Hi there! Were you looking for something specific? If your answer was a resounding "YES!", you've come to, tripped in, or just found a blog that deals with the specifics! It's what we do! This is Tuesday's Musical Notes. (imagine James Earl Jones saying that with great authority...) Each week we take a look at a song, some popular, some a bit more obscure, but all liked by somebody and find out a few specifics about the song and the artists who perform those songs. In the process we discover that most music eludes to an even grander specific that what we might realize. Welcome! We're glad you're here!
This is a blog that released on May 31, 2012, since that time, every Tuesday, we have explored the specifics about music and some of the specific, yet mysterious aspects about life. Today is no exception as we feature one of Tuesday's Musical Notes favorite bands. (I really do say that a lot don't I? Check out the archives at the left to see who some of those favorite bands might be) Are you ready to get started? That was the cue for another resounding...wait for it..."YES!!!"
(Full disclosure. Tuesday's Musical Notes loves the song, we despise the nuisance of traversing said intersections of streets. And we only have a handful that we even have to utilize as we travel!! I suspect that makes me somehow less cosmopolitan... There, I've said it. Rant over. We now return you to the positiveness that is your typical Notes...)
Inspired by a trip where Yes (Tuesday's Musical Notes -"Changes" (Yes)) was travelling through Scotland in support of The Yes Album, "Roundabout" came about due to the over 40 roundabouts the band encountered between Aberdeen and Glaskow. Writer and lead singer Jon Anderson claims to having smoked marijuana during that same trip, thus inspiring the "mountains come out of the sky and they stand there" lyric as well as some of the other songs more interestingly "artistic" language.
The #13 hit solidified the band's legacy as Prog Rock torch bearers as it hit upon its most successful and well known lineup. Group members included lead vocalist Jon Anderson, acoustic and electric guitar aficionado Steve Howe, bassist (well used for this song) Chris Squire (died in 2015 as the only original Yes member to play on every studio album from 1969's Yes to 2014's Heaven and Earth), newcomer to Fragile keyboardist Rick Wakeman, and drummer Bill Bruford. This grouping of band members would be the 5th incarnation of the band since its inception. To date, there have been 26 dispositions of the band Yes all of which have performed "Roundabout" at a concert as it has been a staple to Yes tours since its release. At Band Members of Yes - wikipedia.org you find this graphic:
Based on this, maybe "Roundabout" isn't only a big hit for the band, but describes its makeup as well. I don't know, maybe its an ok thing for our lives to be a bit of a roundabout. We get to get off (if we can figure it out, sorry, I said it was over...), see new things, encounter new friends, and enjoy the variety that life affords. On occasion, we choose to exit on the pathway in which we originated bringing us full circle to where we started. The Israelite patriarch Jacob knew a little something about that.
It seems that for many years, Jacob, now Israel, had taken every exit available on the roundabout of his life. He entered it fleeing his brother with the excuse of going to find a wife, and exited only once before returning to it over 20 years later. As he reenters with much trepidation, Israel wonders how he will encounter Esau after all of these years. That's the thing about roundabouts, even your entry point will change given enough time. Esau's attitude towards Israel is proof of that. Let's see just how much:
Esau's life had also been blessed in the 20 years Israel had been gone. No longer a brother who wanted to kill, he was a brother welcoming home a prodigal (The Gospel of Jesus according to Dr. Luke, chapter 15, verses 11-32 NASB/The Message/KJV) Jacob had sent an offering of respect and peace to Esau in the form of a herd. According to Genesis 32:14-15 NASB/The Message/KJV this herd consisted of, "two hundred female goats and twenty male goats, two hundred ewes and twenty rams, thirty milking camels and their colts, forty cows and ten bulls, twenty female donkeys and ten male donkeys." (That's quite the retinue to navigate this particular roundabout...but I digress) Even folks who know little about livestock realize this was a sizable gift (just imagine how large the entirety of the Israel's entourage must have been. God really blessed Israel in that 20 years). Esau invites Israel and his family to his home in the region of Mt. Seir. (map coming up soon!!!) Israel, while not accepting the invitation, suggest that it would be better if his family moved at a much slower pace than what Esau had suggested. He also remembered that what would eventually become the mountains of Edom was not the promised land that God had given to Abraham.
Israel, not really leaving all of his Jacobic (I know, just made that one up, spell check really doesn't like it that much...) ways behind, exits this particular roundabout headed to the west for Succoth, and eventually settles in the area of Shechem where he names the land that he purchases El-Elohe-Israel (Mighty Is the God of Israel). This is much closer if not right in the Middle of the Abrahamic promised region. (Anticipation over...here's the map! Check out all of the regions in today's blog, no roundabouts indicated...)
Thus ends the travels of the patriarch Israel. While there is much life that occurs to him in the future, his days of accessing roundabouts seem to be at a close.
What about you friend? There is nothing wrong with living a traveling life ("Posh" by Lionel Jeffries from the 1968 movie Chitty Chitty Bang Bang). As you negotiate roundabout after roundabout in your life, making choices that will affect your destination, remember that regardless of where you exit, you never stop being you. Your vagabond life will always have the foundation of who you are. As we mature, we settle in on specific standards of character and integrity. The best way The Notes suggest you can do that is by getting off the roundabout and taking the off ramp to Holy Spirit who is waiting in the safe place like Esau or the father of the Prodigal Son wanting to cheerfully embrace you and welcome you home. He waits to instill in you a peace in your stormy travels, He waits to provide teaching in your educational travels, and ultimately He waits to call you His own when your last roundabout is traversed and you end your travels. Trust in Him and He will direct your paths... Proverbs 3:5-6 NASB/The Message/KJV
You need only say a resounding YES!!!
'Til Tuesday,
Serving HIM by serving You,
randy
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