A Romantic New Year

This Ulkranian  song is based on a traditional folk chant. It was associated with the coming New Year which, in pre-Christian Ukraine, was originally celebrated with the coming of spring in April. (This explains the reason why the original Ukrainian text speaks about a swallow returning and lambs being born.)

With the introduction of Christianity to Ukraine, and the adoption of the Julian calendar, the celebration of the New Year was moved from April to January,

The original Ukrainian text tells the tale of a swallow flying into a household to proclaim the plentiful and bountiful year that the family will have.^[ The title is derived from the Ukrainian word for "bountiful". The period for the birth of animals and the return of swallows to Ukraine, however, does not correspond to the current calendar season of winter.

In Ukraine, the chant is currently sung on the eve of the Julian New Year.

   So to all who wish to smile and celebrate the Joy that love brings, Happy New Year !!! 

I LIve for You

The  translation of the Italian title of this song, "Vivo Por Lei" is  "I  Live for You". This song can have a double meaning. Surely, it describes the love of a woman. But the musical metaphors abound, so it can also I mean I live for  music.
         "I live for her because she makes my soul vibrate so strongly."
   When you love someone, all your thoughts are filled with that person.  Your life of waiting for the right person is now fulfilled. Listen to this song.
   He sings in Italian, she sings in German.
This duet is bursting with happiness and joy. EnjoyI 

Don't Know Why

   The eyes remember what the hands have held. ~ Diane Ackerman



You will be on my mind forever sings Norah Jones. I  think those we love are always around us, whether  we are kneeling in the driest sands or sailing across the infinite ocean.
What a beautiful song to remember all the love we have been given in this world.

  The song asks a question, "I don't know why I left you?"  Nor are there any clear answers  in this poem by Conrad Aiken below.  The beauty of these words and images will be everlasting. Our heart can understand these beautiful blessings.   The soundscape experienced with all the senses of love "is more than music."


Bread and Music
by Conrad Aiken

Music I heard with you was more than music,
And bread I broke with you was more than bread;
Now that I am without you, all is desolate;
All that was once so beautiful is dead.

Your hands once touched this table and this silver,
And I have seen your fingers hold this glass.
These things do not remember you, belovèd,
And yet your touch upon them will not pass.

For it was in my heart you moved among them,
And blessed them with your hands and with your eyes;
And in my heart they will remember always,—
They knew you once, O beautiful and wise.

The Three Gifts

"Life is the first gift, love is the second, understanding is the third."    ~Marge Piercy


 When the three wise men came to celebrate the birth of Jesus, they brought with them three gifts. Maybe that is the right number we should give to each other. The greatest gift is love. Love comes unwrapped and in all the colors of the world.
    
Look at the puzzle below. What are the first three words you see. I saw:

                          Love , You,  Time.
More time with the one you love. I guess that says it all.

Simply as the title says. The first three words you see are what you want in life. What do you see?

             

My Country

    The tragic events of the mass shootings in Newtown, Connecticut remind me of the sudden ways that love can be taken from us. Our greatest gift is our children. The death of a child reminds us of the brevity of life and the importance of love.  In the aftermath of unspeakable horror, some experts say we should tell our children that we love them. That seems obvious. But what I think we should tell them is that we are listening. That we have had enough of these senseless and violent acts and that we intend to do something.
    Can we make our schools safer?
Should we outlaw ownership of multiple weapons?  How do assault weapons enter into the United States?  Who are the sellers of these guns?  Where are they bought and sold?  These are some of the early questions.

   If we learn to listen, we may be able to change the world.  When I first heard "Ma vlast" (the title means "My Country") written by the composer Smetana,  I was moved by its massive beauty and lyricism.  It is a musical interpretation of the path of the Moldau River, that runs through the city of Prague, Czechoslovakia.  He uses "splashes of melody and musical devices to evoke the brooks and creeks." I later read that this musical piece is one of the 1,000 Recordings To Hear Before You Die. During the years he spent writing and scoring Ma vlast,  Smetana completely lost his hearing.
   Our country, The United States of America, must no longer be deaf. We should hear the cries of those poor children and do something to change the world. Not just for them but for all the children in our future. Then, and only then, what comes out of deafness can be transformative and beautiful.

