Ch. 20: “And I Write The Songs”

By admin On December 8th, 2012

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Click on image credit links below each photo, for licensing names, details, tags, etc.. Most images cropped/reduced in size

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Okay, so it was now about 100 days or so after finding out my public school indoctrination which I abundantly received, on the ideology of “atheism”, needed some really serious revamping!

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https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Scream

And now I was conversing with unseen spirits just as matter-of-factly as I would, say…talking with my Uncle Charlie!

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And more than this, the spirit was now giving me songs and telling me things about the world and about the unseen world that few persons had ever been privy to! This was unreal beyond the wildest imagination! But it was real! Very real!

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And so, I’ll share a few more of the songs given, plus some of the information shared by the Unseen One with whom I was now conversing on a moment-by-moment basis. And I really mean “moment-by-moment”! Because this was a morning till night phenomenon! It just didn’t let up!

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But now I’ll share…

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The Scream of Nature – Wikipedia – public domain – by edvard munch c.1893

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https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Clinton_09.jpg?uselang=eo

CHAPTER 20:

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“AND I WRITE THE SONGS”…

(Lyric from the 1975 Bruce Johnston song, “I Write The Songs”)   

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Jukebox – Wikimedia – cropped image – Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 4.0 Global license

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January or February, 1980

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https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Clinton_09.jpg?uselang=eoTHERE’LL BE A LOAD OF COMPROMISING “SPIRITS RISING”, ON THE ROAD TO MY HORIZON!”…

(Wordplay on the lyrics of the 1975 Glen Campbell mega-hit, “Rhinestone Cowboy”, inserting the word, “spirits rising” in place of “compromising”)

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I was also led to believe that there were persons in the song business who were “insiders”. They knew about the spirits, and were aware that their music and success was a gift from God.

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He told me that I was going to go down to L.A. to get into the business. He told me that a certain famous recording artist was an “insider”, and knew all about how God was working within the music business. And I was to go to this famous recording artist’s home. And this recording artist (I’m too embarrassed to even mention names!), he would take me in, until I “got on my feet”. He also told me (or I played guessing games, trying to prod him into telling me) just who else in the music business knew about God, or was being led by God. And after guessing, he let me know a number of famous people he had working for him in the music business.

Hollywood and Vine wikipedia public domain

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Okay, Okay, I know how ridiculous all this recording artist stuff’ sounds! And it’s more than just a bit embarrassing to even put it in writing for people to read (not to mention that I myself was merely a mediocre musical talent, even though I wasn’t aware of my limited talent, at the time)!

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But I’m simply telling you what happened. And, just consider how often an article appears in the news about some person claiming that God told him to do this or that! Now what I went through, hopefully begins to explain, at the very least, that some of those “deluded” persons were no doubt likewise being misled by spirits, just as I was being misled.

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Well, my experience explains alot, that is, if you believe what I’m telling you. But if you don’t believe this account, it nevertheless doesn’t make it any less the reality of the unseen spiritual battlefield which this world happens to be! And actually, unbelievers (and Christian skeptics) are truly, the “deluded ones”! 

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Jukebox – Wikimedia – cropped image – Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 4.0 Global license

Hollywood and Vine – wikipedia – public domain

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https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:MHWS_-_Insomnia.svg“HE HOLDETH MY EYES, WAKING”

Psalm 77:4

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A certain phenomenon also occurred at this time. You see, before this all happened (i.e., my encounter with the unseen spiritual world), I usually got a pretty good night’s sleep. But at this time (Summer 1980) I began to find it very hard to sleep. This was my first encounter with “Insomnia”. And because I realized my problems were spiritual in nature, I also attributed this sleeplessness to spiritual sources…

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https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Insomnia_icon.svg

Just listen to this verse… “When I lie down, I say, when shall I arise, and the night be gone? And I am full of tossings to and fro unto the dawning of the day.” Job 7:4. This verse from The Book of Job (Job is pronounced with a long “o”) shows that Job had a spiritual problem with sleeplessness. The Devil caused Job many problems, this being one of them. Here’s another verse about sleeplessness, being brought on by God… “Thou (God) holdest mine eyes waking…” Psalm 77:4.

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Now I’m not saying that all sleeplessness is due to higher powers. But the Bible does declare that it possibly can be the cause. As these two verses point out, both Job and the psalmist were suffering spiritual insomnia: one brought on by God, and Job’s, which was brought on by an unseen evil spirit.

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And I’m not even saying that my sleeplessness was necessarily of spiritual origin. All I’m saying is that it possibly could have been.

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MHWS – Insomnia – Cropped and altered image – Wikimedia – Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 4.0 International license. (2)

Insomnia icon.svg – Wikimedia – Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 4.0 International license.

