Forever Young - Bob Dylan
Sarah - Thin Lizzy
Didn't Leave Nobody But the Baby - Gillian Welch, Allison Krauss and Emmylou Harris
Rufus is a Tit man- Loudon Wainwright III
Beautiful Boy - John Lennon
We Almost Had a Baby - Emmy the Great
Baby Learns to Crawl - Paul Westerberg
Dear Prudence - The Beatles
Just the Two of Us - Will Smith
Kids (Rise from the Ashes) - Ed Harcourt
Everyone's having kids these days. I got my fourth nephew/niece this week so this is an apposite topic.
I was speaking recently to someone a generation or so up from me who described it as 'brave' of people to have children in this day of age of the world we live in. I said that I'm not sure bravery comes in to it and then we agreed that this wasn't necessarily a uniquely bleak time for humanity, as she and her generation had been born into a world of war, and previous generations had been born into times of plague, poverty and horror.
But still, bearing in mind the forecasts, one does hope for the best for those born now, that they have plenty of time to chill out and mess about and not have to do deal with too many cataclysms. 'The Road' by Cormac McCarthy is a novel which deals with what the life of a child might be in the not-too-distant future.
I've begun to note that a lot of my verses have a some what apocalyptic feel to them, this one included. I suspect this is a sign of limited imagination. Funnily enough, it doesn't really preoccupy my thoughts. Mainly I think about the deeds of left-sided sportspeople and the end of the world doesn't really come into it. Maybe, in any case, the great left-sided sportspeople will save us all.
May the days of your life stretch the world's span
beyond the dire theories and predictions
of wise men and fools, their number growing,
who hold no hope for your generation.
May the hairs on your head keep on curling
and the smile on your face keep on widening
till you laugh at the fear and destruction
bound to disfigure the web of your days.
Let the notes that you take be of service
to you and all other folk around you.
Waste no thought on idle superstitions;
time is short - the mistakes made already.
Let your heart be open to adventure,
Grab the gifts that come your way with relish.
Stand in fear of man nor woman neither -
make your own place high on the ladder.
May each day of your life be a treasure
to the world that yet gives you its welcome.
As leaves fall, as lives pass, keep yourself strong
in the safety of love you were born to.
I think the 3rd line of the fourth verse is ungrammatical but i couldn't think of another way to do it as well.
I hope this generation gets their own Adam Gilchrists and Jimmy Whites and Rafael Nadals and David Gowers and Jonny Wilkinsons and Ryan Giggses and John McEnroes and Paolo Maldinis and Joe Calzaghes and Brian Laras.
I feel I should point out these are all left-sided sportspeople.
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