Locked down with my Ukulele 19

These are strange times I normally write my thoughts and then write about the song. This time I wrote about the song, which informed my thoughts about my musings. So I have to remember you, as the reader, might not know what’s coming up next. You might be better reading about the song first and then come back to this bit.

It was the falling in love with a beautiful girl until the bus came along. I’ve done that myself. I used to travel a lot and used the rail network a lot. So I was presented with lots of opportunities to people watch. I’d see people. Look at the way they were dressed, their body language, facial expression and imagine the life behind the image. Most people traveling have either a puzzled expression because they don’t know where they are going. Or completely neutral because they aren’t bothered where they are going.

I think the reality of my imaginings would probably be very different. Have you ever spoken to someone on the phone and thought you’d got a pretty good image of who you were talking to and then you meet them and they are nothing like you thought they would be.

I remember a colleague come up to the office giggling. We asked what was so funny? She had been in reception and one of the receptionists had been on the phone and shall we say was being playful with the man at the other end of the line. He came into the building later and clearly he was expecting a vivacious busty blond. What greeted him was a grey haired and somewhat wrinkled lady in her mid sixties. The shock was obvious in his expression.

I’ve been sitting doing my watching. Seen a beautiful girl glide past and imagined her perfect life in a mist of loveliness. Boyfriend, captain of the rugby team, sports car, holidays in the sun on the yacht. Chances are, by a fairly high percentage, that’s all wrong.

I can remember a girl in school when I first saw her I thought she was gorgeous. She ended up being a total misery. She also had a spiteful streak a mile wide. I quickly found her less and less attractive. So much so that I said, then, if I ever have a daughter she’ll not be named Alice (name changed to protect, Me).

Peaceful Easy Feeling

This was a song written by Jack Tempchin who is an American singer song writer best known for the songs he wrote or co-wrote with Glen Fray.

In the 70’s he was staying in a communal type home and he’d sit in the picture window and people watch. He’d see the beautiful girls sit on the bus stop bench. He said he used to fall in love with them until their bus came. The line “Saying I will never see you again” does make a bit more sense.

Apparently one day he saw a girl with turquoise earrings against her dark skin and wrote the line into the opening of the song.

When he played the song for Fray he asked if he could develop it further with his new band the Eagles. The next day Fray gave him a demo track on cassette, Tempchin later remarked “it was so good I can’t believe it.”

I’ve been playing the song on my ukulele for a while. It’s not hard and the version I have is only three cords C, F, and G.

You could listen to the Eagles version but on your own you can’t recreate the riffs of multiple guitars and drums. It is quite pleasant to do a steady rhythm, which is dictated by the pace of the lyrics.

Stay safe