by Charly Mann
A great love song captures the essence of the best thing in life – true love – with a combination of rhyme, music and a great voice. These are songs that will live on into posterity because of the combination of powerful romantic lyrics and sublime music that perfectly convey the ideal of everlasting love.
1. Emotionally Yours by Bob Dylan. This is from his most underrated album Empire Burlesque (1985). One of the greatest songs ever written and probably with a great deal of divine inspiration.
Best renditions are by:
2. Love Is All Around, written by Reg Presley, lead singer of The Troggs. (These guys are best remembered for their version of the silly song Wild Thing.)
Best versions are by:
3. Always, written in 1925 by Irving Berlin as a wedding present for his wife. His wife as part of the gift received all the song royalities, which were substantial.
Our favorite renditions are by:
4. (Our) Love Is Here To Stay, was the last piece of music George Gershwin wrote before his early death in 1937. His brother, Ira Gershwin, one of the greatest lyricists of all time, wrote the words soon after George died as a poignant tribute to him.
The best renditions are by:
5. My Funny Valentine, lyrics by Larry Hart and music by Richard Rogers from 1937. There are more than 600 recorded versions of this song.
Best recordings of this song are by:
6. I Only Have Eyes For You, lyrics by Al Dubin, and music by Harry Warren. Composed in 1934 for a Busby Berkeley Musical called Dames.
Best versions are by:
7. True Love by Cole Porter from the 1955 film High Society starring Bing Crosby, Frank Sinatra, and Grace Kelly
Best versions are by:
8. Have I Told You Lately That I Love You, by Van Morrison
Best renditions:
9. Baby I Love You, by Jeff Berry and Ellie Greenwich
The best version is the original by The Ronettes from 1963. It was the follow-up to their huge hit Be My Baby. It was produced by Phil Spector.
Other great versions are by:
10. Never Ending Song Of Love, by Bonnie and Delaney Bramlett 1971
Best versions are by:
"The past is never the past. It is always the present. And you better reckon with it in your life and your daily experiences, or it will get you really bad. It will come and it will devour you. It will remove you from the present. It will steal your future. Your past is your past. You carry it with you always. These are your sins. You better learn how to live with them, and learn the story they’re telling you. Because they’re whispering your future in your ear, and if you don’t listen, you will be contaminated by the sins of your past."
Bruce Springsteen – ( from a January 2009 interview)
Bob Dylan’s Chimes of Freedom is one of greatest and most inspiring songs ever written. The imagery of its poetry takes us into one of the most visual and sensual experieces commited to rhyme. This is the one song in which Dylan, the master of ambiguity, says exactly what he thinks about politics, war, poverty, injustice, and hope. It is a song for all times.
Bob Dylan wrote this song in 1964 at the age of 23. It appears on his album Another Side of Bob Dylan.
The definitive version was recorded live by Bruce Springsteen in 1988, and gives the song the energy it needs to give full power to its words and images.
Chimes of Freedom
Far between sundown's finish an' midnight's broken toll
We ducked inside the doorway, thunder crashing
As majestic bells of bolts struck shadows in the sounds
Seeming to be the chimes of freedom flashing
Flashing for the warriors whose strength is not to fight
Flashing for the refugees on the unarmed road of flight
An' for each an' ev'ry underdog soldier in the night
An' we gazed upon the chimes of freedom flashing.
In the city's melted furnace, unexpectedly we watched
With faces hidden as the walls were tightening
As the echo of the wedding bells before the blowin' rain
Dissolved into the bells of the lightning
Tolling for the rebel, tolling for the rake
Tolling for the luckless, the abandoned an' forsaked
Tolling for the outcast, burnin' constantly at stake
An' we gazed upon the chimes of freedom flashing.
Through the mad mystic hammering of the wild ripping hail
The sky cracked its poems in naked wonder
That the clinging of the church bells blew far into the breeze
Leaving only bells of lightning and its thunder
Striking for the gentle, striking for the kind
Striking for the guardians and protectors of the mind
An' the poet an the painter far behind his rightful time
An' we gazed upon the chimes of freedom flashing.
