You May Say He's A Dreamer
http://www.southcountytimes.com/Articles-i-2010-12-17-172599.113118-You-May-Say-Hes-A-Dreamer.html
12/17/2010
by Don Corrigan
A packed house on Dec. 7 listened to a "John Lennon Remembered"
concert at the Community Music School in Webster Groves. My daughter
was kind enough to join me for the memorial concert to the fallen Beatle.
Five years ago, at age 13, Christa wouldn't have considered going.
She was reading Heavy Metal mags. She dismissed the Beatles as
schmaltz. She frequently was found howling System of a Down lyrics -
"Banana banana banana terracotta banana terracotta terracotta pie!"
It was much more pleasant now to see her appreciating Beatles' lyrics
for "In My Life," such as - "Though I know I'll never lose affection
/ For people and things that went before / I know I'll often stop and
think about them / In my life I love you more..."
For boomers at the event, I suspect the songs brought memories of
school buddies in garage bands trying to be like the Beatles. Love
songs may have brought back the discomfort of those first, difficult
romances - "When you say she's looking good / She acts as if it's
understood / She's cool, ooh, ooh, ooh, Girl... Ahh, Girl..."
Of course, the iconic creation that brought tears to many in the
house at the memorial concert was "Imagine," sung so beautifully by
Kiersten Rose - "Imagine all the people / Living life in peace / You
may say I'm a dreamer / But I'm not the only one..."
As I looked at my teen daughter, I thought of the world her
generation must soon come to terms with. That troubling thought makes
Lennon's words all the more poignant.
"Imagine" was in an era of a futile war in Vietnam, of Richard M.
Nixon unleashing the FBI on anti-war folks like Lennon, of My Lai and
dirty tricks, cover-ups and Watergate.
However, there was a light at the end of the dark tunnel back then.
The Watergate scandal was exposed by two young reporters, whose work
was captured in "All The President's Men." That film inspired a new
phalanx of idealistic reporters. After the fall of Nixon, Congress
cut funding for the Vietnam debacle, the carnage finally ended, and
the troops came home.
How far have we come since those days of "Give Peace A Chance?" As
Lennon asks: "And so this is Christmas / And what have we done?"
The country is at war again: Two conflicts this time. At least one of
the wars was based on faulty intelligence or subterfuge. A movie that
does well exploring war accountability issues, "Fair Game," is little
more than a boutique film for the few ethically concerned. The
economy is hurting. No one seems much interested in accountability
for recent malfeasance.
Still, there remains that music of hope and inspiration - to try to
do better. Steve Schenkel, the man behind the Dec. 7 Lennon concert
in Webster, hopes to do a memorial concert for Beatle George
Harrison's music next year. "My Sweet Lord," bring it on!
.
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