26 Angels

There are no words of comfort to ease the pain of America and the death of little innocent children and teachers by a violent madman. The insanity sickens me.

    Maya Angelou has written a poem of grief and loss called "When Great Trees Fall."

And the artist Jenn Bostic sings about the death of her father in "Jealous of the Angels". Tonight I can only think about the death of 26 angels at the Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Connecticut and the parents and families who loved them. They must carry that pain for the rest of their lives. Perhaps with time they will remember with grief and gratitude. ( Read the poem here).

Two Hearts

The Japanese word for heart in the romantic sense is kokoro.
In the medical sense, the Japanese word for heart is  sinzou.

   Each of has two hearts within us - the one that beats and the one that loves. Listen to this beautiful and relaxing  piano music called "Koko" by the artist Ryuichi Sakamoto.


"The original title was meant to be kokoro (heart). Sakamoto himself said that at a concert."

The Native Americans also believed there are two hearts within us. Read this story below about the Two Wolves.

A Native American grandfather was talking to his grandson. He said, “I feel as if I have two wolves fighting in my heart. One wolf is the vengeful, angry, discontented one. The other wolf is the loving, compassionate, happy and contented one.” The grandson asked him, “Which wolf will win the fight in your heart?” The grandfather answered: “The one I feed.”

Flowers in December

   When  you find the person you love, it is like receiving a gift of flowers in December. Suddenly, the darkness vanishes and a more bright and beautiful world appears. Flowers are an unexpected gift in  December. They are wonderful symbols of love and add a welcome warmth to the frosty season.
You cannot grow flowers in the ground in December, so they are also symbols of love that will survive the freezing  cold.
 
     The December birth flower is the Poinsettia. The story of  how the  Poinsettia became associated with Christmas is described below.

    Also known as the Mexican flame leaf or Christmas star or Noche Buena , the poinsettia, is a plant known for its striking red displays at Christmas time. It is often used as a floral Christmas decoration because of its festive colors. Poinsettias are native to southern Mexico and Central America, where they may reach heights of sixteen feet. They are named after Joel Roberts Poinsett, the first United States ambassador to Mexico, who introduced the plant in the U.S. in 1825.

A Mexican legend explains how poinsettias came to be associated with Christmas. Apparently, a child who could not afford a gift to offer to Christ on Christmas Eve picked some weeds from the side of a road. The child was told that a humble gift, if given in love, would be acceptable in God's eyes. When brought into the church, the weeds bloomed into red and green flowers and the congregation felt they had witnessed a Christmas miracle.

     Look again at the person you love. That love began as something special and now is as beautiful as a poinsettia. I hope you always have flowers in December.

 

   

Simple Things

This time of year and really everyday, it's important to stop and look at the things we take for granted in life. For me this romantic piano music is one of the ultimate love songs. The song is Simple Things written by Jim Brickman and Beth Nielsen Chapman.

    Beth is a survivor of breast cancer.  This song is a form of emotional medicine (Chapman's words) that can help you heal through the start of winter.

Take the time to appreciate the simple things that are right in front of you.. "The first leaves off the tree/ The way you look at me."

Lyrics to Simple Things

SIMPLE THINGS (Jim Brickman / Beth Nielsen Chapman)

Hey, time won't wait
Life goes by
Every day's a brand new sky
Every tear
Comes to dry
All that really matters in this crazy world
Is you and I together, baby
Just remember

The first leaves off the tree
The way you look at me
A thousand chiming church bells ring
The simple things are free
The sun, the moon, the stars
The beating of two hearts
How I love the simple things
The simple things just are

So here we go
Let's just dance
Teach my soul to take this chance
Put my heart
In your hands
Out of all the moments that we leave behind
Turn around and tell me baby
We'll remember

The thunder and the rain
The way you say my name
After all the clouds go by
The simple things remain
The sun, the moon, the stars
The beating of two hearts
How I love the simple things
The simple things just are

Oh, the ocean and the sky
The way we feel tonight
I know that it's the love that brings
The simple things to life
The sun, the moon, the stars
The beating of two hearts
I love the way the simple things
The simple things just are
I love the way the simple things
The simple things just are
The simple things just are
The simple things
Just are 

The Serenades

A serenade is a musical performance given to honor or express love for someone.

