March On & Hallelujah

"March on, March on...

Alfred Eisenstaedt

... with hope in your heart

And you'll never walk alone.

No, you'll never walk alone."

This song, by Rogers and Hammerstein, just popped into my head... it came from nowhere, but I know better.

It came from the usual place... my subconscious, where my deepest thoughts and feelings reside until they're made transparent in the form of a song that's played again and again in my head, or hummed, or sung out loud. Apparently these issues need to simmer awhile, come to a boil, then burst into recognizable tunes.

Like the time my husband Michael and I had a huge argument, which thankfully doesn't happen often, and I caught myself singing,... "Mama, he treats your daughter mean... he's the meanest man I've ever seen."

"Is that all there is? If that's all there is my friends, then let's keep dancing... let's break out the booze and have a ball... if that's all there is", which surfaces whenever routines become tiresome, as in, 'same old', 'same old'.

Or when problems lack solutions, and I'm subliminally made aware of the words... "let it be... let it be... there will be an answer... let it be", by The Beatles, or "Sha la la la la la live for today... and don't worry 'bout tomorrow", by The Grass Roots.

This happens all the time... life's dramas played out in song.

Crazy?... maybe, but true.

I first sang this Rogers & Hammerstein show tune in the choir, in front of an audience, led by our jr. high school music teacher, Mr. Cherry. I don't remember much about him except for his name that conjures up delightful images of ice cream sundaes with whipped cream and yes, cherries on top, and this song about facing adversity and finding the strength to carry on. Sung in 3 part harmony and built to a powerful crescendo, this compelling piece, when finished, left many sniffling and others sobbing in tears.

I like singing... to myself... and I'm pretty good at carrying a tune, which was once written as a comment on a report card by my elementary school teacher... to which my dad in his usual wit, replied... "But where does she carry it to?"

Which brings up a good point. Why exactly am I carrying this tune?

Perhaps it's the weather, cold and gray, and now torrential rain that has me indoors far too long and in need of encouragement.

Or maybe it's the words to the song, "March on", the name of this month, and the necessity to forge ahead with another idea for another new post.

But, as usual, I've messed up the words. "March on" should really be..."Walk on".

I may like to sing, but I'm rubbish with lyrics.

Michael, with his vast knowledge of things, noticed my mistake and 'Google' confirmed it. Here are the actual words to "You'll Never Walk Alone" and its message of perseverance.

Joseph Szymanski

"When you walk through a storm hold your head up high

And don't be afraid of the dark.

At the end of the storm is a golden sky

And the sweet silver song of a lark.

Walk on through the wind,

Walk on through the rain,

Tho' your dreams be tossed and blown.

Walk on, walk on, with hope in your heart

And you'll never walk alone,

You'll never, ever walk alone."

George Brassai

And speaking of perseverance...

This month marks the one year anniversary of 'HERE and NEXT', my blog, started on March 28, 2012!

It's a real accomplishment for me, an Aries, who's great at starting projects, but lousy on endurance and finishing things. I can't believe I actually wrote and completed '20' posts! Wow! All I can say is... HALLELUJAH!!!

..."It goes like this

The fourth, the fifth

The minor fall, the major lift

The baffled king composing Hallelujah

Hallelujah, Hallelujah

Hallelujah, Hallelujah"

From the song "Hallelujah", by Leonard Cohen

"It's a song about total surrender and total affirmation", Cohen said, and added, "The world is full of conflicts and full of things that can not be reconciled, but there are moments when we can transcend the dualistic system and reconcile, and embrace the whole mess, and that's what I mean by Hallelujah. That regardless of what the impossibility of the situation, there is a moment when you open your mouth and you throw open your arms and you embrace the thing and you just say... Hallelujah!"

I recently ran my own marathon with Leonard Cohen. For days I played nothing but his music on CD, watched his 'Live in London" performance and "I'm Your Man" on DVD, as well as read two books about his life and music, "I'm Your Man:The Life of Leonard Cohen", by Sylvie Simmons and "The Holy or The Broken", by Alan Light.

When you're indoors, being strongly affected by weather and other moody circumstances, there's nothing better than having a comrade in 'solemnness' at your side.

Leonard Cohen

When once asked by Bob Dylan how long it took to write "Hallelujah", Leonard replied, "A couple of years", too embarrassed to give an answer that was closer to 5 years and enough verses to fill 80 notebooks. "I remember being in the Royalton Hotel, in New York, on the carpet in my underwear, banging my head on the floor and saying, I can't finish this song." "My trouble is that before I can discard a verse, I have to write it. I have to work on it and I have to polish it and bring it as close to finished as I can. It's only then that I can discard it."

Talk about perseverance! Thankfully, my posts, even with all the editing, could never take that kind of time or this blog would never have been started.

So now having just completed my '21st' post... with open arms I embrace these seemingly endless gray days, surrender, and simply say..."Hallelujah!"

Do you have a favorite song?... or one you find yourself singing again and again?

Have you ever had a life experience made memorable by a song... maybe your first love, a favorite place, a special event?

I'd love to hear about it.

To hear "When You Walk Alone", by John Barrowman of the BBC sci-fi series Torchwood go here.

There are many covers of Leonard Cohen's "Hallelujah". Take your pick.

Leonard Cohen's version here.

Jeff Buckley's version here.

K.D. Lang's version here.

Rufus Wainwright's version here.

John Cale's version here.

Happy Anniversary to me... Happy Anniversary to me

Happy Anniversary, Dear 'HERE and NEXT'... Happy Anniversary to me!

And thanks to all of you who faithfully read and hopefully enjoy this blog.

"A BIG THANK YOU!"

XOX...Dyan