Skip to main content

Alan Watts Blues

Out of everything nothing remains the same ...



Van's off to the mountain top getting away from the rat race to be still and listen to his 'quiet friend.'  It's a withdrawal from the world and its cycle of constant repetitive change to be with the unchanging eternal. There the blue skies will be 'shining' while the earthly empires turn to rust again.

Prior to going he doesn't seem convinced, only thinking it 'might do ... some good." Post instrumental break, the experience itself was clearly meaningful as it won't be long before he comes back again. I always find this song tremendously uplifting with an almost cleansing quality to it as well as a little touch of calypso, of course that may just be me. See you in the clouds.




Well I'm taking some time with my quiet friend
Well I'm taking some time on my own
Well I'm making some plans for my getaway
There'll be blue skies shining up above

When I'm cloud hidden
Cloud hidden
Whereabouts unknown

Well I've got to get out of the rat race now
I'm tired of the ways of mice and men
And the empires all turning into rust again
Out of everything nothing remains the same
That's why I'm cloud hidden
Cloud hidden
Whereabouts unknown

Sitting up on the mountain top in my solitude
Where the morning fog comes rolling in
Just might do me some good

Well I'm waiting in the clearing with my motor on
Well it's time to get back to the town again
Where the air is sweet and fresh in the countryside
Well it won't be long before I'll be back here again

When I'm cloud hidden
Cloud hidden
Whereabouts unknown




Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Cul de Sac

This is it ... Van celebrating where he is, back in Ireland (despite recording this track in NYC) having travelled far (all the way to California and the Palomar mountain range and observatory), hiding away in the studio, laying down the tracks so fresh they're still wet, with absolute freedom to drift in song. You can't fail to hear how much this all means, his impassioned vocal is among the finest he has ever laid down. Open hearted and open throated, you feel it right inside. He's gone. In the cul de sac, so smooth I look down Be less sure sir And take your rest It's been much too long  Since we drifted in song Lay it down wet In this hide away Oh I travelled far To the nearest star And met Palomar, mar, mar, And we don't care just who you know  It's who you are And when they all go home Down the cobblestones You can double back (this is it) To a cul de sac Oh I travelled far The nearest star And M...
Post a Comment
Read more

Higher Than The World

"Wrapped up in the sound ..." A blissful and affecting piece that seems to me to be composed of almost affirmational statements, combining an element of gratitude and a desire for improvement.  "I'm living in my dreams, I'll make it better than it seems,""I gotta give a life a whirl," "Wrapped up in the sound, I'll make it better all around," "I'll leave these blues behind."  Always leaves me simultaneously soothed and elevated. Magic. Beautiful live versions from 2016 "Just a little bit higher ..."
Post a Comment
Read more

Dweller On The Threshold

Let me go down to the water ... This song resonated with me the first time I heard it as a young man on the first disc of the original Greatest Hits. It gave voice to the feeling that there was so much 'more' and if I could only make a breakthrough, take a step over some 'threshold' then things would fall into place, make some kind of sense.  The remarkable thing about this song, propelled along as it is by the tsking of the high-hat and those insistent horns, is that it still resonates to this day even now when I am so much older. It still feels like I'm on a threshold, possibly we're always and eternally on a threshold. The darkness still exists to be consumed and I'm still waiting for the dawn to end the night. Singing the song of ages until it comes.  I'm a dweller on the threshold And I'm waiting at the door And I'm standing in the darkness I don't want to wait no more I have seen without perceiving I hav...
Post a Comment
Read more