More Songs From Living on the Earth – extended album notes and lyrics

Purchase CD – More Songs from Living on the Earth

I wrote these songs in the 1960s and ‘70s, when I lived and created my books in rural communes in Northern California, Vermont and Hawaii – except for Paisley Days, which I wrote in 1986, looking back on those times. Miraculously, the cassette home recordings I made of them survived into 2013, when I digitized them, relearned the songs, and began producing this recording, with the help of a host of super-talented collaborators.

It’s not my first dip into the well of songs I composed during that time. My first CD, Music from Living on the Earth, released in 2000 during my national tour for the 30th anniversary edition of my book Living on the Earth, is another collection of 17 of these songs. It’s mostly a solo vocal/guitar recording (the last track is an a capella choir).

Also, the CD Songs from Being of the Sun, released in 2013, is a re-mastered recording of music I wrote or co-wrote during the late 60s and early 70s, recorded with and by composer/musician Ramón Sender Barayón, just before our book Being of the Sun (Harper & Row, 1973) was published.

The musicians on More Songs From Living on the Earth (including me) were recorded by Chris McNeil (at his studio in La Herradura, Spain), Mark DeCozio (at his studio in Scottsdale, Arizona) and Ron Grant (at his studio in Los Angeles CA).

The synth orchestration and programming on “Devotion to a Spiritual Guide,” and the editing, mixing and mastering of the whole album are all by Ron Grant, an Emmy and Oscar-winning film composer. He created the orchestral/choral arrangement for Devotional for a Spirit Guide, plus sound effects on New Years Eve Party, and additional synthesizer sound tracks on Butterfly Farewell and Yabyum. This is the 4th CD on which we have collaborated. He also creates animated stories for children.

Los Angeles-based graphic designer and marketing consultant Al Lopez created the digital layout for the packaging from my illustrations, lettering and design ideas. This is the fifth CD art collaboration I’ve done with Al. I respect his abilities and ideas tremendously.

The dazzling golden photo of me on the traycard was taken by Vin Oota on May 30, 2012 at Café Slow, Kokubunji, Tokyo, Japan.

In the photo, I am wearing organic cotton, handmade, fair trade clothing designed by the brilliant Kaorico Ago for her Japan-based natural fashion company, Little Eagle.

I created all of the music, lyrics, and arrangements, the packaging design, liner notes and illustrations (most of which are from my book Living on the Earth.) I sang all of the lead vocals, played guitar on every track (melody guitar on all except tracks 5, 9, 14 and 17, on which I played rhythm guitar), sang harmonies on tracks 4, 6, 11 and 15, and produced the CD on behalf of Indigo With Stars, Inc. The songs are published by Bay Tree Music, a subsidiary of Indigo With Stars, Inc., and all of the songs are copyrighted and registered with ASCAP as of 2014.

About the musicians:

Some of Mark Hewins’ guitar solos are played on a guitar synthezier, and sound like pan pipes (Piper of the Woods), bells (Yabyum), banjo (Green, Green Rains) and ethereal harmonics (Butterfly Farewell). He’s from the UK and recorded for me in Spain. Besides playing guitar, he does research and development for new electronic musical instruments.

Gwendolyn Sanford is a psych folk luminary who has made many beautiful CDs of her own. Her soprano harmonies are on Beautiful, Beautiful, Have a Good Time, and New Years Eve Party. She’s based in LA, where she and her husband Brandon Jay create musical soundtracks for TV series including Weeds, Orange is the New Black, and American Princess, as well as perform in bands they lead, separately and together.

Brian Brigham is a professional vocalist based in Los Angeles, currently singing back-up in ’60s pop legend Franki Vallee’s band, and doing studio vocal work in between tours.

Gonzalo Palacios is a wonderful young guitar player from Madrid who we recorded on mandolin in Los Angeles, where he lives and works. I love that his mandolin style is more southern European than bluegrass; it works perfectly on Have a Good Time and New Years Eve Party.

