our opinions: CURMUDGEON MUSINGS
The Last
BY MARK BROWN
Word
Lyrics To Live By
I
n the words of the great prophet Paul
McCartney: “In the end, the love you take is
equal to the love you make.”
In a lot of the speeches I’ve made across
the country, I found that I was using song lyric
quotes to get certain points across. They feel
more effective in so many cases. There are a
huge amount of fantastic quotes by scholarly
people, but it’s funny how some of the best are
by country songwriters and rock stars.
Let’s look at a few.
“It’s not something you get over. It’s some-
thing you get through.”
Lyrics on a new Willie Nelson album enti-
tled, Last Man Standing. Rather profound lyrics,
I think, especially when the story behind them is
explained.
It seems he was talking with a friend who
just lost someone they cared for deeply. He
basically said, “How can I ever get over this?”
Willie said, “It’s not something you get over. It’s
something you get through.” Then he wrote the
song, Something You Get Through. It’s really a
profound response to a very sad situation, in my
opinion.
One of my favorite lines in a song is from
John Lennon’s Beautiful Boy.
“Before you cross the street take my hand.
Life is what happens to you while you’re busy
making other plans.”
Now, what is more profound than that?
Works in any situation; you can apply it in every
112
walk of life. It’s funny, the more you think about
it, the more true it becomes.
Only problem is, Lennon used it, but prob-
ably did not come up with it originally. It was
first used in a Readers Digest article in 1958 by
Allen Saunders.
But I couldn’t care less. The reason we know
it is that it’s from a John Lennon song.
Here are a few more of my favorites:
“Castles made of sand melt into the sea even-
tually.” — Jimi Hendrix
“I’ll trade all my tomorrows for one single
yesterday.” — Kris Kristofferson
“Every new beginning comes from some other
beginning’s end.” — Semisonic
That last line is particularly good. We used
it years ago on stage with a company we had
just bought. We were working to persuade their
people to come with us, without turmoil. And
that is the line our CEO used in his keynote
speech. Imagine, a rock song lyric to help in
business.
Of course, there are always some lyrics you
would not want to use, like, “I am he as you are
he as you are me and we are all together.” — I
Am the Walrus, by The Beatles. Only use this if
you’re feeling a little like Cybil.
And don’t use “Picture yourself on a train in a
station with plasticine porters with looking glass
ties.” — Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds, by The
Beatles; unless, of course, you own a cannabis
hut in Colorado.