Watch out now, take care
Beware of falling swingers dropping all around you
The pain that often mingles inside your fingertips
Beware of darkness
Watch out now, take care
Beware the thoughts that linger, winding up inside your head
The hopelessness around you
In the dead of night
Beware of sadness
It can hit you, it can hurt you
Make you sore and what is more
That is not what you are here for
~ George Harrison
Beware the Ides of March! The nerds among you will recognize that dictum as the soothsayer's warning to Julius Caesar on the date of his assassination on March 15 in the Shakespearean play, Julius Caesar. The Ides were determined by the full moon, reflecting the lunar origin of the Roman calendar.
"Beware of Darkness," which appeared on George Harrison's 1970 release, All Things Must Pass, was also a featured song at The Concert for Bangladesh at Madison Square Garden in 1971. The concert, organized by Harrison and Ravi Shankar (father of musical artists Norah Jones and Anoushka Shankar), was intended to raise awareness of the plight of refugees from East Pakistan (now known as Bangladesh). It funded relief efforts to the tune of a quarter of a million dollars as the first-ever benefit concert of such a magnitude. Performing along with Harrison were such greats as fellow Beatle Ringo Starr, Bob Dylan, Eric Clapton, Billy Preston, and Leon Russell. Those were the days!
The song warns against falling victim to the negativity that surrounds us, a timely reminder applicable to the politics of today. Speaking of which, it is noteworthy that when the Beatles' "Here Comes the Sun" played as Ivanka Trump took the podium at the Republican National Convention last year to speak on behalf of her father, the Harrison estate tweeted that the use of that song was "offensive and against the wishes of the George Harrison estate." They suggested that "Beware of Darkness" would have been a better choice!
We have a refugee crisis today that may or may not exceed the Bangladesh situation in the early 70s; I cannot say for sure. But my guess would be that the Syrian refugee crisis is as bad, if not worse. Where are the fundraising concerts? Where is the international outrage? Instead, we live in a country where refugees are denied sanctuary. That is not what you are here for.
Watch out now, take care
Beware of greedy leaders
They take you where you should not go
What a lovely blog, Therese, both content and aesthetically. Is there a way to open the You Tube links in a separate window, bc it pulls the reader from the blog. Certainly worth opening two tabs for though! :) Thank you for sharing, keep writing, and listening/singing! Hope to see you soon. <3
ReplyDeleteI, too, wish the video links would open in another window, but I don't know how to make that magic happen. If you (or anyone) can figure it out, let me know! But my guess is that many people already know the song and don't "need" to listen . . . or listen to it before or after reading the post. Well, at least it's there if anyone wants to listen! Thanks, Laurie!
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