November 28th – Nostalgia’s OK providing we don’t think
back on it too much; it’s only as we get older these memories become corrupted.
Most of the things that occur to us from childhood have a
rosy tinge to them, hence the oft used (oft moaned-at statement by others);
It was better than this
when I was young.
Thing is it probably wasn’t but we, as humans, have a habit
of cutting out the shit times and embellishing the remainder until they have
all the lustre of a roaring log fire and cup of cocoa…with three foot of snow
outside and sufficient stores in the pantry and fridge to mean no need to be
going anywhere for a week… For me, back then, the days seemed longer and
sunnier than now but that’s probably because when I was six I didn’t give a
shit about our national obsession with the weather and I had only myself, my
toy cars and the dirt outside our house and bird watching to consider. What
this drip-feed to the conscience does do, for writers and artists in particular,
is provide a steady stream of comparison data to draw on, hence the number
songs written about the time back when; such a one was The Beatles single, Strawberry Fields Forever.
Composed by John Lennon and released this day in 1966 the
song’s background harkened back to a time in his childhood when he would go to
a Salvation Army’s children’s home to
listen to the band, a time much like mine when the woods were his playground
and the days stretched out to forever. During the time it was being written and
under development in late ‘66’, Mr. Lennon was, like many of his day,
experimenting with drugs, particularly LSD, and my guess is his tinted recollections
of that time must have become intermingled with his present-day drug experiences
and the revelations they disclosed, and probably were also partially
responsible for the hazy, dreamlike vocals that were used for the recording.
But even though drugs were a part of the song’s emergence
they were not allowed to overshadow the work’s deeper meanings. The song’s
structure, musical accompaniment and lyrics all speak of a simpler time for Mr.
Lennon when fame had yet to sail rudely onto his level horizon. It also allowed
him a time of introspection and us a glimpse into his childhood under the guise
of just another pop song, albeit one of such haunting quality (and that verdict
comes from a committed Beatles flatliner). The lyrics tell of innocence, of the
guilt and confusion experienced in the growing-up stakes, themes we all wrestle
with (some more than others) spend a whole lifetime trying to make sense of and
keep under control. The roadsides are littered with the careers of the fallen;
those who failed to keep equilibrium, to choke off the demons that will
inevitably rise up to challenge their self-esteem and memory bank in those
sometime dark moments of nostalgia and regret. Pity is, as with many things the
subtlety and shade are wrung out it, sometimes by a misguided arse.
In 1990 a duo known as Candy
Flip released a dance cover of Strawberry
Fields Forever which became something of a rave classic but removed the
heart from the original in two deft strokes. The band, Candy Flip, were named after the slang term used by ravers to
describe those taking LSD and ecstasy at the same time (?!) thereby homing in
on the drug references only vaguely alluded to in the original work and making
the drug theme the dominant reason for the song’s conception. As per
requirement of the dance floor use of electronic synth beats were used
destroying the delicacy of the original’s musical passages of cellos and horns
that were so deftly added by George Martin to emphasise the musical timeframe
of the piece. I guess that’s nostalgia but…it aint what it used to be…
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