Sunday, September 25, 2011

Perfect endings .... are where you find them

The British rock band Queen was composed of Brian May, top; Freddie Mercury, bottom; Roger Meddows-Taylor, right; and John Deacon, left. This photograph was not supposed to be here. My words were not suppose to be here. This post was simply going to be two versions of the song, "The Show Must Go On," by Queen. But, as often is the case, my mind began to tumble up and down, back and forth, and then my fingers began to type.

A personal note

The first time I saw the rock band Queen perform on television, I was in a bar with friends. The band members were dressed as women, complete with makeup. After a few words among us, I threw my half-full bottle of beer at the television and scored a perfect hit. A cheer went up in the bar.

The owner of the bar knew me. I was an after-work and sometimes evening regular. He brought me another bottle of beer and said, with his typical smirk a bit wider than usual, "This one will cost you $500." I laughed, took out my wallet and peeled off five $100 dollar bills. Oh, to be a punk kid again.

In any event, the $500 bottle of beer turned out to be worth it in many ways, not the least of which is that the broken television still is mounted on the wall in the bar and bears a sign which reads: "The only perfect pitch ever thrown by Fram." Local myths and legends can live a long time.

Within a few years, the members of Queen were less often seen in their feminine finery and, over time, this band became my favorite among all those which roamed the air waves the next few decades. I will not get into Queen's lead singer, Freddie Mercury's, choice of lifestyles, but I will say the only thing that mattered after a while was his unbelievable talent as a singer, song writer, musician and on-stage presence. That is the way life is supposed to be, I think now, but did not then, a few years earlier in that bar.

Trivial as it might sound, one of my bigger regrets in life is that I never saw the band, with Freddie, live on stage. Now, it is too late.

As for the music posted here, both versions feature "The Show Must Go On" performed by Queen. In the first, a series of still photographs of band members is shown with the song. The second is taken from Maurice Bejart's ballet celebrating the life of Freddie Mercury and ballet dancer Jorge Donn. It was filmed at the Theatre Metropole in Lausanne, Switzerland.

I know as much about ballet and dance as I know about flowers, which is nothing. But, there are times and places in a person's life when you do not need any knowledge, much less any expertise, and all that is required is to look and to listen and, maybe, to let your emotions drift free while being glad that you are where you are at the time you are because you are in the midst of a magic moment. So it has been for me a time or two over the years. I hope for a few more magic moments.

This piece of writing has been ended three times already, but I keep adding onto it and I still want to say this: There exists myth that people are formed as children and remain within that mold their entire lives. I have no doubt that is true of many people, but I call it a myth because I believe experience and education -- as vast and available as they have become -- cause many people to change and to evolve from the "mold of their childhood."

As Hamlet told Horatio: "There are more things in heaven and earth, Horatio, than are dreamt of in your philosophy."

I have no doubt "the experts" usually are the last to figure this out. They have become so specialized in their fields of expertise that they develop tunnel vision and are incapable of seeing the actual ways of the world or the people who are in it.

If you have no idea what I just said, neither do I. We are even.


The Show Must Go On

Empty spaces - what are we living for
Abandoned places - I guess we know the score
On and on, does anybody know what we are looking for...
Another hero, another mindless crime
Behind the curtain, in the pantomime
Hold the line, does anybody want to take it anymore
The show must go on,
The show must go on
Inside my heart is breaking
My make-up may be flaking
But my smile still stays on.
Whatever happens, I'll leave it all to chance
Another heartache, another failed romance
On and on, does anybody know what we are living for?
I guess I'm learning, I must be warmer now
I'll soon be turning, round the corner now
Outside the dawn is breaking
But inside in the dark I'm aching to be free
The show must go on
The show must go on
Inside my heart is breaking
My make-up may be flaking
But my smile still stays on
My soul is painted like the wings of butterflies
Fairytales of yesterday will grow but never die
I can fly - my friends
The show must go on
The show must go on
I'll face it with a grin
I'm never giving in
On - with the show -
I'll top the bill, I'll overkill
I have to find the will to carry on
On with the -
On with the show -
The show must go on...




8 comments:

Anonymous said...

Fram hi.. like your taste in music..and yes it all is very good..i tried to answer yesterday on the other post but blogger would not let me,,soo today coming back to this friendly blog..really i am tired after work and have not so much to say..just happy your ok..and whats waiting for you in the week in middle of christmas and next new year fram??



wind..it is the same if you are a woman or a man..we talk soul talk dont we??but is it like this..sometimes blogs just show something about ourselves and thats why i thought you were a male..i dont really know why..but it is not important.just do the things you like and be ahppy so the rest of the world goes on happy to sharing good vibrations..you probably read of Esther and Jerry Hicks..i mean some of your thinking is like they say..but i dont know..i am a free bird and thinks what i like..today i think this and tomoorow i think that..thats is the good thing about beeing human..we can always change,,or behaviour or waht we thinh..i think..LOL::!!