Tom McNalley is a great young guitarist based in Los Angeles. I totally under-used his talents, requesting only a couple of rhythm guitar tracks (Surviving in Style and Song of You and Me) and a lead solo (Song of You and Me).

Louis Hanshaw is a pop guitarist/vocalist/arranger from the UK, based in Torrox, Spain, whose genius for middle harmonies shows up on Have a Good Time and New Years Eve Party.

Benn Clatworthy is a multi-reed player from the UK, based in Los Angeles. He played a swinging tenor saxophone on Paisley Days (1986), as well as a lovely classical flute duet that Ron Grant wrote for Devotional for a Spiritual Guide.

Doug Webb is a renowned live and session player in Los Angeles. He played soprano, alto and tenor saxophones as well as clarinet on my 2006 CD What Living’s All About. So, I called him to play clarinet in the 1920s style again, on Hang Around and Boogie.

Dwight Kilian is based in Phoenix, and used to be Adjunct Professor of Jazz Bass at Arizona State University, but now works as the musical director of a big church. He’s a very busy man, but, in an astonishing marathon, he managed to record all 17 of the bass tracks in one epic day at Mark DeCozio’s studio in Scottsdale, and kept his usual positive attitude through it all. I especially love his bowed drone on Onward, Onward Ever Flow.

Lyrics, plus notes about the songs:

1. Surviving in Style:

These lyrics contain a statement of my personal philosophy, beginning with a reference to William Blake’s poem, “Eternity”:

He who binds to himself a joy
Does the winged life destroy;
But he who kisses the joy as it flies
Lives in eternity’s sunrise.

Blake’s poem is about spontaneity and non-attachment as a spiritual path.

The lyrics of Surviving in Style observe us all learning from each other, expanding our ability to love, and caring for the Earth. They visualize peace and disarmament, and all people sharing the resources of the Earth. They also allude to the mass extinction toward which the human race is currently rushing.

I wrote this song in the early 1970s, long before climate change was even being discussed. This song refuses defeat. It is a call to action.

Verse 1
Well, I have seen both fame and fortune
I have let them go by
Only thing that I hold on to
Is to kiss the joy as it flies
Flying away, each moment giving birth
To the next and next, on forever
Time is a teacher, second only to love
And we are learning to be better
Better at loving, better letting go
Better at living in the shadow of the future

Verse 2
Well, I have blamed the older people
For the way the world was spinning
Towards disaster, bend over,
And kiss your ass goodbye
But now I say each generation
Can find a means or measure
To help out, and make the world survive
We are all teachers, we are all yearning to love
And we are learning together to be better
Better at sharing, better at showing our love
Better at shining through the shadows of our fears

Bridge
Someone with the right tools could take the bombs apart
Someone with the right words could open people’s hearts
With open-hearted sharing, there is still enough for all
With open-hearted daring, erase the writing on the wall

Verse 3
Well, I have had another vision
Of a world where everybody
Lived in harmony and safety and non-conformity
It’s just a conscious jump away
And we can take that jump today
To make a future our children can survive
Let’s let them teach us
To laugh and to love
And to make our little world a little better
Better for children, better for creatures of the earth
Better for coming generations of the future

Coda
Singing about survival, surviving in style
Living long, and dying with a smile.

2. Piper of the Woods:

An erotic love song, in which the archetypal god of the woods and fields is invoked through the eyes of a human lover. His iconic pipes surround the listener, darting from one stereo channel to the other, as if the Piper were merrily dancing through the trees, calling and enchanting with his music. The beloved singing to the Piper is clear that, while she surrenders to him, she is not subservient. They meet as equals.

Verse 1
And in the morning you awakened next to me
Took my pretty body in your arms
Through the trees the sun was shining gently
Spreading warmth, as we flirted and fused
Through your eyes Pan was smiling at me
The playful piper of the woods

Verse 2
Over longer distances you have spoken to me
Taken my soul into your own
Through the wires we exchanged electricity
From your home, over highways and roads
Through the words spoken explicitly
Of playful mornings in the woods

Bridge
Speaking your beautifully chosen words
Weaving your stories of whimsy
You ignited my gypsy soul
Reminding me, strength is within me
Strength is within me.

