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Glancing very briefly: Pure And Easy



Inspired by our good Scottmeister, he from whom all good Who games flow, I decided to revive one of my old topics. This is what it's all about, for those not familiar: I take a song and semi-disect it, and then any who may feel so motivated can do the same. And it's a pretty broad game, which means you don't have to speak directly to the words but can talk about what the song means to you, or when you first heard it, or when you saw them do it live, or aspects of the music...whatever may cross your mind. And/or comment on my comments, or someone else's comments...let it take you wherever it may take you. You know...we're free.

This session: my all time favorite Who song, Pure And Easy.

"There once was a note, pure and easy,
Playing so free, like a breath rippling by."

This is what I want played at my wake. It's so beautiful, IMHO the most poetic PT line ever written. It defines freedom. Makes me feel like I'm standing on the top of a mountain with the wind in my hair.

"The note is eternal, I hear it, it sees me,
Forever we blend it, forever we die."

A little religion thrown in here, and a bit of social commentary too. Forever we blend it...could that mean searching for the true spiritual answer? Mangling the meaning?

"I listened and I heard music in a word,"

As I often do. But as someone once said, the page is my canvas and words are my paint. Sometimes words can be as musical as any music.

"And words when you played your guitar,
The noise that I was hearing was a million people cheering,
And a child flew past me riding in a star."

To me this is talking about a concert performance, except maybe for the star child. Maybe a fan taken to a new spiritual level by the music? This IS from Lifehouse, you know!

"As people assemble,
Civilization is trying to find a new way to die,
But killing is really merely scene changer,
All men are bored with other men's lies."

Ah, more social commentary. All I will say is it sure speaks to me of the current world situation in relation to the United States.

"Gas on the hillside, oil in the teacup,
Watch all the chords of life lose their joy,"

I doubt it will surprise anyone that I see this as a comment on profiteering. And yes, the pursuit of wealth will suck all of the joy out of life.

"Distortion becomes somehow pure in its wildness,
The note that began all can also destroy."

Probably my favorite line in the song. And I do believe that only in a pure, unbounded form can Art be expressed. Once you begin to set rules, it becomes a formula. Having said that, I suspect that Pete was once again speaking here of spirituality. The note is the maker of all things? Or is it the Big Bang? (Scott might say it's the same thing) Or is it just that much power can be dangerous? No nukes?

"We all know success when we all find our own dreams,"

Truer words were never spoken. Sang. Whatever.

"And our love is enough to knock down any walls,

THAT might be a bit optimistic. It's a great concept, though. At least I'd like to believe it's true.

"And the future's been seen as men try to realize,
The simple secret of the note in us all.

And more than any other line in the song, this (to me) expresses Pete's disbelief in organized religion (sorry, Jon, the song choice was not intentional). The secret is within us all. We're all sparks from the fire of creation. A common Townshend theme.

"There once was a note, pure and easy,
Playing so free, like a breath rippling by.
There once was a note, listen (x 18)"

Listen and you will hear it, on the wind, pure and easy.

And there you are! So...what does the song mean to you?


Cheers             ML
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