Clouds

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Both Sides Now

Image by Gianluca from Pixabay

What a song!

I, like many, have long loved Joni Mitchell’s original recording of “Both Sides Now” — as well her later version with an orchestra.

Pianist (and engineer and mixer) Doug Hammer and I recorded our own version to accompany one of my sweetheart’s annual ART/Word group exhibitions.

The theme that year was BALANCE.

I was not in the greatest voice when we recorded our version, but Doug was able to polish things to a lovely sheen during our fixing/mixing process.

Image by Kanenori from Pixabay

This summer and fall I’ve been riding the train (actually the train + bus due to ongoing track repairs in Massachusetts to fix a sinkhole situation) a lot from Boston to Ithaca, NY — where a bunch of my family members (sisters, niece, grandniece, nephews, mother, and cousins galore) live.

This has given me plenty of time to gaze at passing scenery, and I have seen some extraordinary cloud formations.

At dusk they are often illuminated by the last rays of sun coming over the horizon, which makes them even more magical.

Deep breath in.

Image by Enrique from Pixabay

Deep breath out.

I love that “Both Sides Now” leaves the listener with no concrete answers.

Ms. Mitchell writes, “I really don’t know clouds (or love… or life…) at all.”

And I also love Ms. Mitchell’s description of falling in love — “Moons and Junes and Ferris wheels — the dizzy dancing way you feel — when every fairy tale comes real — I’ve looked at love that way.”

It immediately reminds me of my own history with that feeling — and how intoxicating and exhilarating it was…

Image by Duncan Dao from Pixaba

And I also remember how devastated I was when my various romances came to an end.

Ahh, love…

Ahh, loss…

Ahh, life…

Ahh, clouds…

Another deep breath in.

And deep breath out.

What are YOUR associations with this wonderful song?

Image by MF Gallery from Pixabay

I’d be honored to read any thoughts and feelings in the comments section below.

Thank you to Doug Hammer for being such a great musical ally for three decades.

And thank you for his wonderful, well-tuned Schimmel grand piano…

Thank you to Stephen C. Fischer for designing this lovely graphic.

Thank you to the talented photographers at Pixabay.

Thank you to Gretje Ferguson for taking this photo of me many years ago.

Photo by Gretje Ferguson

And thank YOU for reading and listening to this blog post.

You are welcome to click here and stream/like/playlist/share our version of Joni’s song.

And you can click here to visit my website if you are curious to learn more about my musical life here on planet earth.

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The Beauty All Around

crocus-yellow-closeup

Today I visited one of my favorite urban yards (near the intersection of Dana and Centre streets in Cambridge, MA) as I was biking home from a visit with my beloved acupuncturist.

The people who live there have planted an astonishing number of bulbs under a huge beech tree in front of their home.

Crous-Yellow-Bunch

Right now hundreds of snowdrops and crocii are blooming, as well as one tiny Siberian iris.

And even though the temperature was near 32 degrees Fahrenheit, I saw two little bees diligently visiting each crocus flower to gather tiny bits of pollen.

Amazing!

Crocus And Squirrel

The crocii have inspired me to share two different versions of a song I wrote a couple of years ago, “The Beauty All Around.”

Here’s a version I recorded last week with pianist/composer Doug Hammer.

 

I think this song originally sprang out of an excited realization that some of my favorite pop songs — such as “Viva La Vida” by Coldplay — were based on only four chords.

I am not sure when I came up with this particular four-chord progression — but I remember sitting at a picnic table next to a lake near Worcester, MA, when I started recording it.

It was a warm autumn afternoon, and I was attending one of my favorite congregations of human beings on planet earth, the Massachusetts Men’s Gathering.

Although I was not having the best time at my day job (as the lyrics attest…), I was happy and grateful to be sitting by the water, surrounded by trees and birds and sky and clouds.

Here is my original version, recorded using my trusty Apple laptop running GarageBand plus my small, blue ukulele.

 

If you are able to take the time to listen to both versions, you will notice how the lyrics have evolved a bit.

ps: If you are ever feeling down in the dumps and have access to the internet, just do a search for “crocus images.” So many colors! So much beauty! What a planet…