Four: An Underrated Epilogue

Amongst Beatles aficionados, a lot of ink is used discussing Penny Lane and Strawberry Fields Forever, two undeniably excellent songs that act a direct counterparts, the former a sunny photo-book recollection of small pleasant moments in suburbia, the latter an open-to-interpretation reconsideration of childhood memories through the lens of an introspective adult (or something like that.) The former is a straightforward pop song with bright piano and soprano trumpets, the latter a surrealistic soundscape of instruments fading in and out, remarkably harmonically considering the first and second halves are completely separate takes.

They were released as a Double A-side single, back when such a thing as a side existed, failing to make the top spot on the charts because of Englebert Humperdinck. They were later rolled into the Magical Mystery Tour double-EP, and there I think they met their underrated little cousin, Blue Jay Way.

Blue Jay Way is a George song, from a period when he was exceptionally experimental and overly obscure, and as he would be throughout his songwriting career, fairly inconsistent. A lot of the time, especially before Abbey Road, he didn't really succeed in marrying his romantic and mystic sides (indeed, there may be no more mystical track than Here Comes The Sun, thing of beauty it is.) He also struggled with melody, his songs being fairly obtuse compared to his bandmates', he was not gifted the way Paul and John were in that respect, he had to learn.

Blue Jay Way is a terrific (by some measures) yet haunting song that fits quite well with those two for a few reasons, the most obvious being geography. Sort of. Whereas those songs took their names for, and therefore invoked, areas around Liverpool, Blue Jay Way is a residential neighbourhood in Los Angeles, where the scene is promptly set (the opening lyric, "There's a fog upon LA...") the song is not overtly philosophical like say, Within You Without You. It just describes a time spent waiting for people to arrive at a house. It's literal like Penny Lane but also elevates itself near the realm of philosophy with its remarkably chilling chorus, "Please don't be long, please don't you be very long" and a spacey, organ-based melody. It kind of sounds like Moby, 30 years earlier.

But whereas Penny Lane and Strawberry Fields root themselves in the past (either way of seeing it,) Blue Jay Way sounds like a man crashing on the shores of the present. Think how far, by 1967, the Beatles had come, from the shores of Liverpool to the vistas of Los Angeles. The telling second line, "And my friends have lost their way," has an obvious double-meaning that someone prone to over-interpretation, like myself, might find. It's a reminder that they aren't playing in Penny Lane, nor daydreaming in Strawberry Field. They're in LA, and it's foggy, and they've been up for a long time.

Just my thought, anyhow.

It's been a fairly busy weekend, it being Thanksgiving and all. Yesterday I procrastinated all over the place, ended up at Cary's/Chris' place, hanging out with them while they dogsat and watched (most of) Fargo. It was not a terribly interesting day, I caught up on some reading (but not nearly as much as I ought to have.) Today being the family gathering, I mostly entertained the kids. I had expressed my concern to Manda that the kids have become more and more tough to please lately. They were very eager to play Wii but grew tired of each game after a bit of playing, although they've much improved at Golf, which is good. They also played with whatever toys they could find (a problem since B. keeps a ton of Transformers around and he doesn't dust.)

They also goaded me and Eric into playing Soccer and Tee-Ball in the backyard, even though it was chilly and after dark. Sigh. The things we do to entertain kids.

Instead of turkey, mom made prime rib. Keen.

Anyway. I've got 1000 words on MASH or the Godfather to write, so I should probably get busy soon. The house is falling apart. Tim came by (despite the breakup, he and my mom remain in good standing) and fixed our drain for now, but she's gotta get that thing done permanently. The handle on the side screen door. The dog. Oh, the dog. Poor guy.

Anyway, I should shuffle off. More lamentations tomorrow. Keep on rockin
-Scotto