Make new friends but keep the old
One is silver, the other gold
=====================================
http://ethelred.vox.com/library/audio/6a00c225267788549d00e398a0c9ad0002.html
“Heart of My Heart”, I love that melody
“Heart of My Heart”, brings back that memory
When we were kids on the corner of the street
We were rough and ready guys
But oh how we could harmonise
Heart of My Heart, meant friends were dearer then
Too bad we had to part
I know a tear would glisten
If once more I could listen
To that gang that sang “Heart of My Heart”
I found the melody of this old song again on my computer when I was looking for something else and thought that it was worth sharing.
They certainly don't write and sing songs like this anymore that harmonise. This song was old when I was young. It brings back memories when my sisters and I were sent to the Pakuranga Health Camp because we did not have enough to eat at home. We sang this song ( one amongst many) when waiting to eat. ( It seems that I still don't have enough to eat) This song brings back happy memories of Bruce, my good friend I made at the Health Camp. We still keep in touch.
We had to drink some horrible medicine like Cod Liver Oil that was supposed to make us healthy. Also we had to drink milk which I HATE and makes me puke !! I tipped mine onto the grass when the nurses weren't looking. We had toast and marmite, which I liked but my sisters didn't. So, I used to eat theirs and give them my rice milk pudding- ugh!! However I did get to like bananas and custard which didn't taste like milk. (In those days, I think they didn't know much about enzymes and that some Asians have no tolerance for raw milk)
Most of the nurses were kind, but one used to beat the kids with the buckle end of her belt. The Matron was very strict and had a name that suited her. Years later I saw a TV comedy where the woman in charge of a German prison of war camp had a similar name.
The matron's deputy had a very odd first name. I couldn't believe it when I saw her name on my health report. Her parents must have had some strange ideas for names. I must dig out my old health reports next time I go back to NZ
The school teacher, Mr Snelling was nice and kind. A real gentleman. I looked him up some years later but never kept up the association, which I now regret as it is too late.
(Life is full of regrets and lost opportunities to let people know how much they mean to you. Mark Twain wrote something like "When I was seventeen I thought my father an idiot. When I was twenty-seven, I was amazed at how much the old fool had learned in ten years."
Mr Snelling taught us the song
I met an old beggar all tattered and torn
He was eating the grass on my front garden lawn
So I said to him "Sir, if you're hungry and wanting a snack
The grass grows much longer around at the back"
Fortunately, we didn't have to eat grass.
Last year I went back to the Health Camp to look around. I had difficulty finding it because it wasn't there any more. It used to be farmland but now the land has been developed for very expensive houses. Where do disadvantaged kids go to now?
I finally found what was left of the Health Camp. It only takes in a few children now as it is on a very small piece of land with not much grounds for the children to play. It seems that money is more important now than the health of the nation's
children.
Friday, August 24, 2007
John Denver
The good thing about being semi-retired (= still looking for a job) is that I now have time to read and think about life (and death) and on what I have achieved and failed (mostly failed).
I have always liked John Denver’s music. Now that I have had time to listen to music again, I was curious about his life. It was a breath of fresh air to read what he had accomplished and how he had used his talents to help people and the conservation of planet Earth.
My thoughts have long been similar to that of John Denver, but he had the courage to act on his. I think his thoughts on religion must be close to mine. God the Creator is found in the awesome majesty of mountains and the serenity of lakes, not in tacky edifices such as the crystal cathedral with its artificial glitz and glam, the shibboleth and sham.
Reading about Denver’s life and listening to his music shows how far standards and morality have slipped in 30 years.
Calypso John Denver
http://ethelred.vox.com/library/audio/6a00c225267788549d00e3989f9a5a0002.html
To sail on a dream on a crystal clear ocean,
to ride on the crest of a wild raging storm
To work in the service of life and living,
in search of the answers of questions unknown
To be part of the movement and part of the growing,
part of beginning to understand,
Aye Calypso the places you've been to,
the things that you've shown us, the stories you tell
Aye Calypso, I sing to your spirit,
the men who have served you so long and so well
Hi dee ay-ee ooo doo-dle oh - oo do do do do do doo-dle ay yee - doo-dle ay ee
Like the dolphin who guides you, you bring us beside you
To light up the darkness and show us the way
For though we are strangers in your silent world
To live on the land we must learn from the sea
To be true as the tide and free as a wind swell
Joyful and loving in letting it be
Aye Calypso the places you've been to,
the things that you've shown us, the stories you tell
Aye Calypso, I sing to your spirit,
the men who have served you so long and so well
Hi dee ay-ee ooo doo-dle oh - oo do do do do do doo-dle ay yee - doo-dle ay ee
he dee Ay-ee - Hi dee oh ooo - hi dee ayee - hi dee oh ooo
http://www.lyricsdepot.com/John-Denver/calypso.html
Click on the link http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Denver for an awesome account of Denver’s life. For Wikipedia to have so much written about him, shows how much he was respected.