It comes from the Italian root words sereno (peaceful) and sera (evening). The lover usually sings a song at night in the open air for the beloved, in most cases, beneath  the lover's window.
   The selection for tonight is entitled "The Serenade" by Michael Lington.

  Another Serenade is from the poem "Indian Serenade" by the Romantic Poet Percy Bysshe Shelley.

The Indian Serenade             I ARISE from dreams of thee   In the first sweet sleep of night, When the winds are breathing low,   And the stars are shining bright. I arise from dreams of thee,          5   And a spirit in my feet Hath led me—who knows how?   To thy chamber window, Sweet! The wandering airs they faint   On the dark, the silent stream—   10 And the champak's odours [pine]   Like sweet thoughts in a dream; The nightingale's complaint,   It dies upon her heart, As I must on thine,   15   O belovèd as thou art! O lift me from the grass!   I die! I faint! I fail! Let thy love in kisses rain   On my lips and eyelids pale.   20 My cheek is cold and white, alas!   My heart beats loud and fast: O press it to thine own again,   Where it will break at last!

These two serenades are similar, one in a restaurant and the other beneath the chamber window of his sweet love. In a  nightclub, we sit in darkness and listen to singers or musicians cheer us with sweet sounds, like a nightingale or poet's words. The melody of a musician, moves us and softens us, and we know not why. Both serenades  are beautiful expressions of love.
The night air is more beautiful after reading and listening to theses selections.
    Are you lifted from the grass when you think about the one you love? Doesn't it feel sometimes that you can float or fly?
Who knows how? Click on the title of the poem and let the audio reading serenade you, just like music.

A Good Companion

All romantics dream of a better life, a better love. Not just for themselves, but for everyone. Bruce Springsteen wants us to "get ready" for that romantic and spiritual journey. This time "the train" is not just looking for passengers for freedom and liberty (like The Underground Railroad), but for hope and love.
   The Land of Hope is the United States of America, the spot that immigrants dreamed of as they came through Ellis Island.

We must continue to have dreams of hope and love. "Once you allow yourself to dream, you can’t go back. Once you buy into the risk of a new tomorrow, a different, hopefully better future, going back is for people with less intestinal fortitude."  The second verse of Bruce Springsteen's song continues:

I will provide for you

And I'll stand by your side

You'll need a good companion for

This part of the ride

Leave behind your sorrows

Let this day be the last

Tomorrow there'll be sunshine

And all this darkness past

Big wheels roll through fields where sunlight streams

Meet me in the Land of Hope and Dreams.

Who makes up the community in the Land of Hope and Dreams?    Everyday folks.  You and me.  Nobody special, but that’s what makes us and the Land of Hope and Dreams so beautiful –we’re all welcome. 

Bruce Springsteen invite us to get on board with him. He turns to the crowd and calls: "Hop on this train. Let me see your hands." In so doing, he joins the pantheon of other dreamers whose quotes are listed below. These poets/dreamers all share one thing in common: a love for this world and the people in it, no matter whether you are saints or sinners. Say "Amen" somebody.

You may say I'm a dreamer,

but I'm not the only one, 

I hope some day you'll join us,

And the world will be as one.

   ~JOHN LENNON, Imagine

We are such stuff

As dreams are made on, and our little life

is rounded with a sleep.

  ~WILLIAM SHAKESPEARE, The Tempest

They who dream by day are cognizant of many things 

which escape those who dream only by night.

