Tag Archives: Blackbird

♫ Broken Wings ♫ (Redux)

Posted on by under Bits 'n Pieces, History, music

I was hoping to play something new, something I hadn’t played yet, but alas … this one crossed my radar and rather hovered there with its wings vibrating, begging to be played yet again.  What was I to do?  So … I hope you enjoy!  I promise something new before the end of the week!

All it takes sometimes is a single word to put a song into my head … are you guys that way?  Anyway, last night I heard mention of a bird with a broken wing, and that was it … immediately this song jumped into my head and refuses to leave until I share it.

Released in 1985, this song was inspired by a book the lyricist John Lang read called The Broken Wings, by the Lebanese poet-philosopher Kahlil Gibran. The book, which was written in 1912, is a story of a love that is doomed by social convention.

Its theme is echoed in this song: picking up the pieces of your life and moving on. There is a note of heartbreak, however, as the singer is asking the girl to spread her wings and fly away, hoping that love will bring her back.

The line, “Take these broken wings and learn to fly” also appears in The Beatles song Blackbird, another of my favourites.

John Lang wrote this song with Mr. Mister frontman Richard Page and guitarist Steve George. According to Page, they were at his home in California when the three of them came up with the song in about 20 minutes and recorded it on Page’s tape machine.  The band, Mr. Mister, is another that I am not very familiar with, couldn’t name another song they have done, but I’ve always liked this one for some reason.

Broken Wings
Mr. Mister

Baby, I don’t understand
Why we can’t just hold on
To each other’s hands
This time will be the last
I fear unless I make it all too clear
I need you so

Take these broken wings
And learn to fly again
And learn to live so free
When we hear the voices sing
The book of love will open up
And let us in
Take these broken wings

Baby, I think tonight
We can take what was wrong
And make it right
Baby, it’s all I know
That you’re half of the flesh
And blood makes me whole
I need you so

So take these broken wings
And learn to fly again
Learn to live so free
When we hear the voices sing
The book of love will open up
And let us in
Take these broken wings

You’ve got to learn to fly, learn to live, love so free
When we hear the voices sing
The book of love will open up and let us in yeah, yeah

Let us in
Let us in

Baby, it’s all I know that you’re half of the flesh
And blood that makes me whole
Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah
Yeah, yeah, yeah

So take these broken wings
And learn to fly again, learn to live so free
And when we hear the voices sing
The book of love will open up and let us in

Take these broken wings
You got to learn to fly, learn to live and love so free
When we hear the voices sing
The book of love will open up for us and let us in
Yeah, yeah, yeah
Yeah, yeah, yeah

Songwriters: John Ross Lang / Richard James Page / Steve George
Broken Wings lyrics © Warner/Chappell Music, Inc

♫ Broken Wings ♫ (Redux)

Posted on by under music

I know, I know … I’ve been redux-ing a lot lately.  A number of reasons, but this one is by special request, indirectly.  And it’s been 9 months, since last April, that I last played it, so you’ve likely forgotten (except Ellen … Ellen never forgets anything!).  I promise something new tomorrow!

All it takes sometimes is a single word to put a song into my head … are you guys that way?  Anyway, last night I heard mention of a bird with a broken wing, and that was it … immediately this song jumped into my head and refuses to leave until I share it.

Released in 1985, this song was inspired by a book the lyricist John Lang read called The Broken Wings, by the Lebanese poet-philosopher Kahlil Gibran. The book, which was written in 1912, is a story of a love that is doomed by social convention.

Its theme is echoed in this song: picking up the pieces of your life and moving on. There is a note of heartbreak, however, as the singer is asking the girl to spread her wings and fly away, hoping that love will bring her back.

The line, “Take these broken wings and learn to fly” also appears in The Beatles song Blackbird, another of my favourites.

John Lang wrote this song with Mr. Mister frontman Richard Page and guitarist Steve George. According to Page, they were at his home in California when the three of them came up with the song in about 20 minutes and recorded it on Page’s tape machine.  The band, Mr. Mister, is another that I am not very familiar with, couldn’t name another song they have done, but I’ve always liked this one for some reason.

Broken Wings
Mr. Mister

Baby, I don’t understand
Why we can’t just hold on
To each other’s hands
This time will be the last
I fear unless I make it all too clear
I need you so

Take these broken wings
And learn to fly again
And learn to live so free
When we hear the voices sing
The book of love will open up
And let us in
Take these broken wings

Baby, I think tonight
We can take what was wrong
And make it right
Baby, it’s all I know
That you’re half of the flesh
And blood makes me whole
I need you so

So take these broken wings
And learn to fly again
Learn to live so free
When we hear the voices sing
The book of love will open up
And let us in
Take these broken wings

You’ve got to learn to fly, learn to live, love so free
When we hear the voices sing
The book of love will open up and let us in yeah, yeah

Let us in
Let us in

Baby, it’s all I know that you’re half of the flesh
And blood that makes me whole
Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah
Yeah, yeah, yeah

So take these broken wings
And learn to fly again, learn to live so free
And when we hear the voices sing
The book of love will open up and let us in

Take these broken wings
You got to learn to fly, learn to live and love so free
When we hear the voices sing
The book of love will open up for us and let us in
Yeah, yeah, yeah
Yeah, yeah, yeah

Songwriters: John Ross Lang / Richard James Page / Steve George
Broken Wings lyrics © Warner/Chappell Music, Inc

♫ Broken Wings ♫

Posted on by under music

All it takes sometimes is a single word to put a song into my head … are you guys that way?  Anyway, last night I heard mention of a bird with a broken wing, and that was it … immediately this song jumped into my head and refuses to leave until I share it.

