Rhymes and Reasons

It's time for mid-week uplift.

A booklet which accompanies the double CD album from which I took the track for the video, below, says this:

"John Denver always offered more than music. Once he caught your ear with a melody, he had something he wanted to share with you. Taken together, his songs come close to offering an integrated version of how life can be lived, as well as an invitation to get concerned about our world, and see beyond ourselves. His work was, and still is,an unfailingly upbeat celebration of life and its possibilities. He has never shied away from sharing what he felt and what he knew, nor has he shied away from exposing his tender and vulnerable side, no matter the cost." (Colin Escott)

Astrologer Zipporah (Zip) Dobyns wrote about John's chart in 1997, "John Denver Flies On" not long after the tragic flying accident in which cost him his life 10 years ago. I hesitate to add anything to her scholarly assessment, but I will include a copy of John's natal chart here, the one in the linked article isn't too clear, at least to my own eye.



Pluto lies EXACTLY on North node of the Moon. I wonder if, for him, that was an ill-omen?

John travelled to China, Russia and Africa on missions of detente and mercy - his concerns covered nuclear power, nuclear arms and world hunger. He probably quietly did much more good than many of today's superstars who are regularly lauded for their efforts.

A man we could ill-afford to lose. His message is still timely:-

So you speak to me of sadness
And the coming of the winter
Fear that is within you now
It seems to never end
And the dreams that have escaped you
And the hope that you've forgotten
You tell me that you need me now
You want to be my friend

And you wonder where we're going
Where's the rhyme and where's the reason
And it's you cannot accept
It is here we must begin
To seek the wisdom of the children
And the graceful way of flowers in the wind

For the children and the flowers
Are my sisters and my brothers
Their laughter and their loveliness
Could clear a cloudy day

Like the music of the mountains
And the colours of the rainbow
Theyre a promise of the future
And a blessing for today

Though the cities start to crumble
And the towers fall around us
The sun is slowly fading
And its colder than the sea

It is written from the desert
To the mountains they shall lead us
By the hand and by the heart
They will comfort you and me
In their innocence and trusting
They will teach us to be free

For the children and the flowers
Are my sisters and my brothers
Their laughter and their loveliness
Could clear a cloudy day

And the song that I am singing
Is a prayer to non believers
Come and stand beside us
We can find a better way.
(Words and music by John Denver)