Above Painting: Job – Wikipedia – US-public-domain

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“OH GOD”…

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Also, I heard something that gave credence to what the spirit was telling me regarding the music business. And this gave me belief in what the spirit told me. I heard John Denver, in an interview, tell the interviewer that the songs he wrote were a “gift from God”. And he said it in such a way, that made me think that he wasn’t just being casual or flippant. He seemed to really believe that his songs were given him by God!

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http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:John_Denver_1975.JPG

Also, at about this same time, or a little later, I heard that John Denver was in a movie, called, “Oh God!”, about a man who had an unseen companion…God. God was played by George Burns. And so I made sure to watch this movie when it came out on TV. And George Burns was a perfect God, as far as I was concerned. Burns behaved similar to the spirit I was communicating with. A lot of humor and irreverence. And so the spirit told me that John Denver was one of the special, “insiders”, in the music business.

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Photo of George Burns – courtesy Allen Warren & Wikipedia – share-alike license. Click here for link.

John Denver – 1975 – wikipedia – public domain

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https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Clinton_09.jpg?uselang=eo

“AND I WRITE THE SONGS…”

(Title of the Bruce Johnston song, “I Write The Songs”)

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These songs which I was being given triggered an old memory. Years earlier, about 1972 or so, I had just moved back to Klamath from San Francisco, where I had struck out, that is, I failed to “make it” in the pop music industry. It was then that I returned to working in the family restaurant.

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Nevertheless, one sunny spring day, back in the Basin, I was sitting in the back yard with my guitar. I began composing a song. But to my amazement, in just a few minutes time, I had composed a really nice little song. This song just kind of “plopped down into my lap”, as they say. I didn’t even have to put much effort into composing it. And I remember feeling a little weird, when I sang it, because it came so easily. Anyway, here it is. Too bad you can’t hear the music. Because the music is simple, but as good as the words…

THE GOODBYE SONG

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http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Desert_road_UAE.JPG1st VERSE…This time come tomorrow I’ll be gone, And I may not ever be this way again. So I’d like for you to have this song, And ya know that you will always be my friend.”

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CHORUSAnd God give ya some love to carry along. May your roads be sunny, short or long. And on your way I pray, you won’t do anyone wrong. And God give ya some love to carry along.”

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https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Sky20180523_180743.jpg2nd VERSENever let the rain get in your eyes, Behind the clouds there’s a whole lot of blue skies. Just let ol’ Mother Nature be your guide, Cause that’s one girl from who we just can’t hide.”

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CHORUSAnd God give ya some love to carry along, May your roads be sunny short or long. And on your way I pray, you won’t Do anyone wrong. And God give ya some love to carry along.”

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3rd VERSELife is just an ever-flowing song, And it’s up to you to keep the music strong. So try and fill your world with those ya love, And never lose those dreams your dreamin’ of.” 

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CHORUSAnd God give ya some love to carry along. May your roads be sunny, short or long. And on your way I pray, you won’t do anyone wrong wrong. And God give ya some love to carry along. And God give ya some love to carry you along. God give ya some love…to carry along” .

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An old friend from our former high school band liked the song, and a few years later, arranged the song for his new band. He also changed the word, “things” in the last verse, to “those”. So the last line was changed to… So try and fill your world with things [those] you love…”.  One night when I was visiting Salem Oregon, I went to hear his band. They played that song very well, with the word-change, in three-part harmony. It was a definite improvement.

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Jukebox – Wikimedia – cropped image – Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 4.0 Global license

Desert Road Highway – Wikipedia – Share-Alike License

Sky – cropped image – Wikimedia Commons – Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 4.0 International license

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https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Clinton_09.jpg?uselang=eo

“THERE’LL BE A LOAD OF COMPROMISING'”…

(Lyrics from the 1975 Glen Campbell hit, “Rhinestone Cowboy”)

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But there was another aspect to all this music business stuff. I thought that God Himself was gonna break into the popular music world. And He was gonna use me to do just that! All I had to do was to mingle together some secular songs…with some Christian songs.

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That’s so simple!

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Why didn’t somebody think of that already?!

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This of course, shows how clueless I was about Christianity! Because I had no idea just how big the Christian music industry currently was! It was perhaps already a billion dollar industry!

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But I knew it not!

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Jukebox – Wikimedia – cropped image – Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 4.0 Global license

church worship music – cropped image – wikimedia – share-alike license

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Anyway, here’s an example of one of the “Christian” songs that the spirit gave me…

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“I CAN TURN TO JESUS”…

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“When I find myself, standing all alone,

I can turn to Jesus…for he is always near.

