In tune with the Moody Blues
By MARY TOBIA
tneditor@tnonline.com
When I married my husband I also married The Moody Blues.
The Moody Blues is the name of a group of pop/rock musicians who were a part of the British invasion in the 1960s.
I remember my first introduction to the group as if it was yesterday.
We were driving along the countryside in my soon-to-be husband's brand new 1971 dark green, two-door, Monte Carlo.
He pulled out a large 8-track cassette tape, put it in the tape deck, turned on the player and said, "I want you to hear this group. I really like them."
Well, from that time on it was move over Merle Haggard and Johnny Cash and make room for The Moody Blues.
It was not really the beat of their music as it was the meaning of the songs that got me hooked.
The words to each of their songs are filled with reverence, compassion and insight.
From the first song to the last one it is like turning the pages of what could be a novel of our lives.
It is what our youngest son would call "concept rock music."
I will admit we have almost every record album/cassette tape and now cd/dvds the group have produced.
The album called "Days of Future Passed" still remains one of my much loved.
The album describes a day from an early sunrise to the ending of the day, which could also parallel life from birth to death.
A phrase from one of the songs always sticks with me: "It's true life flies faster than eyes could ever see."
All I have to do is look in a mirror to know this is so true, a young girl, a sweetheart, a new wife, a busy mother and now a grandmother, it is true, life flies faster than eyes could ever see.
Joe and I, along with some of our friends, attended The Moody Blues live in concert a few weeks ago at the State Theatre in Easton.
This was Joe's third concert and only the second time for me.
The sold-out concert was perfect.
The light show was awesome and the group still sounded great as they sang all of our favorite songs.
Hearing these songs brought back a lot of memories and some tears from our past 39 years together.
A lot of water has passed under the bridge since 1971.
We have a lot of great memories in our lives together and the music of The Moody Blues have been with us every step of the way.
"Breathe deep the gathering gloom, Watch lights fade from every room. Bedsitter people look back and lament, Another day's useless energy spent. Impassioned lovers wrestle as one, Lonely man cries for love and has none. New mother picks up and suckles her son, Senior citizens wish they were young. Cold-hearted orb that rules the night, Removes the colours from our sight. Red is grey and yellow white. But we decide which is right. And which is an illusion."
"Late Lament" from The Moody Blues album "Days of Future Passed."