Verse 3
And on the morning we awaken next, you’ll see
As you take my picture with your mind
Through our lives we collect memories
Cruel or kind, we interpret as we choose
Through our youth time both lingers and flies
Oh, playful piper of the woods

Bridge 2
Singing my quickly frozen words
Believing the gift merely comes through
I’m repaying a debt in kind
Reminding you, faith is within you
Faith is within you

Verse 4
And in the evening our stars intertwine
As you take my pretty body in your bed
Beneath conjuncting moons so freely
You have said that I am what you choose
Beneath our fantasies we meet equally
Oh, playful piper of the woods

Coda
Playful piper of the woods, playful piper of the woods
Playful piper of the woods, playful piper of the woods

3. Hang Around and Boogie:

“Groovy” was the superlative of choice for English-speaking bohemians in the late 1960s and early 1970s. It implies being “in the groove,” in synch with the natural rhythms of life. The narrator of the song, a flirtatious girl speaking first to herself, and then to a prospective partner, describes the very relaxed intimate relationship she desires, and then suggests that we all live a life we love.

Verse 1
Would you like a love in your life?
Yes, I’d like a love in my life;
I want somebody groovy
To hang around and boogie with me.

Verse 2
Would you like to live by the sea
And plant a little garden with me?
I want somebody groovy
To hang around and boogie with me.

Bridge 1
Somebody easy to laugh with
Someone to go half and half with
On the dues and the juice.

Verse 3
I like to do the things that I do,
And I like the way that I do them, too.
I want somebody groovy
To hang around and do them with me.

Verse 4
Would you like a girl in your life?
You wouldn’t have to call her your wife.
All she wants to do with you
Is hang around and boogie with you.

Bridge 2
Somebody mellow to hug with,
Someone to roll on the rug with
And play in the hay

Verse 5
What’s your favorite version of bliss?
Wrap it up and seal with a kiss
Take it home and open the card
Have a little love in your life

Coda
Have a little lovin’ in your life!

4. Devotional for a Spiritual Guide:

A hymn of appreciation for a person who has focused over a long period of time on developing unconditional love, selfless service, and higher consciousness, thereby inspiring others to do the same, but in their own ways. The third verse is a set of life instructions received from such a being.

Verse 1
Your love is the signature of God’s love in our lives
When you came we knew that God was listening
And your heart is the temple drum at our initiation
Your eyes are the altar of our christening
So deep is the love you’re expressing
From a Source that’s never lessening
So remember wherever you go today
You’re going with our blessings.

Verse 2
Your soul is a masterpiece painted of compassion
Your mind is a channel of creation
And your life is a Sufi tale of non-attachment
Lived in every moment and location.
And our love is a heart to heart connection
With a movement toward perfection
And the beauty that we find in you
Could only be a reflection

Verse 3
Each day is an amphora full of holy wine
Each breath we sip it from a chalice
Drink deep of the nectars of the sun and the moon
Shining on our planetary palace
And whoever you meet here, love them
For our cups are always filled again
And follow your wildest fantasy
For that will be your salvation.

5. Serenade:

A shimmering summer blues-waltz for two lovers living close to nature.

Verse 1
Sun down, moon crown, blue skies, rosy clouds
Oh moon, you’re the song that I’ll sing about
As the sun goes down
Lily ponds, coconut fronds
In your crescent light

Verse 2
Sun-crowned moon man, blue eyes, gentle hands
Oh you, you’re the one that I’ll serenade
As the sun goes down
Stars fall through the hall
Of the citadel of time

Verse 3
Sunrise, sleepy eyes, another day in paradise
With you, free to follow our fantasies
‘Til the sun goes down
You take me far beyond the stars
I’ve ever seen before

Verse 4
Sun high, you and I, in a meadow in July
And you dance above and inside of me
‘Til the sun goes down
Shadows pass through the grass
Bowing to the east

Verse 5
Sun down, moon crown, blue skies, rosy clouds
Oh moon, you’re the song that I’ll sing about
As the sun goes down

6. Beautiful, Beautiful:

A celebration of the powers of positive thinking, appreciation of others and self, enjoyment of the moment, and the beauty that radiates from a person engaged in these processes.