And when I find myself, losing hope in “Love”,

I can turn to Jesus…for He is always near.”

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“I can turn to Jesus…for He is always near

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“When I find myself, losing hope in “life”,

I can turn to Jesus…for He is always near.

And when I find myself, losing hope in “Man”,

I can turn to Jesus…for He is always here.”

“I can turn to Jesus…for He is always near.”

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Okay, so these lyrics weren’t that great! But as I have stated…when “God” is giving you songs directly, even the mediocre ones seem good. And the music was actually, not too bad, even though very simple.

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But as far as his method of composing, as I also said earlier, he wouldn’t talk during these song-writing sessions. He just made my head nod “Yes” or “No”, depending on the chords or the words, if they were correct or not. I am certain he had very good (and deceptive) reasons for doing this. And I’m pretty sure I know why. But I’ll just let you figure that one out for yourself. Very simple reason.

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A DEAL WITH THE D…?

.http://www.flickr.com/photos/chris_hakkens/5109976116/in/set-72157625228594192/

Bob Dylan (no mediocre song-writer!) gave an interview in which he made several statements regarding higher powers helping his career. In one statement, he says he made a “deal with the D…” … and then he stops short of actually saying the obvious. When quizzed about this by the interviewer, he began to back-peddle from almost saying “deal with the Devil” and then begins to indicate that his deal was with the “Commander”. With some more prodding, he clarifies that it is the “Commander of this world and the unseen world”.

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Now for the sake of honesty, it must be noted that his comment “deal with the D…” sounded a little like he was merely being flippant. But his comment about the “bargain with the Commander” sounded very serious.  

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Bob_Dylan – June 23 1978 – wikipedia – share-alike-license.jpg

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THINGS THAT GO “CREAK” IN THE NIGHT…

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During this time, I was constantly communing with the spirit. But quite often, there was https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Medieval_ghost.jpga “creaking noise” in my house. Sometimes from the wall. Sometimes from the floor. And sometimes from the ceiling. Normally, I would just think that the house was settling. But whenever this happened, I would hear a “yes” or “no” simultaneous to the creaking noise. I reasoned that he was just making it seem like he was making the creaking noise. And I figured that he was just very quick. Because there didn’t seem to be any time-lapse between the creaking noise and his answer. Often, I wouldn’t even be asking him a question, and I would hear the creaking along with a “yes” or “no”. So this was a tip-off that he was just very quick, and the house was merely settling, naturally.

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Medieval ghost – Wikimedia – Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 3.0 Unported license

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A HIGHWAY SONG…

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https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:End_of_Guitar.jpgI suppose I received about a dozen songs during these times. Some were Christian. Some were secular. All were just about okay. Looking back, I would say that none were what I would consider really good, except for maybe one (“Oregon, I’m Coming Home to You”).

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But at the time, I was totally taken in by the spirit’s story of how I was going to take the music world by storm. So the songs seemed good at the time. After all, when you have a spirit telling you these things, you tend to believe whatever that spirit might tell you (But, to be fair with myself, I suppose that with a good arranger and quality musicianship, they probably could have made a fairly good set of songs).

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But there was another pretty good song I had composed years earlier. The spirit also told me that this song was given me by God. It’s called “A Highway Song”

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A HIGHWAY SONG

(Whistling introduction to the tune of “Oh Susanna”)

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https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Hitchhiker_in_a_forest.jpg“I been so many places…I’ve seen a lot of borderlines.

“I’ve seen so many faces… and had me some pretty good times.

“I’ve sung alot of travelin’ songs, about the things I see.

“But there’s no one here to lend me an ear—–,

“So I’ll sing this one for me.”

CHORUS

“So I keep movin’ along…singin’ my highway song.

“Some folk gotta settle down…but me I gotta roam.

“Gotta keep…movin’ along…Gotta keep…movin’ along,

“Cause freedom is the highway…and the highway…is my home.”

VERSE 2

“Sometimes I get so lonesome, lying under the starry sky,

“And wishin’ I’d-a settled down…and made that girl my wife.

“But I was young an’ restless, so I set out on the road,

“And when I looked behind, I couldn’t seem

“To find my way back home.”

CHORUS

“So I keep movin’ along…singin. my highway song…etc…”

REFRAIN

(“Singin’ Oh my Lordy Lordy, such a fine ol’ day, singin’

“Oh my Lordy Lordy, a pretty, pretty fine ol’ day, and I—am well on my way!”)

VERSE 3

https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Adrian_2017-04-05_(Unsplash_zkd9FIEFUk8).jpg“Sunrise come tomorrow, I’ll be headed for the western plains.

“Tonight I’ll stay in the Cascades, in this dang ol’ Oregon rain.