In the wild cathedral evening the rain unraveled tales
For the disrobed faceless forms of no position
Tolling for the tongues with no place to bring their thoughts
All down in taken-for granted situations
Tolling for the deaf an' blind, tolling for the mute
For the mistreated, mateless mother, the mistitled prostitute
For the misdemeanor outlaw, chased an' cheated by pursuit
An' we gazed upon the chimes of freedom flashing.
Even though a clouds's white curtain in a far-off corner flashed
An' the hypnotic splattered mist was slowly lifting
Electric light still struck like arrows, fired but for the ones
Condemned to drift or else be kept from drifting
Tolling for the searching ones, on their speechless, seeking trail
For the lonesome-hearted lovers with too personal a tale
An' for each unharmfull, gentle soul misplaced inside a jail
An' we gazed upon the chimes of freedom flashing.
Starry-eyed an' laughing as I recall when we were caught
Trapped by no track of hours for they hanged suspended
As we listened one last time an' we watched with one last look
Spellbound an' swallowed 'til the tolling ended
Tolling for the aching whose wounds cannot be nursed
For the countless confused, accused, misused, strung-out ones an' worse
An' for every hung-up person in the whole wide universe
An' we gazed upon the chimes of freedom flashing.
by Bob Dylan
Both Bruce Springsteen’s and Bob Dylan’s music can be purchased at iTunes, Rhapsody, and Amazon.
Bob Dylan's website is bobdylan.com
Bruce Springsteen's website is brucespringsteen.net
by Charly Mann
Can we really define good and evil? These are terms that originate in our morality, philosophies, and religions, yet few people have defined precisely what either is. During the last few years, I have observed five of my friends (three religious and two atheists) use the term "evil" to describe someone they knew.
I believe evil is an unnecessary act that causes harm to another for one's own enjoyment or benefit. The defining characteristic of an act of evil is a lack of empathy. The root cause of evil is selfishness, and is something we should all guard against. In addition, to do evil, one has to rationally ignore their own conscience.
For example, I recently sold a DVD on EBay that is not compatible with most US DVD players. I noted this in my ad, but felt it might be overlooked, and purchased by someone who could not use it. When it sold to someone in Seattle I spent $9.00 shipping it to them, and paid EBay a $5.00 sales commission. I was aware that this person might contact me and want their money back because it was not what they wanted. A small part of me was prepared to say, "look I said clearly in the AD that this was not compatible with most American DVD players, and you bought it, and I'm already out $14.00 shipping and fees, so it is yours." But my conscience was clear that this was another human being, and I could not take advantage of their mistake, so I would definitely give them a refund. To do otherwise would be evil, because I would not be acting empathetically, but selfishly.
Empathy at Work
When I was 20, I encountered another example of evil. I was working in a record store in North Carolina. One evening, shortly before closing, a very beautiful, but extremely sad and distraught young woman came into the store. She tearfully explained that she had recently left an abusive relationship, had little money, and no friends or family close by. After closing, one my co-workers invited her to stay at his house until she could straighten herself out. That evening, he took the girl, me, and another male employee over to his home. When we got there he and the other male employee had a couple of beers. Then he offered to show the girl, who sat nervously and distraught beside me, where she could sleep. He took her into his bedroom, and emerged about ten minutes later saying he had had sex with her, and invited the other male to do the same, which he eagerly did. I was bewildered and saddened at what was going on, and when the other male came out, he told me it was my turn. I was appalled and declined. I left soon after this. I cannot imagine the additional trauma that having sex with these two men had on this poor soul. I suspect that she acquiesced because she was frightened and depressed. I never heard about the girl again, but as a coda to the story, several days later I had to take my two "friends" to the hospital to be treated for venereal disease.
Empathy is the cornerstone of civilized society. It is reiterated in the golden rules which say, "do for others what you would wish them to do to you," and "love thy neighbor as thyself." To be a part of a family or community requires one to care about the feelings and dignity of others. While I may like to play music louder than my daughter enjoys, I must recognize that her feelings are as important as mine, and I can either listen to music at a lower volume or use headphones. Anything that harms or hurts another soul, done consciously and unnecessarily, is selfish and evil.