Chorus
Beautiful, beautiful, beautiful, beautiful
Beautiful, beautiful, beautiful, beautiful
Beautiful, beautiful, beautiful, beautiful
Beautiful, beautiful, beautiful, beautiful

Verse 1
Everyone I know is so beautiful, beautiful
And everywhere I go is so beautiful, beautiful
My oh my, it’s all beautiful, beautiful
And so am I, I’m beautiful, beautiful

Bridge 1
I’ve taken off those blue-tinted shades
This rosy colored vision’s paying back in spades
I believe in magic that flows from above
And beauty is a talent for inspiring love

Verse 2
Look at yourself, you’re so beautiful, beautiful
And everyone else is so beautiful, beautiful
When you can see we’re all beautiful, beautiful
That’s how you can be so beautiful, beautiful

Bridge 2
Throw away the worry and bring on the bliss
Turn your mind right over, let it dance like this
No more waiting for pie in the sky
We get to go to heaven before we die

Verse 3
Everybody here is so beautiful, beautiful
There’s nothing to fear when it’s beautiful, beautiful
So come on and say it’s all beautiful, beautiful
A beautiful day, so beautiful, beautiful

Chorus
Beautiful, beautiful, beautiful, beautiful
Beautiful, beautiful, beautiful, beautiful
Beautiful, beautiful, beautiful, beautiful
Beautiful, beautiful, beautiful, beautiful

7. Green, Green Rain:

A year of weather changes in Northern California, from arid summer to stormy winter, with its flooding rivers. The sheet music was first published in the book Being of the Sun, which I co-authored with Ramón Sender Barayón, in 1973.

Verse 1
Green, green, green, green spring valley forest
Sun smiling shy, gently calling
Back the rain from the grass, turn, turn summer brown
‘Til the green, green rains come falling.

Verse 2
Fall, fall, fall thunder showers in the autumn
Dark clouds shout, for they’re roaring
Power songs to the grass, turn, turn winter green
When the green, green rains come falling.

Verse 3
Long, long, long, long cold winter nights
Rain seems to call out a warning
Of a flood, and the grass cries, cries in the mud
Like a lady all covered for mourning.

Verse 4
Pray, pray, pray for the sun to come back
Sun shining warm on our bodies
That have grown, with the grass, green, green in the winter
When the river came up to the cottage

Verse 5
Green, green, green, green spring valley forest
Sun smiling shy, gently calling
Back the rain from the grass, turn, turn summer brown
‘Til the green, green rains come falling.

8. Hard Living:

The work of changing human society so that it benefits the many, rather than the few, is often stressful, exhausting, and dangerous. Yet, it must be done. Loving and sharing imparts strength and inspiration.

Verse 1
It’s hard to go on living when you can’t go to sleep
It’s hard to go on walking when you’re falling toward your feet
And it’s hard to be forgiving when the whole world weeps

Chorus
But it’s doing things that are hard that makes you strong
It’s doing things that are hard that gives you song
Lord, it’s hard, hard living, loving brothers and giving,
No, it never, never was easy in this hard, hard world

Verse 2
It’s hard to go on talking when you can’t back down
It’s hard to go on walking through a racetrack town
And it’s hard to see the blocking that you’re doing now

Chorus
But it’s doing things that are hard that makes you strong
It’s doing things that are hard that gives you song
Lord, it’s hard, hard living, loving brothers and giving,
No, it never, never was easy in this hard, hard world

Verse 3
It’s hard to face the lessons that you thought you learned
It’s hard to face the people that you know you burned
And it’s hard to take the karma that you know you’ve earned

Chorus
But it’s doing things that are hard that makes you strong
It’s doing things that are hard that gives you song
Lord, it’s hard, hard living, loving brothers and giving,
No, it never, never was easy in this hard, hard world

9. Hippie Hill:

In the mid-1960s, on a certain hillside in Golden Gate Park, San Francisco, California, drum circles formed, dancers swayed, and neighbors from the Haight-Ashbury, Richmond, Sunset and Fillmore districts would gather to socialize, share what they had, and talk about what they hoped to build. It was the birth of a new society, based on compassion before profit, creativity before conformity, and serenity before materialism.

