and (some) style.

The sea. The relentless sea! Not just the beach but the ocean - simultaneously calming and energising, inspiring and rejuvenating. (Whilst musing over the sea, allow me to indulge my senses with one of my favourite concerts with Sydney Philharmonia Choirs: A Sea Symphony by Ralph Vaughan Williams, based from the poem of the same name, by famous American poet - Walt Whitman. Here's a link from YouTube - A Sea Symphony.  Unfortunately our performance has no video recording. (Thanks to uploader Colin). 

This writing pen deserves a rest to withdraw from seemingly tireless thoughts.

(c) April 2020. Tel. Leaves from my Musings. All rights reserved.

Mahler's "Ich bin der Welt abhanden gekommen"

Reveries / Music to Reflect on

Jessye Norman sings "Ich bin der Welt abhanden gekommen" (O garish world, long since thou hast lost me ) - from Rückert Lieder

Rückert-Lieder (Songs after Rückert) is a collection of five Lieder for voice and orchestra or piano by composer Gustav Mahler, based on poems written by Friedrich Rückert. The songs were first published in Sieben Lieder aus letzter Zeit (Seven Songs of Latter Days). 

This is recorded at Avery Fisher Hall with Zubin Mehta and the New York Philharmonic. Performed at the opening of the 1989-90 season. (Note: In Wikipedia, Ich bin der Welt adhanden gekommen is the third song and not the fifth, as mentioned in the caption.)

Lyrics:
(Source: Musixmatch)

Ich bin der Welt abhanden gekommen,
Mit der ich sonst viele Zeit verdorben,
Sie hat so lange nichts von mir vernommen,
Sie mag wohl glauben, ich sei gestorben!

Es ist mir auch gar nichts daran gelegen,
Ob sie mich für gestorben hält,
Ich kann auch gar nichts sagen dagegen,
Denn wirklich bin ich gestorben der Welt.

Ich bin gestorben dem Weltgetümmel,
Und ruh' in einem stillen Gebiet!
Ich leb' allein in meinem Himmel,
In meinem Lieben, in meinem Lied!

(bit more English translation) 

I am lost to the world,  
Ich bin der Welt abhanden gekommen,

With which I used to waste a lot of time,  
Mit der ich sonst viele Zeit verdorben,

It hasn't heard from me for so long  
Sie hat so lange nichts von mir vernommen,

It may think that I died! 
Sie mag wohl glauben, ich sei gestorben!

I don't care at all  
Es ist mir auch gar nichts daran gelegen,

Whether I'm thought to be dead  
Ob sie mich für gestorben hält,

I also can't say anything against  
Ich kann auch gar nichts sagen dagegen,

Because I really died in the world. 
Denn wirklich bin ich gestorben der Welt.

I died in the middle of the world,  
Ich bin gestorben dem Weltgetümmel,

And rest in a quiet area!  
Und ruh' in einem stillen Gebiet!

I live alone in my sky  
Ich leb' allein in meinem Himmel,

In my love, in my song! 
In meinem Lieben, in meinem Lied!

***

I am lost to the world  
with which I used to waste so much time,
It has heard nothing from me for so long
that it may very well believe I am dead!

It is of no consequence to me whether it thinks me dead;
I cannot deny it,
for I really am dead to the world. 

I am dead to the world's tumult,
And I rest in a quiet realm!
I live alone in my heaven,  
In my love and in my song!

Video Credit:

Jessye Norman "Ich bin der Welt abhanden gekommen" Ruckert Lieder 5/5.  Uploaded by Gr8hopio. Accessed January 17, 2020.

Resource:

Rückert-Lieder. Wikipedia. Accessed January 17, 2020. 


(c) January 17, 2020. Leaves from my Musings. Tel. All rights reserved. 

New Year 2020 Reflections

Reflections  / Musings

Passing end-of-year reflections while looking forward to a new year

I respect the wonderful memories of my past, but most especially at this point in time of my life,  I refuse to cling to it, for in doing so I make myself unavailable to the present.  

Listening:  

Joni Mitchell - Both Sides, Now [Original Studio Version, 1969].  Accessed January 2, 2020.
Mary Hopkin - Those Were The Days - 1968. Accessed January 2, 2020. 


A new year is upon us once again. This time it's 2020. New decade too. New beginning. A chance to make things right.

Was it a year ago, and other years before that we fought our to-dos including over-spending and gluttony - and miserably failed? Oh, those moments' motivated resolutions to be better... only to break them in a matter of time, some less than a day or two.

Through the festive season I started to spend time reflecting on the past year, and the lessons it may teach me. This year, I've learned few but significant things from those experiences and messages, thanks in part, to Facebook.  Events and interactions certainly have been suitable pointers. Enormous waste of time and energies, dealing with the wrong people and group/s, not to mention stressors. Even common interests don't warrant true friendships.   

Lesson?  To not take anything for granted.

Know thyself and really know what you want, where your sense of comfort lies.

If we can truly reflect on our past year, on the things we treasure and the values we hold, do something about them, we are moving towards a better, fulfilling new year.  N'est ce pas?


(c) January 2020. Tel. Leaves from my Musings. All rights reserved.

Somewhere in Time

Listening Pleasure / Reveries 

Not all those who wander are lost...  


