Friday
09Jan2009
ATW FRIDAY JUKEBOX TWO
Friday, January 9, 2009 at 08:45PM So, John Lennon wrote this song in late 1980. He was 40 years old and was about to die at the hands of Mark Chapman in New York City. The song was partly inspired by a poem by Robert Browing. Perhaps the greatest irony is that it is called "Grow old with me." Anyway, I picked up on this new version by Glen Campbell. He is 76 years old and the lyric takes on a different contour when viewed from this perspective I think. Anyway, this one is dedicated to my wife.
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Reader Comments (11)
Wow. Glen Campbell at 76. That was shock enough.
I know - the Rhinestine has worn thin but I liked the song and the fact that he had grown old. It's a fate I hope lies in store for me.
David - For us all.
Amen to that Mahons. Given the alternative, I think it the better option!!!
David Vance
A lovely dedication.
By the way, is this the same Lennon who wrote 'Imagine'? He must have been turning into a conservative in his young age. Those are some quite reactionary lyrics.
Campbell was a Zelig of popular music. He played with the Beach Boys (toured in place of Brian Wilson) and was a session man for the Monkees, Sinatra and Bobby Darin.
And that is him in True Grit as a Texas Ranger if you want to win tonight's pub quiz.
Pete - Lennon's liberalism wasn't of the knee jerk variety, it was heartfelt (if not always headfelt) and he could be quite blunt about their failings at times (If you go carrying pictures of Chairman Mao, etc.).
Mind you, it didn't end too good for him in True Grit - great movie, always watchable.
That's the first time I've heard that song. I'm a big fan of Glen Campbell and he sings it beautifully.
Interesting to compare it with Lennon's own version here
I've always liked Glen Campbell, and its sad that he's rarely heard or heard about anymore.
Some of his work, the Jimmy Webb songs in particular, are timeless, or close to it.
I've always been a fan - and agree that the Webb songs sound as great now as they did way back. Webb wrote great tunes but it took Campbell to popularise them and stamp his own id on them.
For those who are interested, those songs
by Jimmy Webb
include
these :
By the Time I Get to Phoenix
Wichita Lineman
Galveston
Macarthur Park
and many others, as performed by many great singers.
He had written " By the Time I Get to Phoenix " when he was 21 years of age. Think of that.