Chorus
Hippie Hill groovin’, white clouds movin’ on, so slow
Cool grass is soothin’, long dresses movin’ past, billow
Whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa.

Verse 1
I’m feeling the sun in the air
Through the tangles of my hair
There are children and dogs running free
Through the conga drums’ African beat
Whoa, whoa

Chorus
Hippie Hill groovin’, white clouds movin’ on, so slow
Cool grass is soothin’, long dresses movin’ past, billow
Whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa.

Verse 2
If there’s heaven, it’s here, right now
If it isn’t, it’s a-comin’ any how
So I’m diggin’ that comfortable sky
And the trees are all nodding in time
Whoa, whoa

Verse 3
Get a groove on and move on, down here, right now
It’s the happ’ningest place in this town
Bring the best thing that you’ve got to share
Cause a new world is being born here
Whoa, whoa

Chorus
Hippie Hill groovin’, white clouds movin’ on, so slow
Cool grass is soothin’, long dresses movin’ past, billow
Whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa.

10. Butterfly Farewell:

People evolve, and, like caterpillars becoming butterflies, they depart for new realms that resonate more harmoniously with their evolved selves. This song is a farewell to enduring forced conformity, ridicule and cruelty. This is a departure without revenge, but, rather, with the joy of newfound freedom.

Verse 1
Today I am a butterfly
Flying to a better sky
Not another bitter sigh
To utter as I flutter by
So high, so high
Goodbye, goodbye

Verse 2
Once a walking sleeping bag
Caterpillar scallywag
Followed any waving flag
I’ve taken off my number tag
I’m free, to be
Just me, I’m free

Verse 3
Aloft upon these lovely wings
Everything inside me sings
Far from those confining things
Those frowning clowns, those poison stings
I go, I grow,
I flow, I glow

Verse 4
Today I am a butterfly
Flying to a better sky
Not another bitter sigh
To utter as I flutter by
So high, so high
Goodbye, goodbye

11. Have a Good Time:

Happiness becomes possible when consciousness is focused entirely in the here and now moment. Then, many kinds of fulfillment can be realized.

Chorus
Have a good time, have a good time
Everybody loves to have a good time
From the ridiculous to the sublime
Everybody loves to have a good time

Verse 1
You can make your work play, just have a good time
And once you get your pay, go have a good time
It’s a beautiful day, so have a good time
Don’t delay, go have a good time

Chorus
Have a good time, have a good time
Everybody loves to have a good time
From the ridiculous to the sublime
Everybody loves to have a good time

Verse 2
Well, the way to relate is to have a good time
Or rehabilitate, try to have a good time
Are you looking for a mate, just have a good time
Don’t hesitate, go have a good time

Bridge
Eat when you’re hungry and sleep when you’re tired
Love when you’re loving and dance when you’re wired
Hug when you’re lonely and cry when you’re sad
Everybody does it and it ain’t so bad

Verse 3
Instead of making trouble just have a good time
And if you’re seeing double, got to have a good time
Blow a shiny bubble, and have a good time
Rockin’ in the rubble, gonna have a good time

Chorus
La la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la
La la la la la la la la la la la la la la la la

Verse 4
If you want to find God, just have a good time
If you find it too hard to have a good time
Tell us what you want is to have a good time
You’ll get your reward, you’ll have a good time

Chorus
Have a good time, have a good time
Everybody loves to have a good time
From the ridiculous to the sublime
Everybody loves to have a good time

12. Onward, Onward Ever Flow:

Inspired by this quote from the Book of Tao:

Nothing in the world is more gentle than water, yet nothing is stronger.
Water nurtures life, yet cuts through solid rock.
Overcome obstacles with the strength of gentleness.