 ~EDGAR ALLAN POE, "Eleonora"

My Only Love

"According to Aristotle, certain conditions must be present for friendship to exist. First, friends must have souls.  Individuals who cannot experience and express emotion—especially love—cannot experience friendship. Second, friendship must be mutual, with both parties expressing equal respect and compassion for each other. Onesided friendships usually end quickly. Each party must “look out for” the other party and conduct themselves in the other's best interest. Finally, friendship is more than reciprocated good will, meaning one must reach a deeper relationship than merely wishing good fortune to another individual.

Using these aspects of friendship, Aristotle devised 4 different levels of friendship. The first 2 types of friendship are quite similar varieties of incomplete friendship. Friendships at these levels are based on one's own utility and personal gain. People engage in these relationships based on how they can benefit from what other individuals have to offer.

The third type of friendship is solely for pleasurable reasons. This type of friendship often exists within young adults looking to gain pleasurable experiences in life. However, as people age, their pleasurable wishes change, and relationships of this level disband.

The final category of friendship is the deepest and most fulfilling. Complete friendship is the friendship of good people with similar virtue. These people are best friends and wish good fortune toward each other for each other's own sake. This type of friendship lasts many years, as good nature and similar vices are timeless. However, though this form of friendship is most valued, it is also most rare."

   The deepest love and affection for another person is also the one that is impossible to forget. In this song,  written by Bryan Ferry, he sings about a love that is timeless. Remember me, he says, remember me.

Roxy Music My Only Love Lyrics

Do I ever wonder? 
More than words can say 
Heaven knows it´s hard enough to pray 
Let me tell you something 
There´s a change in me 
Even now you´re gone you´ll always be 
My only love 
Does it seem so funny 
For a fool to cry? 
Do you know the meaning of goodbye? 
There´s a river flowing 
By a willow tree 
When you need to know remember me 
My only love 
Let me tell you something 
More than words can say 
But they´re all I have, no other way 
There´s a river flowing 
By a willow tree 
When you find you´re there remember me 
My only love

The Book of Love

   Whenever anyone asks me what I would like as a gift. I usually answer, "A book".
That's a little vague, so sometimes I say, "A poetry book". 
  After listening to this song called "The Book of Love", I realize that all the sorrows in life, all the pleasures and all the joys, and everything else we desire make up our own "Book of Love."

   According to the song (below), this book of love is heavy. So heavy, in fact that you can't carry it around with you. There are probably some blank pages too, because sometimes there are no words to express the wonder and specialness of love.
   A wise woman once said,
"The stars are always there but we miss them in the dirt and clouds. We miss them in the storms. Tell them to remember hope. We have hope." 

   In this electronic age we live in, the book of love would not be made of paper and maybe you could  "carry it" around with you, but I think not. 
    The book of love is special and filled with music and sweet memories. The book of love has instructions for dancing, special recipes, sweet songs and heart-shaped boxes.
   Some people have played this song for their first dance at their wedding. The dance instructions are always included, but not much else. I hope your own book is filled with endless love, smudges and hope until the very last page.

                                      

The book of love is long and boring

No one can lift the damn thing

It's full of charts and facts and figures and instructions for dancing

But I

I love it when you read to me

And you

You can read me anything

The book of love has music in it

In fact that's where music comes from

Some of it is just transcendental

Some of it is just really dumb

But I

I love it when you sing to me

And you

You can sing me anything

The book of love is long and boring

And written very long ago

It's full of flowers and heart-shaped boxes

And things we're all too young to know

But I

I love it when you give me things

And you

You ought to give me wedding rings

And I

I love it when you give me things

And you

You ought to give me wedding rings

And I

I love it when you give me things

And you

You ought to give me wedding rings

You ought to give me wedding rings

The Paris Wife

"No one you love is ever truly lost."  ~Ernest Hemingway

Hadley Richardson was Ernest Hemingway’s first wife. They met in Chicago when she was in her late twenties; he was younger, a charismatic veteran and newspaperman. He dedicated his books In Our Time and The Sun Also Rises to her.

He wasn’t famous then, of course. He was a doctor’s son and he had a doting mother, but he was determined to be a famous writer. Paris seemed to be the place to achieve this and he asked Hadley to marry him and come with him. They married in 1922 and divorced six years later. 

