There’s Wisdom in Songs of the Past
By King Harris

Every now an then I look back to the Top-40 to see if certain songs recorded in the past still have relevance today.
Oddly enough, most do, which means that ultimately, our culture hasn’t changed much after 30 or 40 years, which is too bad and a bit discouraging considering that not too many people pay any attention to our history, which I think is important if we are going to face the future with any clarity or common sense. Or with some kind of united purpose.
Look up the lyrics to Barry McGuire’s controversial protest song, “Eve of Destruction,” from 1965 and you’ll see what I mean. That being said, two years later, nothing much had changed.
In February 1967, two pop tunes hit the Billboard Charts, which illustrated the division we still experience today. One was “The Beat Goes On” by Sonny and Cher:
“The beat goes on, the beat goes on,
Drums keep pounding a rhythm to the brain,
La de da de de, la de da de da,

Charleston was once the rage, uh huh,
Story has turned the page, uh huh,
The miniskirt’s the current thing, uh huh,
Teenybopper is our newborn king, uh huh,
And the beat goes on, beat goes on,
Drums keep pounding a rhythm to the brain,
La de da de de, la de da de da,

The grocery store’s the super mart, uh huh,
Little girls still break their hearts, uh huh,
And men still keep on marching off to war,
Electrically they keep a baseball score,
And the beat goes on, the beat goes on,
Drums keep pounding a rhythm to the brain
La de da de de, la de da de da,

Grandmas sit in chairs and reminisce,
Boys keep chasing girls to get a kiss,
The cars keep a going faster all the time,
Bums still cries, “Hey buddy, have you got a dime?”
And the beat goes on, the beat goes on,
Drums keep pounding a rhythm to the brain
La de da de de, la de da de d,

And the beat goes on, yes, the beat goes on,
And the beat goes on, and the beat goes on,
The beat goes on and the beat goes on,
The beat goes on…”

But Sonny and Cher’s diatribe pales by comparison to an anthem that appeared about the same time. It was performed by the Buffalo Springfield:
“There’s something happening here,
But what it is ain’t exactly clear,
There’s a man with a gun over there,
Telling me I got to beware,
I think it’s time we stop children, what’s that sound?
Everybody look what’s going down?

There’s battle lines being drawn,
Nobody’s right if everybody’s wrong,
Young people speaking’ their minds,
Getting so much resistance from behind;
It’s time we stop, hey, what’s that sound?
Everybody look what’s going down?

What a field day for the heat,
A thousand people in the street,
Singing songs and carrying signs,
Mostly saying, “Hooray for our side,”
It’s time we stop, hey, what’s that sound?
Everybody look what’s going down?

Paranoia strikes deep,
Into your life it will creep,
It starts when you’re always afraid,
Step out of line, the men come and take you away,
We better stop, hey, what’s that sound?
Everybody look what’s going down?
We better stop, hey, what’s that sound?
Everybody look, what’s going down?

We better stop, Now, what’s that sound?
Everybody look, what’s going down?
We better stop, Children, what’s that sound?
Everybody look what’s going down?”

For what it’s worth, before the world’s politicians make any more stupid mistakes, I think a little history is in order here. Certainly wisdom.