"The Same Old Sun"
The Alan Parson's Project was one of my favorite bands as a young man. I had all of their albums up until 1987, and like many philosophical youth, found meaning in the lyrics of their songs. For the most part, the songs, lyrics written by Eric Woolfson, were dark. Every now and then, though, songs would shine through as uplifting. One such song is the last number on their 1985 album, "Vulture Culture". The song is titled "Same Old Sun".
When compared with the rest of the album, it is very melancholy but then suddenly becomes uplifting, a fascinating song to say the least. For me, it held a very important place; I picked up the albim as I was leaving the Army after a remarkably short enlistment and a medical discharge. The song has extremes; "Tell me what to do, now the light in my life is gone from me, is it always the same is the night never ending?" to the chorus "And the same old Sun will rise in the morning, the same bright stars will welcome me home, and the clouds will rise way over my head, I'll get through my life on my own." In the end, the song is about hope in the face of loss.
Think about the subject of the song for a moment. I certainly did the other day, as I was driving down Jacksonville's newly completed SR-9A. Just north of the University of North Florida, the highway is elevated over sensitive wetlands populated by thick groves of magnolia trees. These trees were in full bloom that mid June day, covered with thousands of white blossoms that just shown against the dark understory like botanical stars against a universe of dark green. It didn't matter my state of mind at the time, they were going to bloom regardless. For them, life goes on, as it does for everything. And overhead, the Sun shown just as it had since its creation and will do for a long time yet.
In that instant, I felt suddenly insignificant. But not unimportant.
Each and everyone of us has a role to play in this drama we call life. We may be bit players, we may have major roles. Regardless, we are all here for some reason. We just dont't know what it is, ultimately. It is easy to let the troubles we have and had overwhelm us. It is easy to look upon the ocean and the night and the sky and that thick magnolia forest and feel that we don't matter at all, that perhaps it is best if we were to simply disappear into those places, perhaps that we would make the world a better place, or at least ease our own pain and suffering.
Pain and suffering, though, are usually transient events. If we have strength enough, they soon pass or at least grow distant. In time, if we believe in ourselves and God, the pain soon becomes a memory. It is simply a matter of getting through the difficulty and remembering that even though there may be darkness in our lives, that life will go on if we let it.
And the same old Sun will rise in the morning.
For Daphne.
When compared with the rest of the album, it is very melancholy but then suddenly becomes uplifting, a fascinating song to say the least. For me, it held a very important place; I picked up the albim as I was leaving the Army after a remarkably short enlistment and a medical discharge. The song has extremes; "Tell me what to do, now the light in my life is gone from me, is it always the same is the night never ending?" to the chorus "And the same old Sun will rise in the morning, the same bright stars will welcome me home, and the clouds will rise way over my head, I'll get through my life on my own." In the end, the song is about hope in the face of loss.
Think about the subject of the song for a moment. I certainly did the other day, as I was driving down Jacksonville's newly completed SR-9A. Just north of the University of North Florida, the highway is elevated over sensitive wetlands populated by thick groves of magnolia trees. These trees were in full bloom that mid June day, covered with thousands of white blossoms that just shown against the dark understory like botanical stars against a universe of dark green. It didn't matter my state of mind at the time, they were going to bloom regardless. For them, life goes on, as it does for everything. And overhead, the Sun shown just as it had since its creation and will do for a long time yet.
In that instant, I felt suddenly insignificant. But not unimportant.
Each and everyone of us has a role to play in this drama we call life. We may be bit players, we may have major roles. Regardless, we are all here for some reason. We just dont't know what it is, ultimately. It is easy to let the troubles we have and had overwhelm us. It is easy to look upon the ocean and the night and the sky and that thick magnolia forest and feel that we don't matter at all, that perhaps it is best if we were to simply disappear into those places, perhaps that we would make the world a better place, or at least ease our own pain and suffering.
Pain and suffering, though, are usually transient events. If we have strength enough, they soon pass or at least grow distant. In time, if we believe in ourselves and God, the pain soon becomes a memory. It is simply a matter of getting through the difficulty and remembering that even though there may be darkness in our lives, that life will go on if we let it.
And the same old Sun will rise in the morning.
For Daphne.
posted by Robert at 4:57 PM
1 Comments:
Your very perceptive regarding your analysis of 'Same Old Sun'. I understand composer and singer Eric Woolfson was encountering some very difficult times, years ago, when he wrote this song.
There is no doubt that Eric wrote and sang this song with first-hand emotion
As a Parsons/Woolfson fan, this is also my favorite song by the duo.
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