Why Was it Sad?

In conjunction with the previous post on music, of which I am not and never will be an expert, I had an experience the other day that I wanted to share. There is a new public television special out entitled, "LennoNYC". It was about John Lennon not the hero of the USSR. Anyway, hubby and I bought tickets to see a preview of it. We were supporting the local public television station and Hubby has always loved anything to do with the Beatles. Well maybe not everything, I don't think he likes bobble heads...but I digress. There was a young man who serenaded us before the screening. He played the guitar and piano and had a very nice voice. He sang selections from the Beatles eras, from some unknown (at least to me) stuff and well, a smattering of many of Lennon's compositions. We were surrounded at this mini-concert, as you might presume, by plenty of boomers and very few Gen-Xers. Many of the crowd had long, ponytail length gray hair, were wearing crocs, jeans and their most comfortable shirts. Almost everyone kept time with either their feet, tapping on the carpet or their fingertips, tapping their hands. Some of the more exuberant sang out loud with the young man. The songs made you re-live certain things, remember certain things, even sort of long for some long ago things. It was wistful, was what it was. When the young man moved to the piano and sang, Imagine, I gotta say, I was close to tears, thinking of that other young man who died just because some crazy person had a gun and some stupid idea.

After watching the movie, which chronicled Lennon's life pretty much with Yoko Ono after the Beatles when he lived in NYC and he became house dad with Sean--I began to appreciate that he had been writing again. He had worked on an album, was hoping to finish it and tour again. I didn't know that. I only minimally knew some of his newer songs. But the potential for more music was there. And I again I became sad and thought what a waste that this man who helped to create the music that my contemporaries and I grew up with, that he should be killed and never reached whatever new boundaries in music he set for himself. My hubby and I agreed that the movie was a tad too long, but interesting nonetheless. Although I could have done without the Yoko Ono influence, but that's just my opinion. And so I went home and listened to some Beatles music, just for old times sake. And mourned again the talent that is gone just because he was in the news.