Saturday, July 28, 2007

IF WE ONLY HAVE LOVE....

I remember when I first heard "Jacques Brel is Alive and Well and Living in Paris" . I was in college and saw the play at the Charles Street Playhouse in Boston. It may have been the first real stage production I'd seen, and I came away with a love for the theatre that I will carry forever.
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These were the days of Viet Nam and the American 60's belief that caring and effort could and would change the war, the warriors, the world. It's not as easy to carry that hope and optimism these days, but I've recently realized that the core of what I believed then I still believe now. I've always been sensitive about being labeled "touchy-feely" or "liberal" or "naive". I don't like labels in general and the implication that I may not be a thoughtful, knowledgable, logical person irked me then and it irks me now. Today, however, I have grown into my self and my beliefs. I don't need anyone to agree with me, but I stand behind myself and how I see things with conviction and clarity.
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So, about Jacques Brel: I left the Charles Theatre that night long ago and one song stood out like a giant. I've never forgotten it. It was about love. Everything I've thought about and felt and accepted and been affected by in this last year has been about love--deep love--so when I recently read the words to the following song from Jacques Brel I realized this is STILL what I believe.
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I share the words to this song with you this weekend because, like me, you may find, know, hope, believe, and/or pray that love really can change everything. And if it can change everything, it can change it for the better.
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So when I think of what "for the better" would look like, I see and hear this song:
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If we only have love
Then tomorrow will dawn
And the days of our years
Will rise on that morn
If we only have love
To embrace without fears
We will kiss with our eyes
We will sleep without tears
If we only have love
With our arms open wide
Then the young and the old
Will stand at our side
If we only have love
Love that's falling like rain
Then the parched desert earth
Will grow green again
If we only have love
For the hymn that we shout
For the song that we sing
Then we'll have a way out
If we only have love
We can reach those in pain
We can heal all our wounds
We can use our own names
If we only have love
We can melt all the guns
And then give the new world
To our daughters and sons
If we only have love
Then Jerusalem stands
And then death has no shadow
There are no foreign lands
If we only have love
We will never bow down
We'll be tall as the pines
Neither heroes nor clowns
If we only have love
Then we'll only be men
And we'll drink from the Grail
To be born once again...

Then with nothing at all
But the little we are
We'll have conquered all time
All space, the sun, and the stars.

24 comments:

  1. oh how i wish i could SING this song on this blog, that is, if i could sing, which i can't.

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  2. KJ, you have already been admonished by Ces not to make me cry!!!!!

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  3. Quand on n'a que l'amour
    KJ knows her classics.
    You knew, of course, that Jacques Brel is actually Belgian.
    But he spent most of his time in Paris.
    I have a collector's item set of cds with his work here somewhere.
    A great artist, you are so lucky to have seen him in the flesh.
    The song Quand on n'a que l'amour dates from 57, I believe.

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  5. "I needed a spirit uplift so I visited KJ's blog." Thanks for sharing these lyrics. I once had a t-shirt that said "Go to Brel!"

    But as for left-leaning values being "touchy-feely, liberal and naive" have you noticed that many of the countries who have most successfully eradicated poverty, violence, bigotry and inequality (i.e. the most pragmatic, intelligent and educated of countries), like those in Scandinavia, are among the most left-leaning in the world?

    PS Do you think Ces is a fan of Dr Laura? :)

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  6. PS again: In answer to your question, I'm REALLY proud of you, KJ. You have the nerve to tackle what you really love and to hell with the economic/social fallout. But more than that, you are willing to embrace and love those whose values are contrary to yours. I need to take a few KJ lessons. How much do you charge?

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  7. That's lovely.

    By the wya, I like that photo of Stella in the sidebar. To my way of thinking, you just can't go wrong with those hound mutts. I think they are beautiful.

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  9. i will be weighing in with a discourse of my own but i am currently busy changing diapers, talking baby talk, making funny faces, singing songs, and banging spoons on pots.

    even love is controversial and multi-faceted. :(

    to move from the complicated to the simple: that's got to be helpful....

    :)

    ps i quite love my visitors and blog friends!

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  10. You are right: the song by Brel is beautiful and also heartwarming. But in a comment, KJ, you say in the last line: I quite love my visitors and blogfriends. That is of course a very friendly and nice saying, but I take the liberty not to take this too serious. How can you love someone you never met and just 'know' a bit from internetblogs. I think that the word 'love' is a word that is very much and too easily used... All the songs about love. Movies, books and so on. Most of the time it concerns love for another human being. But we all know that such love can easily be gone. The number of divorces is amazing, the children who don't want to know their parents.... you name it. If we speak about the universal love it is still more difficult. Maybe the only real unselfish love is what a mother feels for her child...

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  11. You have to really love or care for someone who did not come out of your body to change their stinky diapers. Count how many diapers you change to this weekend.

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  12. Really great kj! I enjoyed this very much. If we only have love then we will know the women are in charge... Sorry to any men who read this!

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  13. what an ispirational post and song! especially for me, someone who once didnt felt that "love" truly exists..

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  14. KJ .... now CES is making me cry!

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  16. it is simply not fair that i have so much to say and can't wait to respond to these interesting comments and instead i am still changing diapers and singing baby songs.

    btw: we're exhausted after two days of keeping up with mr. ryan, who is a wonderful sweet baby. i am now in awe of my daughter jessica and of menchie, and anyone else who has little ones. (no ces, not you!)

    and ces, who's taking about changing the world? i'm just promoting the power of love. even the song only has a couple of lined where the message is widely global.....no, there i go. i can't keep my two cents to myself until i have time to chat-a-way.

    :)

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  18. Stop making excuses KJ. How much care does one infant need? Between two profressionals and highly educated adults, it should be a piece of cake, Hmn? What do you mean not me? I did not give birth to two honey nut muffins, they are real people.

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  19. Bless you for taking care of little Ryan this weekend -- I know that he is in good (though tired hands) and his momma is enjoying some much-deserved alone time! Eli's mom took our girls this weekend -- it was wonderful, and wonderful to get them back today.

    I love this song -- I'm going to send it to my mother-in-law who is a tireless advocate of non-violence (she grew up in two different war zones) and a teacher of conflict resolution. In her office she has a photo of a sculpture ... a huge gun with a knot tied in its end! Love it!

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  20. Brel, I have mnost of his songs on my pc and he makes me sad and smile at the same time. Our theatre did a play on him with a great Dutch actor who sang his songs with the same passion. It was breathtaking
    Oh yes Im back...:)

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  21. Real love is powerful medicine, and if everybody knew what real love was like, how different would the world be...

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  22. I don't like being labeled either ... I think it's 'their' way of organizing things because they don't get the big picture and have to compartmentalize everything.

    But I DO believe in the power of love with all of my being.

    Lovely post kj.

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  23. If ... is not reality, but it sure would be nice :-)

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