Evil actions eventually do more harm to the perpetrator than to the victim. The laws of the Universe, or karma, always win out. I had a dream some years ago about how God might punish someone for evil. In my dream, God said all evil souls would have to spend 10,000 years in a conscious but motionless state where they would experience a dynamic and exciting world full of wonderful people and things but could not speak or physically interact with any part of it. I often think of this dream when I contemplate any selfish or evil action.
by Charly Mann
After more than half a century of life I have come to the conclusion that the majority of men in this world are boring, including myself, while the majority of women are interesting. I like to be around people who are clever, funny, and empathetic, and men rarely possess these qualities.
Men's conversation is usually limited to making themselves important, trying to get something (which often means flirting), or talking about something they find interesting. Women rarely have an agenda except wanting to connect through conversation. They are generally forthcoming about their joys, sorrows, problems, and insecurities; all things a man would never divulge.
Psychological research has shown that most women are strongly empathetic, while most men are self-centered and focused on trying to understand how things work. Women are also very good at understanding non-verbal communication, like reading facial expressions and interpreting tone.
Men are better at focusing on a subject than women, and usually dominate a conversation if it has purpose for them. However, most of the time a man is silent. In a typical day a woman talks more than three times as much as the average male. Women also make more and better friends because of their empathy and honesty. Men are too guarded and defensive to create an intimate bond with another human being. Men simply are not interesting because they are not interested in a relationship unless there is something in it for them.
If you carry your childhood with you, you will never grow old. I grew up in the 1950s in the idyllic community of Chapel Hill, North Carolina. When we leave our hometowns, it is not the town we miss, but our childhood.
Our lives are fated by dreams we have as children, and it is the riddle of adulthood to fulfill this destiny.
In my mind I have also been in Chapel Hill.
Visit me at Chapel Hill Memories.
The Old Well and South Building at The University Of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, NC
by Charly Mann
Most of us have a secret locked inside ourselves, that if discovered would provide us with almost everything we can dream or imagine. The key comes from contemplation and self-discipline that focuses on our inner self. Heaven and hell are around us always. Those who are focused on their outer self, which includes our appearance and financial well being, will eventually live in misery. True happiness comes from reflection, habitual thinking, and a personal disposition that emanates from our soul.
From the age of seven I have been enchanted with the idea of living happily ever after, and have made it a life quest to find that answer. I have spoken to hundreds of people – usually older and wiser than me, and read countless books and articles on the subject. In my website Uplifting Visions I share what I consider the best insights I have learned about achieving happiness in life.
The great breakthrough in one's life comes when you realize that you can learn anything you need to learn to accomplish any goal you set for yourself. This means there are no limits on what you can be.
In questions of science, the authority of a thousand is not worth the humble reasoning of a single individual.
We're not meant to fit in. We're meant to stand out.
If you love life, life will love you back.
Life isn't about finding yourself; it's about creating yourself.
Making a living is not the same as making a life.
Be more concerned with your character than your reputation, because your character is what you really are, while your reputation is merely what others think of you.
I don't need a friend who changes when I change and who nods when I nod, my shadow does that much better.
If you were all alone in the universe with no one to talk to, no one with which to share the beauty of the stars, to laugh with, to touch, what would be your purpose in life? It is other life, it is love, which gives your life meaning. This is harmony. We must discover the joy of each other, the joy of challenge, the joy of growth.
Judge yourself by your actions and not your intentions.
Discipline is the bridge between goals and accomplishments.
Call it Nature, Fate, or Fortune; all are names of God.
Remember to work hard. Look to the future with enthusiasm and hope. Accept responsibility, not only asking for your own rights, but also accepting responsibility for yourself, for other people, for nature and for future generations.
Goals are a means to an end, not the ultimate purpose of our lives. They are simply a tool to concentrate our focus and move us in a direction. The only reason we really pursue goals is to cause ourselves to expand and grow. Achieving goals by themselves will never make us happy in the long term; it�s who you become, as you overcome the obstacles necessary to achieve your goals, that can give you the deepest and most long-lasting sense of fulfillment.
Your imagination is your preview of life's coming attractions.
Ethical existence is the highest manifestation of spirituality.
My desire for knowledge is intermittent; but my desire to commune with the spirit of the universe, to be intoxicated with the fumes, call it, of that divine nectar, to bear my head through atmospheres and over heights unknown to my feet, is perennial and constant.