  Hemingway once said, "There are only two places in the world where we can live happy:  at home and in Paris."

Hemingway writes of Hadley around this time: “You’ve changed me more than you know, and will always be part of everything I am. That’s one thing I’ve learned from all this. No one you love is ever truly lost.”

Mary Chapin Carpenter  writes of the love and uncertainty of love in her song,  Mrs.Hemingway.

His first wife gave Hemingway the creative energy and confidence. The love of the first wife is remembered in this song and  perhaps in the  writer's book  A Moveable Feast. Years later, Hadley herself would remember Hemingway this way to her best friend, Alice Sokoloff, a musician and writer who played piano duets with her in the 1970s, when the two women were neighbors in Chocorua, N.H.  Instead of being bitter toward Hemingway, she is full of gratitude to him for giving her "the key to the world." 

Meditation on Love (from Thais)

  In the opera Thais,  there is a famous melody called Meditation. It was composed in the original version by Jules Massenet for  solo violin with harp accompaniment. Thais is an Egyptian courtesan who is contemplating her current life.
  She spends a night in meditation. She wonders if she should follow the secular world or the spiritual. Should she choose a life of love or chastity?  She decides to become a nun.
   The monk who introduced Thais to her new found spirituality makes this starling revelation:
He tells Thais, too late,  that he loves her and repudiates his vows. He tells her that "nothing is true but life and the love  of human beings."

There is an emotional need to love and be loved. This music, played lovingly by the violinist Sarah Chang, reminds me to communicate the feelings you have about love before you regret it.
 
 

My One and Only Love

There is a special radiance and splendor when the one you love walks into the room. "There is a  blush on the cheek whenver you speak", say the songwriters (music written by Guy Wood and lyrics by Robert Mellin)  and a "warmth and tenderness". This instrumental version of the song  is perfect to imagine the mystic charms of your beloved.  When the music stops, the love remains. Only a  few people can leave you with that fire we call love. The song was written in 1952. The fact that it is still played today and  re-interpreted today reveals not only the immortality of music , but also the enduring power of  love. Love outlasts its brief moment in time. These words below are the original lyrics to the song.  Listen to the piano and guitar and it makes perfect sense that love and this melody will always inspire others who are in love.


The very thought of you makes my heart sing
Like an April breeze on the wings of spring,
And you appear in all your splendor,
My one and only love.

The shadows fall and spread their mystic charms
In the hush of night while you're in my arms.
I feel your lips, so warm and tender,
My one and only love.

The touch of your hand is like heaven,
A heaven that I've never known.
The blush on your cheek whenever I speak
Tells me that you are my own.

You fill my eager heart with such desire.
Ev'ry kiss you give sets my soul on fire.
I give myself in sweet surrender,
My one and only love.

Longer - First Wedding Song

Six months ago I was invited to a wedding and enclosed with the beautiful calligraphy was an invitation reply card with a request to "name a favorite song for our wedding."
  Not being exactly sure how to respond, I chose a song by Sara Evans called:  I Could Not Ask For More.
   They never played that song at the wedding, but if I were asked again today, I might have chosen another song. I think I would have chosen the #1 love ballad Longer by Dan Fogelberg for the couple's first dance. Listening to that song again after all these years still fills me with a sweetness and joy.

    There are no exact ways to measure love, but this song expresses a deep conviction -- that the singer/poet's love has been present inside him for a longer time that anyone can truly measure.

    These spoons make a nice gift for the wedding party, don't you think?

Measures of Love

I Believe This Belongs To You

                                                           JD Martin and Jan Garrett

"I see your  heart and I know your pain. I have been there too."

This week a powerful storm ripped through the Jersey Shore.
Hurricanes can take away your possessions.  They remind us that rich or poor, it can all be taken from us, by the forces of nature. We don't really own the land , the sky ,  or the trees. Those things belong to everyone.

