Wednesday, August 01, 2007

this is true. I still love them and heres how it started...


This goes back to when I started to play the guitar. My sister came home from college after her first or second year there. We rode in the 12 passenger van to pick her up. She had her guitar and taught me some songs as we rode. First song I ever learned: "Norwegian Wood" by the Beatles. She copied some of her music for me and soon I was playing "The Boxer" by Simon and Garfunkel, "Take me Home, Country Roads" by John Denver and "Fire and Rain" by James Taylor. I started taking guitar lessons when I was 13. I had this amazing teacher, whose background was in classical guitar, so we sat with one foot on a stool and the guitar at a sharp angle dipping down between our knees. She would give me songs with the chords written in roman numerals so I could transpose them to any key, plus I practiced from a book of classical pieces where I learned all the notes on the guitar.
She would let me ask her any guitar questions I had and she would figure out songs for me. She even made me a mix tape of Cat Stevens and Simon and Garfunkel. Then she taught me all those songs. She had great arrangements of "Homeward Bound" "April Come She Will" and "Scarborough Fair"
My senior year in highschool, for my AP English class, I wrote a research paper about the cleansing effects of rain, as demonstrated through literature. I read and analyzed hundreds of poems and prose about spring and rain. We had to record a cassette tape where we talked about the views we had expressed and I chose to start the tape with "Kathy's Song." This song, and "America" are my favorites, but I can't forget "Song For The Asking" or "So Long Frank Lloyd Wright" or "The 59th Street Bridge Song," "Mrs. Robinson," "Bookends" etc!!! I love love love Simon and Garfunkel. Don't you??
The End.

4 comments:

my ghostwriter said...

amen, my friend. amen.

vantastic said...

hallelujah!

heathen said...

That sounds like the coolest paper ever- the cleansing power of rain. And Simon & Garfunkel = amazing. I wish I knew how to play the guitar like you!

BirdieMann said...

I do, I love Simon & Garfunkel =)