Released in 1985, this song was inspired by a book the lyricist John Lang read called The Broken Wings, by the Lebanese poet-philosopher Kahlil Gibran. The book, which was written in 1912, is a story of a love that is doomed by social convention.

Its theme is echoed in this song: picking up the pieces of your life and moving on. There is a note of heartbreak, however, as the singer is asking the girl to spread her wings and fly away, hoping that love will bring her back.

The line, “Take these broken wings and learn to fly” also appears in The Beatles song Blackbird, another of my favourites.

John Lang wrote this song with Mr. Mister frontman Richard Page and guitarist Steve George. According to Page, they were at his home in California when the three of them came up with the song in about 20 minutes and recorded it on Page’s tape machine.  The band, Mr. Mister, is another that I am not very familiar with, couldn’t name another song they have done, but I’ve always liked this one for some reason.

Broken Wings
Mr. Mister

Baby, I don’t understand
Why we can’t just hold on
To each other’s hands
This time will be the last
I fear unless I make it all too clear
I need you so

Take these broken wings
And learn to fly again
And learn to live so free
When we hear the voices sing
The book of love will open up
And let us in
Take these broken wings

Baby, I think tonight
We can take what was wrong
And make it right
Baby, it’s all I know
That you’re half of the flesh
And blood makes me whole
I need you so

So take these broken wings
And learn to fly again
Learn to live so free
When we hear the voices sing
The book of love will open up
And let us in
Take these broken wings

You’ve got to learn to fly, learn to live, love so free
When we hear the voices sing
The book of love will open up and let us in yeah, yeah

Let us in
Let us in

Baby, it’s all I know that you’re half of the flesh
And blood that makes me whole
Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah
Yeah, yeah, yeah

So take these broken wings
And learn to fly again, learn to live so free
And when we hear the voices sing
The book of love will open up and let us in

Take these broken wings
You got to learn to fly, learn to live and love so free
When we hear the voices sing
The book of love will open up for us and let us in
Yeah, yeah, yeah
Yeah, yeah, yeah

Songwriters: John Ross Lang / Richard James Page / Steve George
Broken Wings lyrics © Warner/Chappell Music, Inc

Good People Doing Good Things — Condensed Version

Posted on by under Good people doing good things, Social commentary

Good people sometimes pop up where you least expect them. What, for instance, do a major league ball player, an elderly man, and a police officer have in common?  Good hearts.

Sometimes it’s just the little things …

I don’t know the man’s name, but I know his heart is good.  His home looks to be modest, he is not wealthy, and he is not tooting his own horn, for we know about him only because his neighbor told us.  Outside his house, the man has a pine tree, and every year he ‘decorates that tree with gifts for people in need … clothing, shoes, grooming supplies, and food.  That is all I know about this man, but it is enough to tell me that his heart is in the right place.

tree-elderly-man

And sometimes it’s the bigger things …

SPORTS BBA-ROYALS-RANGERS 4 FT

His name is Cole Hamels, and he is a pitcher for the Texas Rangers major league baseball team.  Cole and his wife Heidi have made a donation to a camp, Camp Barnabas in Southwest Missouri, that provides a unique camping experience to people with disabilities and chronic illnesses.  What did the Hamels donate, you might ask?  They donated a home … but not just any home …

cole-hamels-homeThis is a 32,000-square-foot home located near Table Rock Lake, and accompanied by 100 acres of land.  The home and land are valued at some $9 million.  The Hamels initially built the mansion to be their home (though personally I don’t know why anybody would want such a big home), but once he signed with the Texas Rangers, they decided to make their home in the Dallas, Texas area.

Cole hamels 2Cole and Heidi had been so impressed with the works of Camp Barnabas that they decided to donate their home, rather than sell it.

“There are tons of amazing charities in Southwest Missouri. Out of all of these, Barnabas really pulled on our heartstrings. Seeing the faces, hearing the laughter, reading the stories of the kids they serve; there is truly nothing like it. Barnabas makes dreams come true, and we felt called to help them in a big way.”

But sometimes, both big and little come together …

He is just one man, a police officer on the Little Rock, Arkansas Police Department, but this is one man, one cop, who is making a huge difference in the lives of those he touches.

Meet Officer Tommy Norman.

tommy norman 5

He spends a part of every day with the community getting to know each member of the area he patrols and they get to know him. It helps create a trust between him and the community. The concept is known as Community Oriented Policing (C.O.P.) Community Oriented Policing is not a new concept, and actually dates back to 1829 in London, but in the U.S., it has been around since the 1980s.

tommy norman-4

tommy-norman-1.png

C.O.P. is used in many communities around the nation, and no doubt there are other success stories, but Officer Norman happened onto my radar, and this video of him interacting with the neighborhood kids so touched my heart that I focused on him for today’s post.

Isn’t this a breath of fresh air after all the recent stories we have heard about abuses of power by police?  I give Officer Norman a huge thumbs up for his good work, especially with the youth!

I apologize for the brevity of today’s Good People post, but like all of you, I am having a busy, hectic, and exhausting week, so I hope you will forgive me and still find hope in this post, hope for the future of humanity.

Love ‘n hugs to you all!