Thank you, Eric. PSR&T was the second CD I purchased, back when CDs were the newest technology. I would play this song over and over. Today I’m reminded of a similar piece, written a hundred years before the turbulent mid-60s.
I HEARD the bells on Christmas Day
Their old, familiar carols play,
And wild and sweet
The words repeat
Of peace on earth, good-will to men!
And thought how, as the day had come,
The belfries of all Christendom
Had rolled along
The unbroken song
Of peace on earth, good-will to men!
Till ringing, singing on its way,
The world revolved from night to day,
A voice, a chime,
A chant sublime
Of peace on earth, good-will to men!
Then from each black, accursed mouth
The cannon thundered in the South,
And with the sound
The carols drowned
Of peace on earth, good-will to men!
It was as if an earthquake rent
The hearth-stones of a continent,
And made forlorn
The households born
Of peace on earth, good-will to men!
And in despair I bowed my head;
“There is no peace on earth,” I said;
“For hate is strong,
And mocks the song
Of peace on earth, good-will to men!”
Then pealed the bells more loud and deep:
“God is not dead, nor doth He sleep;
The Wrong shall fail,
The Right prevail,
With peace on earth, good-will to men.”
Amanda, what’s most interesting I think is that the news DID sound like that in 1966. But at least it was news…not entertainment.
I had every S&G album, knew all songs by heart….used to do my art homework to them……so interesting the astrological moment e mentions, as that time (1964-1974ish) was hugely important for me. I shall have to look this over and see what dots my pea-astro-brain can connect between then’n’now.
Thanks – and again a Joyous Merry Happy to All.
In 1966 the world was in the midst of the conjunction of Uranus/Pluto in Virgo opposite Saturn/Chiron in Pisces trine Neptune in Scorpio. It was an alignment similar to what we are experiencing now, as part of 2012. Uranus and Pluto are back in a quadrature aspect for the first tie since the mid-60s, and this is most of what we are describing as 2012.
That, and a Venus transit of the Sun, along with other Mayan issues.
I haven’t heard this song for decades. What a litany of news for those times when I was young. Wierd that so much was happening all at once.
oof. amazing how something can be subtle yet pack a real wallop at eh same time.
juxtaposition can be such a powerful tool — really engages the listener/viewer/etc in active meaning-creation & strips away the illusion of passivity in spectatorship.
i don’t know if i’ve ever heard this track before.
was curious who did the “newscast,” since it clearly sounds like a roundup of the worst news, not a typical nightly newscast. according to wiki: “The voice of the newscaster on 7 O’Clock News/Silent Night was that of Charlie O’Donnell, then a New York disc jockey.”
Thank you, Eric. PSR&T was the second CD I purchased, back when CDs were the newest technology. I would play this song over and over. Today I’m reminded of a similar piece, written a hundred years before the turbulent mid-60s.
I HEARD the bells on Christmas Day
Their old, familiar carols play,
And wild and sweet
The words repeat
Of peace on earth, good-will to men!
And thought how, as the day had come,
The belfries of all Christendom
Had rolled along
The unbroken song
Of peace on earth, good-will to men!
Till ringing, singing on its way,
The world revolved from night to day,
A voice, a chime,
A chant sublime
Of peace on earth, good-will to men!
Then from each black, accursed mouth
The cannon thundered in the South,
And with the sound
The carols drowned
Of peace on earth, good-will to men!
It was as if an earthquake rent
The hearth-stones of a continent,
And made forlorn
The households born
Of peace on earth, good-will to men!
And in despair I bowed my head;
“There is no peace on earth,” I said;
“For hate is strong,
And mocks the song
Of peace on earth, good-will to men!”
Then pealed the bells more loud and deep:
“God is not dead, nor doth He sleep;
The Wrong shall fail,
The Right prevail,
With peace on earth, good-will to men.”
Amanda, what’s most interesting I think is that the news DID sound like that in 1966. But at least it was news…not entertainment.
I had every S&G album, knew all songs by heart….used to do my art homework to them……so interesting the astrological moment e mentions, as that time (1964-1974ish) was hugely important for me. I shall have to look this over and see what dots my pea-astro-brain can connect between then’n’now.
Thanks – and again a Joyous Merry Happy to All.
In 1966 the world was in the midst of the conjunction of Uranus/Pluto in Virgo opposite Saturn/Chiron in Pisces trine Neptune in Scorpio. It was an alignment similar to what we are experiencing now, as part of 2012. Uranus and Pluto are back in a quadrature aspect for the first tie since the mid-60s, and this is most of what we are describing as 2012.
That, and a Venus transit of the Sun, along with other Mayan issues.
I haven’t heard this song for decades. What a litany of news for those times when I was young. Wierd that so much was happening all at once.
oof. amazing how something can be subtle yet pack a real wallop at eh same time.
juxtaposition can be such a powerful tool — really engages the listener/viewer/etc in active meaning-creation & strips away the illusion of passivity in spectatorship.
i don’t know if i’ve ever heard this track before.
was curious who did the “newscast,” since it clearly sounds like a roundup of the worst news, not a typical nightly newscast. according to wiki: “The voice of the newscaster on 7 O’Clock News/Silent Night was that of Charlie O’Donnell, then a New York disc jockey.”