SOMEDAY NEVER COMES (J.C. FOGERTY/CCR,-72)
First thing I remember was asking papa, why,
For there were many things I didn't know.
And daddy always smiled and took me by the hand,
Saying, someday you'll understand
Well, I'm here to tell you now, each and every mother's son,
That you better learn it fast, you better learn it young,
'Cause someday never comes.
Well, time and tears went by and I collected dust.
For there were many things I didn't know.
When daddy went away, he said, try to be a man,
And someday you'll understand
Well, I'm here to tell you now, each and every mother's son,
That you better learn it fast, you better learn it young,
'Cause someday never comes.
And then one day in April, I wasn't even there,
For there were many things I didn't know.
A son was born to me. Mama held his hand,
Sayin' someday you'll understand.
Well, I'm here to tell you now, each and every mother's son,
That you better learn it fast, you better learn it young,
'Cause someday never comes.
Think it was September, the year I went away,
For there were many things I didn't know.
And still I see him standing tryin' to be a man,
I said, someday you'll understand.
Well, I'm here to tell you now, each and every mother's son,
That you better learn it fast, you better learn it young,
'Cause someday never comes.
*
There's a bit in the final episode of Babylon 5 where Vir recounts a time when he and Londo (who is dead now) once heard the Pak'ma'ra singing.
The Pak'ma'ra are a vile, disgusting, Cthuloid race that nobody likes, and nobody knew they could sing, but they do--rarely and for religious reasons. Vir says that it was the most beautiful sound he had ever heard, full of sadness, and hope, wonder, and a terrible sense of loss. Londo was moved to tears.
He concludes:
When it was over, Londo turned to me and said "There are forty-nine gods in our pantheon, Vir; to tell you the truth I never believed in any of them. But if only one of them exists, then God sings with that voice." It's funny. After everything we have been through, all he did... I miss him.
I recently ran across a song that I hadn't heard in ages: "Ashokan Farewell."
This song became famous in 1990 when Ken Burns used it as the main theme of his series The Civil War. It is a staggeringly beautiful theme, filled with sadness and hope and wonder and a terrible sense of loss.
Together with "Some Day Never Comes" by Creedence Clearwater Revival and "Will the Circle Be Unbroken" by the Nitty Gritty Dirt Band, et al., it's one of the three saddest, most beautiful songs I know. (Though some of Mark Herd's stuff comes close.)
Unlike the rest of the music Burns used in The Civil War, "Ashokan Farewell" is not a period piece. In fact, it was written in 1982 by a gentleman named Jay Ungar, who conducted a series of summer fiddle and dance workshops in Ashokan, New York. He describes how the song came about:
I composed Ashokan Farewell in 1982 shortly after the summer programs had come to an end. I was experiencing a great feeling of loss and longing for the lifestyle and the community of people that had developed at Ashokan that summer.
The transition from living in the woods with a small group of people who needed little excuse to celebrate the joy of living through music and dancing, back to life as usual, with traffic, disturbing newscasts, "important" telephone calls and impersonal relationships had been difficult. I was in tears when I wrote Ashokan Farewell .
I kept the tune to myself for months, slightly embarrassed by the emotions that welled up whenever I played it.
Ungar's tears have been mirrored in the eyes of thousands of others who have heard the song. Softer-edged than "Someday Never Comes" and "Will the Circle Be Unbroken," whose lyrics sharpen the sense of loss these songs convey, "Ashokan Farewell"s lyricless-melody perfectly captures the bittersweet of nostalgia--the sense of beauty and loss, the desire to go back and experience things again--to see old friends and loved ones--as a rush of memories comes flooding back.
Since the song in its original form has no lyrics, it is not bound to any particular plot. Your memories fill in the detail as the song moves you to contemplate what was . . . and no longer is.
But which may be again.
When Christ makes all things new.
LISTEN TO THE SONG (midi version, not fully orchestrated).
READ ABOUT THE SONG.
LYRICS TO THE SONG.
DOWNLOAD THE SONG.
Posted by Jimmy Akin in Music Permalink
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How about the instrumental piece Adagio for Strings. Used in Platoon and various other movies' trailers. I love a version of that piece with the words for Agnus Dei. Simply amazing!
Posted by: Brian December 20, 2004 08:37 AM
The second movements of Joaquin Rogrigo's Concierto Aranjuez and Concierto Andaluz are some pretty sad pieces of music.
I believe he wrote the former while his wife was near-death during childbirth. I think the child died and he was begging God through his music to spare his wife. Or maybe it was the other way around. I can't remember.
Posted by: BillyHW December 20, 2004 02:40 PM
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