CRYSTALS
(Back-story, Lyrics, and Links to the Song on Spotify, Apple Music, and Amazon)
Back-story:
Although I can’t pinpoint the exact
day I threw my hat into the songwriting arena, I know it occurred sometime
during my graduate studies stint at Colgate.
After I received my BA in English, I didn’t know where to go or what to
do. So, my advisor at Colgate encouraged
me to stay on for one more year and get my Master of Arts degree in teaching
English. His reason for sending me in
this direction centered on my sense of humor. He felt mine was good
enough to allow me to sustain a lifetime of exposure to adolescent behavior. Well, I guess he was right. After I finished my graduate studies, I spent
the next thirty-two years in the classroom at Canandaigua Academy in
Canandaigua, NY, and it truly turned out to be the place for me to be.
During my graduate year, I
lived in what was once a fraternity house.
After the fraternity closed, the house became a residence for a bunch of
random characters whose only connection to each other was the university. In fact, Colgate even called the place Random
House. Throughout the year I was there,
life was somewhat uneventful. My friends
from college had moved on after graduation, and since I was taking graduate
courses and student teaching, except for connecting with a few residents at
Random House, I remained somewhat of a loner. I lived in a little room on the third floor. It had a slanted ceiling, and I felt like I
was living in an attic. There was
nothing extraordinary about the room, but it has a special place in my heart. It is here I wrote “Crystals,” my first song.
I have read a lot of articles
and books about songwriting and songwriters.
Willie Nelson, one of my heroes, once said that songs are in the air,
and they are waiting for us to bring them into our souls and release them. Well, “Crystals” certainly complied with
Willie’s philosophy. It came out of
nowhere, and there were three elements that contributed to its development. It came from analyzing my vision, reflecting
on the literature of Ralph Waldo Emerson, and reminiscing about a summer I
spent in Mansfield Depot, Connecticut, working at
an institution for the mentally disabled.
Although I
do not see anything, I do not live in total darkness. What I see constantly resembles the stars
people see when they are sharply hit in the head. These little stars are in perpetual motion,
and they look like little crystals dancing around in my eyes. What is interesting is the crystals change
their color according to the nature of the day.
For example, on a clear sunny day, the crystals take on a shade of blue,
and on a cloudy day, they take on a gray hue.
After much contemplation, I concluded that my vision was merely reduced
to a simple level. When I had my vision,
what I saw in life consisted of good and bad images. After I went blind, the crystals merely
became a symbol for those good and bad pictures. Now, sometime during my reflection on these
crystals, Ralph Waldo Emerson’s philosophy of acquiescence entered
my mind.
Most people
who experience a sudden loss in their lives tend to rehabilitate themselves
with counseling. I think this is a good
thing to do, but unfortunately, I did not know this when I went blind in my
teenage years. Back then, my counselors
became the great writers of literature, and for some reason, I became attracted
to the great transcendental writers like Emerson, Thoreau, and Whitman. These guys excited me with many great ideas,
and some of my favorites were simplifying life, living in the present,
realizing one’s individuality, and acquiescing to the outcomes of life. Well, when I was daydreaming about my
crystals, the seminar I was taking about Emerson entered my mind, and I started
musing about his thoughts on acceptance.
According to Emerson, we move through life experiencing a series of good
and bad events. We can’t control the
events, but we can control our response to them. We can either struggle with the ups and downs
of life, or as Emerson recommends, we can flow with them. So, as my crystals and Emerson’s philosophy
of acquiescence merged, my stream-of-consciousness thinking drifted to a summer
I spent working with the mentally disabled.
During the
summer between my junior and senior years in college, I worked in Mansfield
Depot, Connecticut, at an institution for the
mentally disabled. One of my fraternity
brothers from Colgate got me the job, and I worked in a ward with “idiot
savants” who were blind. While most of
these clients could not tie their shoes, they were geniuses when it came to
music. It was uncanny, and it was a
terrific experience working with them. As
I reflected on the summer I spent there, I thought about some of the
interesting experiences I encountered outside of work. In a few cases, I got myself into some
difficulties while I traveled around New England on my own. Fortunately for me, all these problems had a
way of working themselves out, and my life always returned to being stable.
