Good morning, and welcome to Monday.
Yesterday was Father’s Day here in Australia, and I was surprised by my kids with last-minute tickets to see Paul Kelly.
I could talk about the genius of Paul Kelly for ages, but I’ll save that for another post. But just saying, ‘To Her Door’ is the best story ever written in 45 lines. (Don’t @ me).
He had two support acts - one of which was legendary country and blues artist Lucinda Williams.
Williams is 72 (Kelly turned 70 this year himself), and she belted out some of her own songs and a few covers from a lifetime of performing.
But what she said about one of the covers intrigued me.
She said that she and her band had the opportunity to record at the famous Abbey Road Studios in London and recorded some songs by The Beatles.
Fair enough - when in Rome!
Introducing the song she commented that she wasn’t sure why they did it because the “best version of the song” had already been recorded. Then she performed ‘When my Guitar Gently Weeps’. (It was really good - you can hear it here.)
It was odd to me how she introduced it. As if to say ‘why bother recording or performing it because it can’t possibly be better.’
The point of performing the song isn’t to make it better. It’s to add your own uniqueness to it.
Everything has come before. Even original works are sitting there waiting for an original interpretation.
To prove that point about an hour later Paul Kelly performed Shakespeare’s Sonnet 18 (“shall I compare thee to a summer’s day”), but to gentle guitar. Applause, tears etc.
When you’re making anything - it’s your originality we want. We want you to interpret it in your own way. Put your spin on it. Whatever cliche you want, it’s coming from you so it’s already ‘original’.
Mark Twain said:
“There is no such thing as a new idea. It is impossible. We simply take a lot of old ideas and put them into a sort of mental kaleidoscope. We give them a turn and they make new and curious combinations. We keep on turning and making new combinations indefinitely; but they are the same old pieces of colored glass that have been in use through all the ages.”
So whatever original spin you’re putting on your week, make it yours and it will count.
See you next Monday Morning,
Wade
Much impressed Wade with your love of music - and how you are enthusing your family. I recall how you loved so much a concert by the octogenarian Paul McCartney. I saw a concert by Paul Kelly - must be 30 years ago, in Melbourne. Wish I could recall what he played.
J.C. in Japan.