One-half of life is luck; the other half is discipline - and that's the important half, for without discipline you wouldn't know what to do with luck.
It is not the man who has too little, but the man who craves more, that is poor.
Security is mostly a superstition. It does not exist in nature, nor do the children of men as a whole experience it. Avoiding danger is no safer in the long run than outright exposure. Life is either a daring adventure or nothing.
By three methods we may learn wisdom: First, by reflection, which is noblest; second, by imitation, which is easiest; and third by experience, which is the bitterest.
There are two ways to slide easily through life: to believe everything or to doubt everything; both ways save us from thinking.
Adults are obsolete children.
You will never be the person you can be if pressure, tension, and discipline are taken out of your life.
Love never dies a natural death. It dies because we don't know how to replenish its source. It dies of blindness and errors and betrayals. It dies of illness and wounds; it dies of weariness, of withering, of tarnishing.
True happiness is to enjoy the present, without anxious dependence upon the future.
Love doesn't make the world go 'round; love is what makes the ride worthwhile.
If you're never scared or embarrassed or hurt, it means you never take chances.
Great minds have purposes, others have wishes.
Time is the coin of your life. It is the only coin you have, and only you can determine how it will be spent. Be careful lest you let other people spend it for you.
Choose a job you love, and you will never have to work a day in your life.
The secret of getting ahead is getting started. The secret of getting started is breaking your complex overwhelming tasks into small manageable tasks, and then starting on the first one.
We can't measure out goodness by what we don't do, by what we deny ourselves, or by what we resist, and who we exclude; but we should measure our goodness by what we embrace, what we create, and who we include.
Evil (ignorance) is like a shadow. It has no real substance of its own. It is simply a lack of light. You cannot cause a shadow to disappear by trying to fight it, stamp on it, by railing against it, or any other form of emotional or physical resistance. In order to cause a shadow to disappear, you must shine light on it.
The difference between adults and children is that adults don't ask questions.
No life ever grows great until it is focused, dedicated, disciplined.
You must live for another if you wish to live for yourself.
Why is there something rather than nothing? We do not know. We will never know. Why? To what purpose? We do not know whether there is a purpose. But if it is true that nothing is born of nothing, the very existence of something - the world, the universe - would seem to imply that there has always been something: that being is eternal, uncreated, perhaps creator, and this is what some people call God.
What lies behind us and what lies ahead of us are tiny matters compared to what lives within us.
The shortest way to do many things is to do one thing at a time.
Do not spoil what you have by desiring what you have not; remember that what you now have was once among the things you only hoped for.
A life, if well lived, is long enough.
The world is a dangerous place, not because of those who do evil, but because of those who look on and do nothing.
Time is the coin of your life. It is the only coin you have, and only you can determine how it will be spent.
The first step in the acquisition of wisdom is silence, the second listening, the third memory, the fourth practice, the fifth teaching others.
The best and most beautiful things in the world cannot be seen or even touched. They must be felt within the heart.
If you have integrity, nothing else matters. If you don't have integrity, nothing else matters.
Happy are those who dream dreams and are ready to pay the price to make them come true.
It's not enough to have lived. We should be determined to live for something. May I suggest that it be creating joy for others, sharing what we have for the betterment of humankind, bringing hope to the lost and love to the lonely.
When it comes to eating right and exercising, there is no "I'll start tomorrow." Tomorrow is disease.
Science may have found a cure for most evils; but it has found no remedy for the worst of them all -- the apathy of human beings.
Experience taught me a few things. One is to listen to your gut, no matter how good something sounds on paper. The second is that you're generally better off sticking with what you know. And the third is that sometimes your best investments are the ones you don't make.
The greatest weakness of most humans is their hesitancy to tell others how much they love them while they're still alive.
Happiness is as a butterfly which, when pursued, is always beyond our grasp, but which if you will sit down quietly, may alight upon you.
Overcome your fears and you can reach your potential.
Science is organized knowledge. Wisdom is organized life.
Six essential qualities that are the key to success: Sincerity, personal integrity, humility, courtesy, wisdom, charity.
Only Ideas have long and lasting consequences, and ideas come mainly from books not television, movies, or video games.
Live as if you were to die tomorrow. Learn as if you were to live forever.