Well, here it is in a nutshell. The little blue and gray crystals I see each
day, Emerson’s philosophy of acquiescence, and my adventures in New England
aligned themselves with each other, and “Crystals” came to fruition. It came out of nowhere, and I wrote the song
in about an hour. The only changes I
ever make in the song occur in the last verse.
I can’t remember what the last verse originally was before the
recording, and the last verse I currently sing is different than the one we
recorded. Nevertheless, my crystals
continue to come up blue and gray, and I am still working at flowing with them.
“Crystals” is pure Americana. It is a sensitive folk ballad depicting a
philosophy you can follow as you move through the stages of your life. The philosophy is simple. Whether
you are eighteen or eighty, your life will always bring you good and bad
experiences. You can either fight or
flow with this cycle, and I, like my good friend Emerson, recommend flowing
with it.
John and Joe Dady, Who are now
members of the Rochester Music Hall of Fame, back me up superbly on this one. The sensitivity of this song is enhanced with
the soft sounds of an acoustic guitar, a banjo, a bass, and drums. If you decide to give this one a listen, pay
special attention to when Joe introduces the banjo in the third verse. It’s exquisite! The soft sounds of the banjo-picking will
give you a good feel for what those crystals are like when they are dancing
around in my eyes. Hope you have time to check it out! I like it, and I hope you do, too.
Lyrics:
Verse 1
Hopped on a bus one day leavin’ my home town
We were crossin’ the Berkshires when the big old bus broke
down
Well, there I sat with my guitar as quiet as can be
When the driver tapped my shoulder and said, “Kid, you gotta
help me.”
He said we’d be awhile; he didn’t know what was wrong
And I could help him if I’d sing some simple little song
Chorus
So, I sing out about my crystals the kind I see each day
I say sometimes the crystals they come up blue; sometimes
they come up gray.
Verse 2
Another time I was hitchin’ out of Springvale, Maine
I got picked up by a pretty girl her name was Mary Jane
She drove me down to Boston in time for my next show
Well, I thanked her nice and kindly, but she didn’t want to
go
She said before she’d met me, things had been goin’ wrong.
So, I took out this old six string and sang this simple song.
Chorus
Verse 3
I was on my way to Concord on a bright and sunny day
When a nice old guy informed me, I was headin’ the wrong way
We stopped and talked awhile; he asked me if I’d mind
To answer several questions about this thing called being blind
So, I told him my life story, but I didn’t make it long
And as I left, I left him with this simple little song.
Chorus
Verse 4
So, the story goes on about my crazy life
And everyone keeps telling me that I should have a wife
Well, I got myself a partner who shares my highs and lows
She’s a sweet little gentle lady whose laughter makes me
glow
And we got ourselves a sidekick who keeps us on our toes
And when he wants to go out, he just nibbles at my nose
And we spend our time together nearly every single day
And sometimes the crystals they come up blue; sometimes they
come up gray
And sometimes the crystals they come up blue; sometimes they
come up gray
Here is a link to the song on Spotify. It is song #12 on Frank’s HOME TOWN album, which is what will
appear if you click on the link. Provide a username and password, and you’ll be
good to go with a free account.
https://open.spotify.com/artist/03perFwSJxNrwGCkT8SMN0
If you would like to listen to some of our other songs and
playlists, Here’s a link to Meyer and McGuire’s page on Spotify.
https://open.spotify.com/artist/1GOC4kV59Y5eVgIeuZjbJ8
Here is a link to listen to the song on Apple
Music. Again, it is song #12 on Frank’s HOME TOWN album.
https://music.apple.com/ng/album/home-town/253897216
Here is a link to listen to the song on
Amazon.
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B001O3OD64/ref=dm_ws_tlw_trk12