Monika..great to see you..i just LOVE YOU sweetie!!Keep on writing you must do!!))

Kaysa..on vacation eh??where????

ok..then i will go back to my Heimskringla reading about the Sverres Saga.and The Birkebeiners and Baglers...Think to understand owns country..one has to take a look backwards and forwards!!


Thanx for good music Fram.It is always a pleasure.

Fram Actual said...

Well, Anita, sometime during the week between Christmas Day and New Year's Day, I will depart the snowy lands of North America for another destination -- maybe snowy, maybe not. Wherever that destination might be, I am hoping someone will be there waiting to greet me. Stay tuned for further announcements.

Ninety-nine percent of the books I still own are buried in boxes in an otherwise unoccupied bedroom of this house, including my copy of the "Heimskringla" and other assorted books about the Old Norse. Who can say how long it might be before these books see the light of day again. All answers are found through the study of history, Anita.

Yes, the music is good, and so was your visit.

Daliana Pacuraru said...

Hello, Fram!
Have you seen me in the second video? Yes, behind the courtain!...

I like so much this post, I came here almost everyday. Not because I cannot find this music anywhere else, but here, on your place everything has different meanings.
Somehow.
I have another 203 favorite posts on your blog.

Hello Anita!I miss your blog!

Ok Fram! You are not very talkative
(I love this word)lately!I hope
that you are ok.
I wish you all my best and take care of you and your crew.
My best regards!

Anonymous said...

wow..the bar has opened again..woo hooo..thanx Fram...and thanx wind..

Kaya said...

Perfect endings... I love them and dream about them and I never almost never get them. There is always on their way. .

"I know as much about ballet and dance as I know about flowers, which is nothing. But, there are times and places in a person's life when you do not need any knowledge, much less any expertise, and all that is required is to look and to listen and, maybe, to let your emotions drift free .."

That is absolutely true, true and true. That is about me. Sometimes I even don't try to explain to myself why this poet, this artist this musician touched my heart. On some deep intuitive level I know that it's good and beautiful.

About myth. I think it would be so good to remain through our whole lives as a child. Not to loose this ability to see the world with wonder. Enjoy what we are doing and when we are bored stop doing it. Be happy for a while and then be sad.... Be honest with ourselves....

But then comes in our way education, domestication ,rules and beliefs and we are not anymore who we are. We are what we think we should be....

I would really wonder if there are more things in heaven than on earth? Anyway, I like our imperfect earthly life...

Greetings.

Fram Actual said...

I thought I recognized your dance slippers beneath the fold of the curtain, Wind, but I was not completely certain. You must have been a very little girl when this production was filmed.

Only 203 favorite posts? What about the rest? Please, just do not mention which you favor the most. The others might have their feelings hurt.

Yes, talkative is an interesting word. It has a Russian sound to it, someone once told me. I might not be talkative in the morning, or in the afternoon, or in the evening, but it is rare when you will find me not talkative during at least one of the three phases of the day.

See you around, Wind.

Fram Actual said...

Yes, Anita. The bar had to be closed for renovation for a couple of days. There was a fight, and the television was broken. Well, not exactly a fight, and I guess you already know about that. Anyway, we are open for business again.

Maybe, someday, I will write about how I broke my knuckles in that bar in a real fight. Well, I guess that was not exactly a fight, either. And, come to think of it, I might have written about that indirectly already in an earlier post.

Oh, well. Take care.

Fram Actual said...

Well, I think there are perfect endings, Kaya. The biggest problem is that when something ends, something else often starts, so the perfect ending might be neglected or forgotten along the way.

Then, too, much of perfection depends upon how one defines "perfect." I might say my day was perfect, although not everything in it was absolutely perfect. Today, for example, I (so far) have experienced a perfect day, although there are elements which might have made it even better. Too me, it is sort of like the "perfect shot" analogy I used in a post a week or two or three ago.

There can be and there are myths for adults as well as for children. There probably are fewer of them now than in times past, due largely to education, but they still exist. For instance, I can recall two or three incidents in the Marine Corps which were embellished and elevated to the status of myths. A person need not be a child to experience the magic of a place or a person or an event.

I also know a few people who are exactly who and what they are, although it took a while for them to reach that point in their lives, and who do not give a hoot about role-playing or behaving in a way to please anyone other than themselves.

In a sentence, they did not invent themselves. The evolved into themselves.

It is nice to have you back from your vacation, Kaya, and out and about again.

Something special ....