Somewhere in Time is a 1980 American romantic fantasy drama film directed by Jeannot Szwarc. It is a film adaptation of the 1975 novel Bid Time Return by Richard Matheson, who also wrote the screenplay. The film stars Christopher Reeve, Jane Seymour, and Christopher Plummer.  Reeve plays Richard Collier, a playwright who becomes obsessed with a photograph of a young woman at the Grand Hotel. Through self-hypnosis, he wishes himself back in time to the year 1912 to find love with actress Elise McKenna (portrayed by Seymour), but comes into conflict with Elise's manager, William Fawcett Robinson (portrayed by Plummer), who fears that romance will derail her career and resolves to stop him.

The film is known for its musical score composed by John Barry. The 18th variation of Sergei Rachmaninoff's Rhapsody on a Theme of Paganini also appears several times.





Video Credit.

Maksim - Somewhere in Time. Uploaded by Mattyb2001uk. Accessed December 30, 2019.


Resource:

Somewhere in Time (Film). Wikipedia.  Accessed December 30, 2019. 



(c) Dec 2019. Tel. Leaves from my Musings. All rights reserved. 

Jacqueline du Pré plays von Paradis 'Sicilienne'

Listening Pleasure / Reflections 


Jacqueline du Pré (1945-1987) plays "Sicilienne", composed by Maria Theresia von Paradis. Accompanied by Gerald Moore on the piano.  (Note: Sicilienne in E-flat major for violin and piano is ascribed to Paradis. However it is dubious and possibly composed by its purported discoverer, Samuel Dushkin. [Wiki]

For this page, I'm not really after a debate on the actual composer, but I've created this page for my mood's listening pleasure and for reflections.   

Lonely is not being alone, it's the feeling that no one cares.



Uploaded by Jake. Accessed December 6, 2019. 



(c) Dec 6/2019. Tel. Leaves from my Musings. All rights reserved. 

Day's Quotes

Reflections

19 Nov 2019.

"I can see the sun, but even if I cannot see the sun, I know that it exists. And to know that the sun is there - that is living." ~ Fyodor Dostoyevsky

Walk Away

Down Memory Lane


Music: Walk Away by Matt Monro

Lyrics

Walk away, please go
Before you throw your life away
A life that I could share for just a day
We should have met some years ago
For your sake I say
Walk away, just go.

Walk away, and live
A life that's full
With no regret
Don't look back at me
Just try to forget
Why build a dream that cannot come true
So be strong, reach the stars now
Walk away, walk on.

If I heard your voice
I'd beg you to stay
So don't say a word
Just run, run away.

Goodbye my love
My tears will fall
Now that you've gone
I can't help but cry
But I must go on
I'm sad that I after searching so long
Knew, I loved you, but I told you
Walk away, walk on, walk on

Source: LyricFind

Songwriters: Ramin Djawadi

Walk Away lyrics © Universal Music Publishing Group


Video Credit:
Walk Away with Lyrics. Uploaded by Eliz MaLind. Accessed October 21, 2019. 



(c) October 21, 2019. Tel. Leaves from my Musings. All rights reserved. 

Try to Remember

Listening Pleasure. Reveries.


30 Sept 2019. As September sunsets - a farewelling of my birth-month of ups and downs, sadness and joys, disappointments and realisations. And welcoming a new month. October. Second chances... new beginnings.

"Try To Remember", sung by Nana Mouskouri.

This song is about nostalgia from the musical comedy The Fantasticks. Lyrics written by lyricist & librettist Tom Jones.

Try to remember the kind of September when life was slow and oh, so mellow
Try to remember the kind of September when grass was green and grain was yellow
Try to remember the kind of September when you were a tender and callow fellow
Try to remember and if you remember then follow

Try to remember when life was so tender that no one wept except the willow
Try to remember when life was so tender that dreams were kept beside your pillow
Try to remember when life was so tender that love was an ember about to billow
Try to remember and if you remember then follow

Bridge Over Troubled Waters

Comfort.

Composed by Paul Simon and performed as a solo by Art Garfunkel, “Bridge Over Troubled Water” is a song about providing comfort for someone in need. 

Even when clouds are clearing and we are feeling better, a crisis may overwhelm. There are times when "friends just can't be found". When this happens I breathe deeply, look to my higher power for strength, keep faith and listen for nudges or messages that are coming through... it could be a help from someone unexpected or a situation that turns out as a blessing-in disguise. 

This song is a great comfort. 

Bridge over Troubled Water

By Simon & Garfunkel

"When you're weary, feeling small
When tears are in your eyes, I'll dry them all
I'm on your side, oh, when times get rough
And friends just can't be found
Like a bridge over troubled water
I will lay me down
Like a bridge over troubled water
I will lay me down.

Self-Esteem Quotes

Give. But don't allow yourself to be used.  
Love. But don't allow yourself to be abuse.
Trust. But don't be naive.  
Listen. But don't lose your own voice.

"Find your passion.
Without passion, you don't have energy.
Without energy, you have nothing." ~ Warren Buffet

Positive Perspective

Quotes I treasure through time.

"Someday, after we have mastered the winds, the waves, the tide and gravity, we shall harness for God the energies of love. Then, for the second time in the history of the world, man will have discovered fire." ~ Teilhard de Chardin.