 But our time here on earth, we do own. No matter how short our life might be, love gives
our time meaning .. Spend that time with wisdom and joy, not hate.

All that really belongs to us is time; even he who has nothing else has that.

Baltasar Gracian

The Mirror (4)

Here are four quotes about a mirror. In their own way, they provide a reflection about love.


"The mirror is a useless invention. The only way to truly see yourself is through someone else's eyes."
         ~Voltaire

Artwork by Daniel Rozin

From Lewis Carroll's, Through The Looking Glass:
There was a book lying near Alice on the table, and she turned over the leaves, to find some part that she could read, ` -- for it's all in some language I don't know,' she said to herself.

It was like this.
YKCOWREBBAJ

sevot yhtils eht dna ,gillirb sawT`
ebaw eht ni elbmig dna eryg diD
,sevogorob eht erew ysmim llA
.ebargtuo shtar emom eht dnA

She puzzled over this for some time, but at last a bright thought struck her. `Why, it's a Looking-glass book, of course! And if I hold it up to a glass, the words will all go the right way again."

This was the poem that Alice read.

JABBERWOCKY.

And from Steve Jobs:

"For the past 33 years, I have looked in the mirror every morning and asked myself: "If today were the last day of my life, would I want to do what I am about to do today?" And whenever the answer has been "No" for too many days in a row, I know I need to change something...almost everything - all external expectations, all pride, all fear of embarrassment or failure - these things just fall away in the face of death, leaving only what is truly important. Remembering that you are going to die is the best way I know to avoid the trap of thinking you have something to lose."

From the movie, Sherlock Holmes 2: A Game Of Shadows. [Dr.Watson sends a letter to his wife in code (cryptogram) which is explained thus:]
  "If the first letter of the note is a consonant, then the letter is the mirrored truth."
  In the letter, Watson tells her, "He doesn't love her". Which of course is the exact opposite of what he means since the letter "H" is a consonant. Sometimes, like Alice in Through the Looking Glass we need to recognize that love is a language about which we really don't always know.Voltaire's words remind one of the Amish tradition of not keeping any mirrors in their home because a mirror shows a lack of humility. 
Steve Jobs' message is a reminder that a mirror can be used for something other than narcissism. It can be a reminder to do what you love...everyday. 

Love's Still Flowin'

You Turn Me On, I’m a Radio

If you’re driving into town with a dark cloud above you
Dial in the number who’s bound to love you
Oh honey you turn me on, I’m a radio
I’m a country station, I’m a little bit corny
I’m a wildwood flower waving for you
Broadcasting tower waving for you
And I’m sending you out this signal here
I hope you can pick it up loud and clear
I know you don’t like weak women
You get bored so quick
And you don’t like strong women
’Cause they’re hip to your tricks
It’s been dirty for dirty down the line
But you know I come when you whistle
When you’re loving and kind
But if you’ve got too many doubts
If there’s no good reception for me then tune me out
’Cause honey, who needs the static, it hurts the head
And you wind up cracking
And the day goes dismal
From Breakfast Barney to the sign-off prayer
What a sorry face you get to wear
I’m going to tell you again now if you’re still listening there
If you’re driving into town with a dark cloud above you
Dial in the number who’s bound to love you
If you’re lying on the beach with the transistor goin’
Kick off the sandflies, honey, the love’s still flowin’
If your head says forget it but your heart’s still smokin’
Call me at the station, the lines are open

           ~  Joni Mitchell

 Love can wipe away the dark clouds above you and help you survive the storms of life. Love is like a river, it keeps flowing. Music, like love, is an invisible wave.  When we listen to the radio, we are transported by the artist/musician to another world.
  Let love be your music. Look around at the things in life waving toward you and for you. Love beckons us unknowingly through nature: when you're lying on the beach, when you watch the wildflowers sway, or look at seagulls laughing in the sky. 
   What are  those things in life that are waving for you?  When we hear a love song on the radio,  we have access to a 24-hour technology to communicate the love that people in all nations feel. Joni Mitchell is not a afraid to use that metaphor to express her desires in this love song.