Original air date Sept 12, 2015 | Time 59:00
Philosopher Singer-Songwriters
James Taylor's "Before This World" and Paul Simon's "Love Is Eternal" both speak of the creation of the world. Leon Russell sings George Harrison's "Beware of Darkness" from 1971 using a tabla which matches Paul Simon's instrumentation in 2014 with Indian music. Leonard Cohen's imagery in "By the Rivers Dark" is Biblical and haunting, different from Harrison's straightforward philosophy. John Lennon's "Strawberry Fields" meaning was purposely obscured by John. His son Sean Ono Lennon deals with a Greek myth on "Don't Look Back" from Midnight Sun in 2014. Van Dyke Parks song "All the Golden" has a remarkable piano accompaniment. Van Dyke is famous for writing lyrics for Brian Wilson's songs for the Beach Boys Smile Album, we hear "Surf's Up" which ironically has nothing to do with surfing. Finally Joni Mitchell's "Hejira" is a beautiful perspective on love and life.