10 BTExM (Best Tunes Ever x Me)

#9: ONE WORLD (John Martyn)

 

Perhaps you remember that when Charles Manson ended up in jail his orphaned Manson Girls added to the charade of the trial an unexpected twist, remotely-controlled, to the narrative of the Stoned Jesus aka "Son of Man": they became animal rights activists and environmentalists, half a century before the Greta meme, casting a sinister light on those two sacrosanct themes. Charlie in 2009, from prison, reiterated his theses, as if he were the Rio Conference: "We have to commit everything into one world, now. If we don't, there will be no more life on the planet" he said.

 

I remember this because a 'vanilla-flavored' reading of the lyrics of the song we're dealing with here, One World by John Martyn, has been used as a hymn to environmentalist philosophy. So much so that the piece even ended up among the “20 best songs for Earth Day” on the website udiscovermusic.com, together with, curiously, Here Comes The Flood by Peter Gabriel…

 

In reality Gabriel and Martyn (and even Manson) were talking about something other than Gaia theory. Gabriel was talking about that moment in which - like a flood - we could start to read the minds of others, creating (I add, optimistically) the conditions for perfect democracy, with a totally transparent power structure and no room for paranoids of control. With opposite means, also John Martyn was known to treasure “honest” people by frequenting the slums. In fact he claimed criminals were more honest than politicians. A similar refrain you can hear from Charlie in Ronnie Reagan's son interviews .

 

In short, Manson (who acted the very alternative guru philosophising about human duality: “They teach us that evil is not good and good is not evil. Evil and good go together,”) Martyn and Gabriel also seem to agree that the world is very… dual.

 

One World was the title of that album by John that was defined as avant-garde and it really was a bit (see Blow Up #202.) That said, throw away the original version (1977) of the song: any live version is better than the original. But… what a song!

 

Go to Utube and look for the duo version from 1987, at the end (47’00”) of the concert in Dublin. Slow, in duo with a stellar Danny Thompson (the Gary Peacock of English folk), who patiently collects every little rhythmic breath of a 6’ piece on the edge of silence. If you’re in the mood for a version with a jazz group, listen to the live version from ’92 (you can find it in the compilation “Ain’t No Saint” and online).

 

In any case, catapult yourself into the bisyllabic howls of muezzin-John (“one whoh-oool/one woh-oool”), into that painful lament for which “some live like a princess/others like kings and queens/most of us live like you and me” and yet no one “knows what it means to have our place, to make peace, to sort it out, to have our say in this world.” It is a whispered cry in favor of peace, against the impotence you feel towards the rules of the game (“No use crying, there's been no crime/I say it's just the way this wicked wind blows/Just the name of the game.”) And also a cry against those same instincts of ours that adapt us to interact in a “cold and lonely” world, through parallel micro-cosmos. More true than ever today, in an increasingly virtual and less experiential reality.

 

In the ‘92 version, a whole new verse appears, which the original version does not record. And he begs the listener: “stand by me/stay by my side/protect me from this evil world/the world we were born into” and promises reciprocity “I will be by your side,” In short, he goes beyond the regressive impulses that fueled - to stay with the angel Gabriel - another very beautiful song, Mercy Street (“Cover me/When I sleep.”) 

 

The lament of One World invokes protecting one another, referring to micro-social units to escape “this wicked world,” well beyond environmentalist demands. The focus returns - the center of attention - to the fundamental unity of society, the primordial cohesion between individuals, the couple, the family, as well as to brotherhood as a revolutionary tool.

 

Musically, One World is not a bewitching two-chord John Martyn Spiel, but - centered on the Phrygian mode. The relatively rich harmonies and harmonics (based on an open tuning) give the piece a dreamy, almost ethereal quality, accentuated by the attack-free arrangement of the Echoplex guitar notes. And the bluesy interval bridge (Cm-Fm: “cold and lonely”) evokes the basic inspiration of Martyn's vision of the world. In short, a gem.

 

Years ago (BU#202) I defined One World as one of the most beautiful songs ever. STILL STANDS. Today even more so than back then. 

 

Listen to One World live in Dublin: it will do you good to listen to a voice that will embrace you, warm, loving, in defense of our weak, human responses. In favor of life. Maybe a little tipsy, but this was Brother John, prince (or active principle) of all Johnkies like me.

