Locked down with my Ukulele 4

These are strange times and I feel like things are moving at a thousand miles an hour. It seems at times that it’s difficult to breathe. I don’t know what’s best, to still be working full time or to be furloughed. I have had to take some time off work to give my heart time to catch up with my head. Is it the pressure of the world we are living in now or has life been running away with the living since before lockdown.

John Lennon is reported to have said “life’s what happens while your busy making plans”. Maybe being forced to stop and look at what’s important is a good thing. Will we still drive our cars to the bottom of the garden? Will we still block our roads on the way to work a single person in every car? Will we be able to travel in a car with a person that we are not living with?

Nature does seem to have been the winner in this. I live in a village and feed the birds. The birds are doing well. Before lockdown I saw road kill, in spring, all over the place. I still see the odd unfortunate creature by the side of the road, when shopping or having to go into the office to drop off or collect files, but I saw the most beautiful pheasant the other day. In the sunlight the colours on its head were super HD (high definition). We have a beautiful world if we decide to look after it.

Whatever happens the world will still be turning.

While my guitar Gently Weeps

I can’t play this yet! I need to put in the hours. When I listen to the existing recordings I don’t think I can do it justice. For a guitarist it has to be a top ten if not top five guitar tracks.

It has noticeably, been covered by Jake Shimabukuro in his instrumental versions on you-tube. On the ukulele! I watch in awe as he caresses this anthem from the four strings

It was written by Beatle George Harrison and in the studio recording it has been reported that Eric Clapton played on it. He apparently wrote it on returning from India and it is supposed to reflect the turmoil among the group when they got back. Reading the lyrics it can be confusing, perverted and inverted. On explanation of the lyrics it could reflect our confusing times.

One line of the lyrics states “I look at the world, and I notice it’s still turning” when we wake up tomorrow it still will be.

Stay safe.