The following is a brief extract from Wikipedia.
================================================================
John Denver (December 31, 1943 – October 12, 1997), born Henry John Deutschendorf, Jr., was an American folk singer-songwriter and folk rock musician who was one of the most popular artists of the 1970s. He recorded and released some 300 songs, about half of which he had composed, and was named Poet Laureate of Colorado in 1977.
Denver's songs were suffused with a deep and abiding kinship with the natural world. Songs such as "Take Me Home, Country Roads", "Leaving on a Jet Plane", "Calypso", "Annie's Song", "Thank God I'm A Country Boy", and "Rocky Mountain High" are popular worldwide. Denver has been referred to as "The Poet For the Planet", "Mother Nature's Son" (based on The Beatles song he covered) and "A Song's Best Friend".
Denver was a Christian in his early life, raised as a Presbyterian, and converted to Lutheranism, but he often said he shared many beliefs with Zen Buddhists. He also felt he had a connection with the indigenous people of North America.
In 1977, he co-founded The Hunger Project, along with Werner Erhard and Robert W. Fuller. Denver served for many years, and supported the organization until his death.
He was also appointed by President Jimmy Carter to serve on the President's Commission on World Hunger. He wrote and dedicated the song "I Want to Live" as the theme song for the Hunger Project.
In 1979, he performed "Rhymes & Reasons" at the Music for UNICEF Concert, which gained him exposure to worldwide audiences. Royalties from the concert performances were donated to UNICEF.
Denver was a supporter of the Democratic Party, and a number of charitable causes for the environment, the homeless, the poor, the African AIDS crisis, and hunger. He founded the charitable Windstar Foundation in 1976 to promote sustainable living. His dismay at the Chernobyl disaster led to precedent-setting concerts in parts of communist Asia and Europe.
His outrage at the conservative politics of the 1980s was famously expressed in Denver's autobiographical folk rock ballad Let Us Begin (What Are We Making Weapons For). Denver was also critical of the Republican-dominated Congress and American Conservatism of the 1990s.
He denounced the National Rifle Association (NRA) as a corrupt political machine that could buy off politicians. He wrote to the media opposing oil drilling in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge, and battled to expand the refuge in the 1980s.
As his career slowed down, Denver focused more on humanitarian and sustainability work. He worked extensively on conservation projects and helped to create the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge in Alaska.
Denver also toured Russia in 1985, met with Communist Party luminaries at every opportunity, and returned two years later to perform at a benefit concert for the victims of the Chernobyl accident.
In October 1992, he undertook a multiple city tour of Communist China, shaking hands and meeting with Communist Party leaders through every city. Denver also released the "Homegrown" CD of his greatest hits to raise money for charities helping the homeless.
On October 12, 1997, Denver was killed when the Long-EZ aircraft he was piloting crashed just off the coast of California at Pacific Grove.
Upon announcement of his death, Governor Roy Romer of Colorado ordered all Colorado flags to be lowered to half-staff to honor Denver. He was cremated alongside his 1910 Gibson guitar that his grandmother had given him, and subsequently inspired much of his legacy.
Denver's life was celebrated at funeral services at Faith Presbyterian Church in Aurora, Colorado on October 17, 1997. His ashes were scattered in the Rocky Mountains.
I have always liked John Denver’s music. Now that I have had time to listen to music again, I was curious about his life. It was a breath of fresh air to read what he had accomplished and how he had used his talents to help people and the conservation of planet Earth.
My thoughts have long been similar to that of John Denver, but he had the courage to act on his. I think his thoughts on religion must be close to mine. God the Creator is found in the awesome majesty of mountains and the serenity of lakes, not in tacky edifices such as the crystal cathedral with its artificial glitz and glam, the shibboleth and sham.
Reading about Denver’s life and listening to his music shows how far standards and morality have slipped in 30 years.