True love is eternal, infinite, and always like itself. It is equal and pure, without violent demonstrations: it is seen with white hairs and is always young in the heart.
Life is a marathon, not a sprint.
You have succeeded in life when all you really want is only what you really need.
It's not how much money you make that's important - it's how much money you keep and how long you keep it.
Peace cannot be kept by force. It can only be achieved by understanding.
Where all think alike, no one thinks very much.
The only way to change your life is to change your mind.
No pessimist ever discovered the secret of the stars or sailed to an uncharted land, or opened a new doorway to the human spirit.
To say that a man is your Friend, means commonly no more than this, that he is not your enemy. Most contemplate only what would be the accidental and trifling advantages of Friendship, as that the Friend can assist in time of need by his substance, or his influence, or his counsel. Even the utmost goodwill and harmony and practical kindness are not sufficient for Friendship, for Friends do not live in harmony merely, as some say, but in melody.
If you are going through hell, keep going.
I have six great friends that taught me all I knew; their names are What and Why and When and How and Where and Who.
Very few people really care about freedom, about liberty, about the truth, very few. Very few people have guts, the kind of guts on which a real democracy has to depend. Without people with that sort of guts a free society dies or cannot be born.
If you cannot accept fear of failure, you will never be successful.
The good life is inspired by love and guided by knowledge.
Reduce the complexity of life by eliminating the needless wants of life, and the labors of life reduce themselves.
Most people are about as happy as they make up their minds to be.
A certain degree of physical harmony and comfort is necessary, but above a certain level it becomes a hindrance instead of a help.
Nothing is as weak as a relationship that has not been tested under fire.
Too many people spend money they haven't earned, to buy things they don't want, to impress people they don't like.
Wise men speak because they have something to say; Fools because they have to say something.
There are two things to aim at in life: first, to get what you want, and after that to enjoy it. Only the wisest of mankind achieve the second.
Money can contribute significantly to happiness if spent wisely.
Money often costs too much.
Passion is the genesis of genius.
Even a fool, when he holdeth his peace, is counted wise: and he that shutteth his lips is esteemed a man of understanding.
Love your enemies; do good to those who hate you; bless those who curse you; pray for those who treat you spitefully. When a man hits you on the cheek, offer him the other cheek too; when a man takes your coat, let him have your shirt as well. Give to everyone who asks you; when a man takes what is yours, do not demand it back. Treat others as you would like them to treat you. If you love only those who love you, what credit is that to you? Even sinners love those who love them. Again, if you do good only to those who do good to you, what credit is that to you? Even sinners do as much. And if you lend only where you expect to be repaid, what credit is that to you? Even sinners lend to each other to be repaid in full. But you must love your enemies and do good; and lend without expecting any return; and you will have a rich reward: you will be sons of the Most High, because he himself is kind to the ungrateful and wicked. Be compassionate as your Father is compassionate.
We learn wisdom from failure much more than from success. We often discover what will do, by finding out what will not do; and probably he who never made a mistake never made a discovery.
Our prayers should be for blessings in general, for God knows best what is good for us.
If a problem cannot be solved, then you need to find the best way to manage it.
The greatest wealth is health.
Modesty forbids what the law does not.
Wisdom is the supreme part of happiness.
You may think that you are the product of events that are largely beyond your control, but you do control the moment. The present is the time you take control of what your future will be.
Believe those who are seeking the truth; doubt those who find it.
An idealist believes the short run doesn't count. A cynic believes the long run doesn't matter. A realist believes that what is done or left undone in the short run determines the long run.
Patience and perseverance have a magical effect before which difficulties disappear and obstacles vanish.
Self-pity is our worst enemy.
It is preoccupation with possessions, more than anything else, that prevents us from living freely.
Any so-called material thing that you want is merely a symbol: you want it not for itself, but because it will content your spirit for the moment.
An object in possession seldom retains the same charm that it had in pursuit.
Three great forces rule the world: stupidity, fear and greed.
An intellectual is a person who is always seeking knowledge and has the ability to change his mind when he learns new information.
Materialism is the only form of distraction from true bliss.
To be able to fill leisure intelligently is the last product of civilization, and at present very few people have reached this level.