Struggling And Searching for They Knew Not What

BackwardsBoy: I believe it was either Lennon or McCartney that started writing whimsical lyrics that didn't make much in the way of sense....

McCartney, the Cute One. That woud be the second McCartney, after the first one died in that car crash. Had no use for him after his first solo album.

Lennon was the Serious One.

/willowing-tempting ramble ON

Lennon's lyrics, like those of Cat Stevens, mostly impressed me as sad, in a big way. They were struggling and searching for they knew not what. God, of course, and Truth. But they couldn't know that.

Stevens seemed to be finally coming close to something like a spiritual breakthrough, and an artistic one to boot, in Buddha and the Chocolate Box, but then flamed out and went Islamic. Well, whatever works for you, I guess. He quit music and public life. Which was probably good, considering.

Lennon put his frustrations in dramatic declarative statements (e.g. "Imagine") which still pi$$es off a lot of people. For me, it was evidence of his seeking but not quite finding, which really did reflect a lot of that generation, including me, although I was never that lost or lefty.

After abandoning his firstborn and getting sucked in by junk, he managed to clean up his act, hang up his guitar, and dedicate himself to his marriage and son.

I'd like to think that John came as close to peace in that era as he ever would. Maybe because of, maybe despite Yoko. That one sappy album they did before he was gunned down showed those changes, and as my wife and I had just started our own family at the time, I really appreciated his coming back with that message. When I turned on the radio one day to hear "Watching the Wheels," it was really a rare thrill.

Who knows what he might've achieved. He was never exactly the stereotypical leftie folks took him to be; he might've even become more conservative in his old age. Orrr... he might've just become (more of) an annoying old lefty curmudgeon. We'll never know.

/ramble off, checking if willowed