Calypso John Denver
http://ethelred.vox.com/library/audio/6a00c225267788549d00e3989f9a5a0002.html
To sail on a dream on a crystal clear ocean,
to ride on the crest of a wild raging storm
To work in the service of life and living,
in search of the answers of questions unknown
To be part of the movement and part of the growing,
part of beginning to understand,
Aye Calypso the places you've been to,
the things that you've shown us, the stories you tell
Aye Calypso, I sing to your spirit,
the men who have served you so long and so well
Hi dee ay-ee ooo doo-dle oh - oo do do do do do doo-dle ay yee - doo-dle ay ee
Like the dolphin who guides you, you bring us beside you
To light up the darkness and show us the way
For though we are strangers in your silent world
To live on the land we must learn from the sea
To be true as the tide and free as a wind swell
Joyful and loving in letting it be
Aye Calypso the places you've been to,
the things that you've shown us, the stories you tell
Aye Calypso, I sing to your spirit,
the men who have served you so long and so well
Hi dee ay-ee ooo doo-dle oh - oo do do do do do doo-dle ay yee - doo-dle ay ee
he dee Ay-ee - Hi dee oh ooo - hi dee ayee - hi dee oh ooo
http://www.lyricsdepot.com/John-Denver/calypso.html
Click on the link http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Denver for an awesome account of Denver’s life. For Wikipedia to have so much written about him, shows how much he was respected.
The following is a brief extract from Wikipedia.
================================================================
John Denver (December 31, 1943 – October 12, 1997), born Henry John Deutschendorf, Jr., was an American folk singer-songwriter and folk rock musician who was one of the most popular artists of the 1970s. He recorded and released some 300 songs, about half of which he had composed, and was named Poet Laureate of Colorado in 1977.
Denver's songs were suffused with a deep and abiding kinship with the natural world. Songs such as "Take Me Home, Country Roads", "Leaving on a Jet Plane", "Calypso", "Annie's Song", "Thank God I'm A Country Boy", and "Rocky Mountain High" are popular worldwide. Denver has been referred to as "The Poet For the Planet", "Mother Nature's Son" (based on The Beatles song he covered) and "A Song's Best Friend".
Denver was a Christian in his early life, raised as a Presbyterian, and converted to Lutheranism, but he often said he shared many beliefs with Zen Buddhists. He also felt he had a connection with the indigenous people of North America.
In 1977, he co-founded The Hunger Project, along with Werner Erhard and Robert W. Fuller. Denver served for many years, and supported the organization until his death.
He was also appointed by President Jimmy Carter to serve on the President's Commission on World Hunger. He wrote and dedicated the song "I Want to Live" as the theme song for the Hunger Project.
In 1979, he performed "Rhymes & Reasons" at the Music for UNICEF Concert, which gained him exposure to worldwide audiences. Royalties from the concert performances were donated to UNICEF.
Denver was a supporter of the Democratic Party, and a number of charitable causes for the environment, the homeless, the poor, the African AIDS crisis, and hunger. He founded the charitable Windstar Foundation in 1976 to promote sustainable living. His dismay at the Chernobyl disaster led to precedent-setting concerts in parts of communist Asia and Europe.
His outrage at the conservative politics of the 1980s was famously expressed in Denver's autobiographical folk rock ballad Let Us Begin (What Are We Making Weapons For). Denver was also critical of the Republican-dominated Congress and American Conservatism of the 1990s.
He denounced the National Rifle Association (NRA) as a corrupt political machine that could buy off politicians. He wrote to the media opposing oil drilling in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge, and battled to expand the refuge in the 1980s.
As his career slowed down, Denver focused more on humanitarian and sustainability work. He worked extensively on conservation projects and helped to create the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge in Alaska.
Denver also toured Russia in 1985, met with Communist Party luminaries at every opportunity, and returned two years later to perform at a benefit concert for the victims of the Chernobyl accident.
In October 1992, he undertook a multiple city tour of Communist China, shaking hands and meeting with Communist Party leaders through every city. Denver also released the "Homegrown" CD of his greatest hits to raise money for charities helping the homeless.
On October 12, 1997, Denver was killed when the Long-EZ aircraft he was piloting crashed just off the coast of California at Pacific Grove.
Upon announcement of his death, Governor Roy Romer of Colorado ordered all Colorado flags to be lowered to half-staff to honor Denver. He was cremated alongside his 1910 Gibson guitar that his grandmother had given him, and subsequently inspired much of his legacy.
Denver's life was celebrated at funeral services at Faith Presbyterian Church in Aurora, Colorado on October 17, 1997. His ashes were scattered in the Rocky Mountains.
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