The sheet music was first published in the book Being of the Sun, which I co-authored with Ramón Sender Barayón, in 1973.

Chorus
Onward, onward flows the water
Quiet sounds and life below
Lapping soft against the earth’s side
Never stopping, ever flowing,
Onward, onward, ever flow.

Verse 1
Find me in the mountain meadows
If I go, I never know,
Find me smiling on the valley
Onward, onward ever flow

Chorus
Onward, onward flows the water
Quiet sounds and life below
Lapping soft against the earth’s side
Never stopping, ever flowing,
Onward, onward, ever flow.

Verse 2
Sunshine humming on the mountains
Ever down the melting snow
River running in the valley,
Onward, onward ever flow

Verse 3
Rocks are stiff against the water
Never let their softness show
Soon are broken down to sand dunes
Onward, onward ever flow

Chorus
Onward, onward flows the water
Quiet sounds and life below
Lapping soft against the earth’s side
Never stopping, ever flowing,
Onward, onward, ever flow.

13. Song of You and Me:

When two artists fall in love, they share not only their erotic and emotional attraction to one another, but mutual appreciation of their creativity, skills and knowledge as well.  Collaboration becomes part of their love dance.

Verse 1
Ever since I was thirteen years I played a steel guitar
And I dreamed of a man from a guitar band with a face like a movie star
Well, now we’re sitting face to face, singing harmony
It’s a love duet that I won’t forget, the song of you and me

Verse 2
You look at me so easy, smiling as you play
You’re one electric guitar man for a ukulele lei
Are you thinking of the moment that surely lies ahead
When we put aside our guitars and play drumbeats on the bed

Chorus
Synch your rhythm with me, baby
Raise your action, let’s go crazy
Sing me a song and I’ll sing you a song
And we’ll listen to each other’s music all night long

Verse 3
My heart is pumping thunder, and stars light up my eyes
Your laid-back cowboy poet style kind of took me by surprise
You’re holding me and humming a love song you just wrote
I’m singing one to you right now that matches note for note

Chorus
Synch your rhythm with me, baby
Raise your action, let’s go crazy
Sing me a song and I’ll sing you a song
And we’ll listen to each other’s music all night long

14. Yabyum:

The title (which means “father/mother” in Tibetan) describes a position used for tandem meditation, with the male seated cross-legged and the female straddling his lap, facing him. It is often depicted in Tibetan and Nepalese sacred paintings and sculpture. The partners gaze into one another’s eyes, aligning their breathing and heartbeats. This practice does not aim at creating orgasms or babies, but rather at raising kundalini (spiritual energy) through the chakras (energy centers of the body), raising consciousness beyond the ego and into oneness with the Universe.

Verse 1
Long we have grappled in the darkness
Enter the pyramid of light
Come, oh come and love me now
Enter the pyramid of light

Verse 2
Long we have fumbled through the curtains
Of fear and ego in the night
Come, let’s now be god and goddess
Come let’s be channels of the light

Bridge 1
Folded in a lotus on a shimmering lake
With all the cosmos swimming by
We will breathe together, beat our hearts together
Chakra to chakra, eye to eye

Verse 3
In your body is the presence
Of my angel spirit guide
In my aura, love eternal
That seeks to lift your fallen pride

Bridge 2
So, love you, love you, won’t you love yourself?
Love you, love you, it’s the wealth
That will sustain you and glorify you
Give you your freedom and your health

Verse 4
Divine beyond all human sorrow
Enter the pyramid of light
Ascend the throne your rightful home
Enter the pyramid of light

Coda
Ascend the throne your rightful home
Enter the pyramid of light

15. New Year’s Eve Party:

I love that there is a holiday that simply celebrates the passage of time. I spontaneously created the song “Goodbye 1974” at a New Year’s Eve party at Modelia studio on Maui, on December 31, 1973. The other musicians at the gathering, including dear Delia Moon (for whom the recording studio was named), made up more verses as we went along, and the song became a tradition for some years after that, with new verses added as the dates changed. So, now I am inviting anyone who would like to join us in this song, to create new verses at New Year’s Eve parties to come. (Note: this recording of this song plays at the end of the credits of the dramatic film “Lane 1974,” written and directed by Delia Moon’s daughter SJ Chiro in 2017.)

