Rock On, John!

In my last post, I mentioned John Lennon in passing, and that reminded me that he was also mentioned in passing in the moving new song by my friend John Watts, aka Fischer-Z, which I thought I'd share here. But first, a warning, there is "strong language" as it's euphemistically stated in parental advisory messages, which is to say that the song contains what is commonly considered a curse word, a fairly common one in the English language, here used to make a strong statement I might add.

Anyway, the video is over on YouTube under the title of L.U.T.W. with love & peace, and obviously the initials were needed because spelling out the "F" word would probably spell doom for the video. So, here it is:





And again, warning, warning (add "Will Robinson" here if you are of a certain age and remember the old Lost in Space TV program), because here are the lyrics which again include strong language:

I've had enough of this
I can't sit back and watch this go on any more
Mothers are crying children are dying people are lying lying and you know what?
Jesus and Mohammed never meant this...

People are so hung up on reporting what they call the news
and sending it in pictures around the world in to get 'views'
They support their position and call it the truth
We are becoming a world of voyeurs and ghouls..
We are becoming a world of voyeurs and ghouls..

No politician no general no army and no multinational party
Can put a stop to the escalation of this desperate situation.
There is no victory... the cost is inhuman
It's an insurmountable problem
Made by them, and with them and of them.
Till the forces of love can amalgam
We must love one another or die-
love one another or die

Once upon a time there was an angry man from Liverpool
Who was prepared to get naked and make himself vulnerable.
Prepared to go on the world's front pages
To hammer home an important message...
‘Love is all we need’ never changes.
ALL WE NEED IS LOVE ALL WE NEED IS LOVE

The news is rolling in 24-hours a day
it's virtually unavoidable
Searching for the next big big atrocity
Racing International

Fuddy-duddy Old school national news
struggle with the blogger,blogger propaganda views
Vengeance by the smartphone, hatred travels fast -
fascism and fatwas...
All fall down
Down from the mountain

10 years and countin’
Life’s endless fountain
LET'S UNFUCK THE WORLD!

International thought police struggle hopelessly
with the Internet Leviathan
Squeezes all the life out of truth & honesty
Within minutes… sometimes seconds

Governments and nations are knee-jerk to respond
to the fast unfolding media
Losing their perspective, Best interests slide & fall
Political Amnesia

All fall down
Down from the mountain

10 years and countin’
Life’s endless fountain
LET’S UNFUCK THE WORLD!

This is is no answer
Nothing is changing
it’s just rearranging this generation
The culture of self

Beyond everything else
Beyond ideals and dreamers... and innocent screamers
The Message is hatred
The message is terror
The Message is fear

For ever and ever
Fear begets aggression
Aggression begets conflict
Conflict begets pain, suffering and death.

And while I'm on the subject of John Lennon, I have to say that I was really moved by Bob Dylan's song, "Roll on John," from his outstanding 2012 album, Tempest. If you haven't heard it, here, give a listen:





I would assume that many of you have given up on Dylan a long time ago, but Tempest really is one of his best albums, at least of his post-60s work, up there with Blood on the Tracks in my opinion.





And here are the lyrics for "Roll on John":

Doctor, doctor, tell me the time of day
Another bottle's empty
Another penny spent
He turned around and he slowly walked away
They shot him in the back and down he went

Shine your light,
Move it on,
You burned so bright,
Roll on John

From the Liverpool docks to the red light Hamburg streets
Down in the quarry with the Quarrymen.
Playing to the big crowds
Playing to the cheap seats
Another day in your life on your way to your journey’s end

Shine your light,
Move it on,
You burned so bright,
Roll on John

Sailing through the trade winds bound for the sun
Rags on your back just like any other slave
They tied your hands and they clamped your mouth
Wasn’t no way out of that deep dark cave

Shine your light,
Move it on,
You burned so bright,
Roll on John

I heard the news today, oh boy
They hauled your ship up on the shore
Now the city’s gone dark
There is no more joy
They tore the heart right out and cut it to the core

Shine your light,
Move it on,
You burned so bright,
Roll on John

Put on your bags and get ‘em packed
Leave right now you won’t be far from wrong
The sooner you go, the quicker you’ll be back
You've been cooped up on an island far too long

Shine your light,
Move it on,
You burned so bright,
Roll on John

Slow down you’re moving way too fast
Come together right now over me
Your bones are weary you’re about to breathe your last
Lord, you know how hard that it can be

Shine your light,
Move it on,
You burned so bright,
Roll on John

Roll on John, roll through the rain and snow
Take the right hand road and go where the buffalo roam
They’ll trap you in an ambush before you know
Too late now to sail back home

Shine your light,
Move it on,
You burned so bright,
Roll on John

Tiger, Tiger burning bright
I pray the lord my soul to keep
In the forest of the night
Cover him over and let him sleep

Shine your light,
Move it on,
You burned so bright,
Roll on John

An interesting side note, at least interesting to me, is that the title of the song is almost the same as the title of a folk song Dylan sang back in 1962, before he went electric, "Roll On, John" (note the older title has a comma, while the John Lennon tribute doesn't, and yes, punctuation does make a difference).





Me, I like the one with the comma better...

So, let's lift a glass to Bob and the two Johns, rock and roll on, with love and peace, and let's repair the world!