 

 

---------------------------------------

published on Blow Up for CONTRABANDA

 

10 BTExM (Best Tunes Ever x Me)

#9: ONE WORLD (John Martyn)

 

Perhaps you remember that when Charles Manson ended up in jail his orphaned Manson Girls added to the charade of the trial an unexpected twist, remotely-controlled, to the narrative of the Stoned Jesus aka "Son of Man": they became animal rights activists and environmentalists, half a century before the Greta meme, casting a sinister light on those two sacrosanct themes. Charlie in 2009, from prison, reiterated his theses, as if he were the Rio Conference: "We have to commit everything into one world, now. If we don't, there will be no more life on the planet" he said.

 

I remember this because a 'vanilla-flavored' reading of the lyrics of the song we're dealing with here, One World by John Martyn, has been used as a hymn to environmentalist philosophy. So much so that the piece even ended up among the “20 best songs for Earth Day” on the website udiscovermusic.com, together with, curiously, Here Comes The Flood by Peter Gabriel…

 

In reality Gabriel and Martyn (and even Manson) were talking about something other than Gaia theory. Gabriel was talking about that moment in which - like a flood - we could start to read the minds of others, creating (I add, optimistically) the conditions for perfect democracy, with a totally transparent power structure and no room for paranoids of control. With opposite means, also John Martyn was known to treasure “honest” people by frequenting the slums. In fact he claimed criminals were more honest than politicians. A similar refrain you can hear from Charlie in Ronnie Reagan's son interviews .

 

In short, Manson (who acted the very alternative guru philosophising about human duality: “They teach us that evil is not good and good is not evil. Evil and good go together,”) Martyn and Gabriel also seem to agree that the world is very… dual.

 

One World was the title of that album by John that was defined as avant-garde and it really was a bit (see Blow Up #202.) That said, throw away the original version (1977) of the song: any live version is better than the original. But… what a song!

 

Go to Utube and look for the duo version from 1987, at the end (47’00”) of the concert in Dublin. Slow, in duo with a stellar Danny Thompson (the Gary Peacock of English folk), who patiently collects every little rhythmic breath of a 6’ piece on the edge of silence. If you’re in the mood for a version with a jazz group, listen to the live version from ’92 (you can find it in the compilation “Ain’t No Saint” and online).

 

In any case, catapult yourself into the bisyllabic howls of muezzin-John (“one whoh-oool/one woh-oool”), into that painful lament for which “some live like a princess/others like kings and queens/most of us live like you and me” and yet no one “knows what it means to have our place, to make peace, to sort it out, to have our say in this world.” It is a whispered cry in favor of peace, against the impotence you feel towards the rules of the game (“No use crying, there's been no crime/I say it's just the way this wicked wind blows/Just the name of the game.”) And also a cry against those same instincts of ours that adapt us to interact in a “cold and lonely” world, through parallel micro-cosmos. More true than ever today, in an increasingly virtual and less experiential reality.

 

In the ‘92 version, a whole new verse appears, which the original version does not record. And he begs the listener: “stand by me/stay by my side/protect me from this evil world/the world we were born into” and promises reciprocity “I will be by your side,” In short, he goes beyond the regressive impulses that fueled - to stay with the angel Gabriel - another very beautiful song, Mercy Street (“Cover me/When I sleep.”) 

 

The lament of One World invokes protecting one another, referring to micro-social units to escape “this wicked world,” well beyond environmentalist demands. The focus returns - the center of attention - to the fundamental unity of society, the primordial cohesion between individuals, the couple, the family, as well as to brotherhood as a revolutionary tool.

 

Musically, One World is not a bewitching two-chord John Martyn Spiel, but - centered on the Phrygian mode. The relatively rich harmonies and harmonics (based on an open tuning) give the piece a dreamy, almost ethereal quality, accentuated by the attack-free arrangement of the Echoplex guitar notes. And the bluesy interval bridge (Cm-Fm: “cold and lonely”) evokes the basic inspiration of Martyn's vision of the world. In short, a gem.

 

Years ago (BU#202) I defined One World as one of the most beautiful songs ever. STILL STANDS. Today even more so than back then. 

 

Listen to One World live in Dublin: it will do you good to listen to a voice that will embrace you, warm, loving, in defense of our weak, human responses. In favor of life. Maybe a little tipsy, but this was Brother John, prince (or active principle) of all Johnkies like me.

 

 

---------------------------------------

published on Blow Up for CONTRABANDA