Chorus
Goodbye 1974, we’ve seen the last of you
Goodbye 1974, we sang until you were through

Verse 1
I remember the birthdays when they all came ‘round
We danced ‘til both feet rose off of the ground
I remember the sights, I remember the sounds of 1974

Chorus
Goodbye 1974, we’ve seen the last of you
Goodbye 1974, we sang until you were through

Verse 2
I remember the time I got so high
It maybe was June, or maybe July
I laughed ‘til the tears rolled out of my eyes in 1974

Chorus
Goodbye 1974, we’ve seen the last of you
Goodbye 1974, we sang until you were through

Verse 3
And now that we’ve made it to ‘75
I’m glad that we all came through it alive
It looks like we all are gonna survive ‘til 1976

Spoken word:
Now you can customize this song for any New Year’s Eve you happen to be celebrating. Just change the year and write a new third verse! I’d love to hear it if you do.

Chorus
Goodbye 1974, we’ve seen the last of you
Goodbye 1974, we sang until you were through

Coda:
Sang until you were through
Sang until you were through
Sang until you were through

16. Last Song of the Night:

This song recalls those gorgeous nights without electricity, when we retired from singing around the campfire together, to our simple, hand-built, candle-lit, dwellings. The sheet music was first published in the book Being of the Sun, which I co-authored with Ramón Sender Barayón, in 1973.

Verse 1
It’s the last song of the night
It’s the last song of the night
We’re going to lie down
But we’ll still hear the sound
Of the last song of the night.

Verse 2
It’s the last song of the night
It’s the last song of the night
We’re going to our beds
But echoed in our heads
Is the last song of the night.

Verse 3
It’s the last song of the night
It’s the last song of the night
We’re going to sleep
But in our hearts we’ll keep
The last song of the night

Coda
It’s the last song of the night.

17. Paisley Days (1986):

Paisley-printed Madras bedspreads bedecked many a floor mattress in psychedelic households during the late 1960s and early 1970s. By the mid-1980s, the great blossoming of the flower children had all but disappeared, although some of the rural communes quietly continued, and most of the political activists remained active. Many of my bohemian friends re-arranged their lives around providing a middle class upbringing for their children. I was studying music, working as a musician, and writing jazz tunes, including this one. It’s a sentimental review of the ’60s and ’70s, and also a decision to continue with the best of what I learned and lived then.

To my astonishment, the Paisley Days DID come back again – a decade later – with the Millennials and then the Zoomers, many of whom struggle mightily for environmental and social justice, and who are as proactive in creating creative, ethical and natural lives as we Boomer hippies were in our youth.

Verse 1
When will the paisley days come back again?
Sometimes I wonder with my old friends
We would always spare the rod
And each of us could talk to God
And poverty was chic in our paisley days

Verse 2
I used to hitchhike everywhere by myself
My faith was unshakeable and so was my health
Costume tatters we would wear
Beneath the wildness of our hair
We said “Don’t knock it ‘til you’ve tried it” in our paisley days

Bridge 1
We were survivors who boycotted war
We were living proof that less is more
We thought we’d outnumber the rich and their guns
By showing that sharing could be much more fun

Verse 3
Perhaps we were blind, fashion passed us by
And as we got older, our ideals didn’t fly
Upwardly mobile now, good consumers anyhow
Sometimes we felt ashamed of our paisley days

Bridge 2
But we were pioneers of inner space
We dreamed of a peaceful human race
For music we gathered half a million strong
Blind you may say, but I don’t think we were wrong

Verse 4
Friends, “peace and love” is still all right with me
And freedom includes non-conformity
I’m gonna try to seek the Light, and cheer for men who will not fight
And live the simple ways of my paisley days

Coda
Praise the simple ways of my paisley days
Praise the simple ways of my paisley days
I praise the simple ways of my paisley days