(original post-date: February 23, 2011)
This past Saturday, I turned on the TV for a rerun of Saturday Night Live. The broadcast first aired before the holidays, and Paul McCartney was the musical guest.
That was my interest in the rerun… Paul McCartney.
And so I busied myself while the show was on, waiting for his appearances.
As for those moments in time, he was awesome. No, he doesn’t quite have the voice he once had, but it’s in damn fine shape. And he will always remain not only the prettiest Beatle, but quite possibly the prettiest rock star to emerge from that era.
Oh, Paul.
If only I had known.
If only I had known that I was not too young for you…
During the SNL broadcast, he did four sets, the third of which began with A Day in the Life. It was beautifully performed. And, after some instrumental riffing, Paul parlayed that haunting ballad from the Sgt. Pepper album into an audience participation event of Give Peace a Chance.
Initially, Paul and his band sang the lyrics, but ultimately, the audience was given the responsibility of owning the chant.
Give peace a chance.
There was something very touching and special about the experience.
And so goddamn innocent.
It stopped me in my tracks, and it made me think about the basic good in Lennon’s plea.
Give peace a chance.
With everything that is happening in the Middle East – and with our own country’s uprisings in the Midwest – I’m wondering these days about the chance of peace.
Which leads to my dictionary…
This time, I’m grabbing the off-line tome.
…No surprises, actually. Per Webster’s, the definition of peace (n.) is “the condition that exists when nations or other groups are not fighting.”
I realize it may seem odd that I felt compelled to find and share a definition, but when I came away from that SNL rerun – when I had witnessed an audience sharing the lyrics of Give Peace a Chance – I don’t know, I just thought that maybe peace could be given a chance.
I thought that maybe I was missing something…
Maybe I needed to revisit the definition of peace…
I mean, if these audience members could sing with such conviction...
But, no… I do understand the definition of peace.
I understood it all along.
And so I return to what I said a moment ago.
It’s innocent.
According to Webster’s, innocent (n.) means “free from guilt.”
It’s understandable that one who is free from guilt might believe that peace is possible.
But… the world is run (mostly) by those who are not innocent.
And peace will never serve those people.
I wish it were different.
I truly do.
… I also wish that I were married to Paul McCartney.
Cause if I were? No lie, I’d buy peace for all of us and then we’d have a big party!
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4 comments:
John was always the Beatle for me, but I must admit that Paul has aged quite well.
What will it take for real change, I don't know.
That song is like a prayer. And how long have we been singing it? Shame on us that this world is the best we can make, given what we know, and given who we truly are.
If you do marry Paul (it's not too late, I don't think), and if you do have that party, count me in. Meanwhile, thank you for this lovely mix of thoughtful and funny. I loved it.
I have never met Paul but I have met his ex-wife Heather Mills. She was the after dinner speaker at a business function I went to and complimented my friend on her choice of dress. The friend did not know who she was until afterwards.Heather was still married to Paul at the time. We found her speech a little hard to swallow being mostly about how she had lost her leg and then gone on to do so much charity work. We couldn't knock her efforts but she blew her own trumpet a little too much. Her taste in men? Hmmm, Paul was 'the boy next door' type but I don't think I ever looked at him as anything other than that! Good post, just as good second time around :-)
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