“But I heard in Carolina there’s a big bluegrass Jamboree,

“An’ for a guitar pickin country boy—

“…That’s just my cup o tea!”

CHORUS

“So I keep movin’ along…singin’ my highway song.

“Some folk gotta settle down, but I’m just a rollin’ stone.

“Gotta keep movin’ along, gotta keep movin’ along.

“Cause freedom is the highway…and the highway…is my home.”

(Ends with whistling “Oh Susanna” as song fades out)

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This song took quite a while, and with quite a few changes. But after composing this song, I became a little nervous about the music. This is because the chorus and tempo sounded vaguely like the chorus of the song, “Garden Party” by Rick Nelson (My distant cousin!!! Too bad I didn’t look the least bit like him! Just the opposite, actually! Sigh…oh well. But on the other hand, I probably would’ve gotten into a whole lot more trouble in life, than I already did! And so, my average looks probably saved me from being a complete “unholy-terror” on the world!).

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But as far as “Highway Song”, I thought it necessary to do a little re-arranging on the chorus to make it not sound so much like Nelson’s song.

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End of Guitar – Wikimedia – Creative Commons Attribution 2.0 Generic license.

Hitchhiker in a forest – cropped image – Wikimedia – Creative Commons CC0 1.0 Universal Public Domain Dedication

ABOVE PICTURE: Winter – Revelation 12 Woman with Eagle Wings

highway – Adrian – wikimedia commons – Creative Commons CC0 1.0 Universal Public Domain Dedication

Rick Nelson – Wikipedia – US Public Domain

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DREAMS-N-VISIONS

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Now during this time, a very incredible phenomenon occurred a number of times. While https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Willyvallez.jpgsitting in my front living room, I would go into a trance-like state. And as I sat in my chair, I would hear a long (and annoying) buzzing noise, and then I would slip into a dreamlike state (this probably occurred just two or three times). And everything looked very surrealistic, but very real! It almost was like these computerized digital cartoons, but even more realistic! Yeah, these visions/dreams seemed so real, that I thought they were, until I would come out of them to realize I was only having a vision!

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Now I can only remember one of these, in which my parents came to me, asking me… “Where what did you do with the “Crimie?” By saying the “Crimie”, they were referring to a huge, old Chrysler, which we all sometimes used as a back-up vehicle. The reference to “Crimie” concerned my embezzling money from the restaurant, and me living such a life of crime, in various ways.

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And after a few moments, when I awoke from these dream-like visions, I was amazed that it was only a dream or vision, because it seemed so incredibly real!

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Surreal Painting – Willyvallez – Wikimedia – Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 3.0 Unported license

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https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Clinton_09.jpg?uselang=eo“IMAGINE THERE’S NO HEAVEN…NO HELL BELOW US…”

(Lyrics from John Lennon’s song, “Imagine”)

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The spirit told me lots of things…”Oh God”, I begged him, “does the Devil really exist?” I really wanted to know. “No Chuck, there’s no Devil. Only God. All that Devil-stuff is just man’s imagination. To explain evil.”http://www.roykerwood.bc.ca/

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So I guess the spirit’s story about no Heaven nor Hell was in harmony with that very famous song, “Imagine”, by John Lennon. “Imagine there’s Heaven…No Hell below us…No religion too!” Wow, there’s no Heaven, and no Hell! Wow! I was getting “inside information” that few people knew about, if any! What a news-flash!

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But the difficult thing about John Lennon singing that song is this: it’s hard to imagine a deceased man, like Mr. Lennon, getting all excited that there’s no Heaven…no eternal joy…just nothingness for all eternity, now that he’s dead.

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Truly, atheism has to be the world’s most miserable religion! And it’s more than a little disconcerting to listen to someone singing about the glories of “no Heaven”, knowing that the man singing has been long ago deceased.

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Even the false religions promise you eternal bliss! Many people suppose that even a FALSE hope is better than NO hope! Maybe or maybe not.

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Jukebox – Wikimedia – cropped image – Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 4.0 Global license

Photo of John Lennon courtesy of Roy Underwood for Wikipedia share-alike license. Click here for link to Roy’s site.

John Lennon – Джон Ленон в Могилів Подільському – Wikimedia – Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 3.0 Unported license.

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“IMAGINE YOU’RE AN EARTHWORM…IT’S EASY IF YOU TRY”…

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http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Robin_eating_a_worm_in_spring.jpg

And one of the horrible aspects of atheism, is that the older I got (as an atheist), the more miserable and nervous I became, whenever I thought about my prospects for the future. Prior to all this trouble I was now going through, I was experiencing some frightening nights, thinking about eternity. Because I was an atheist prior to all this. And I really didn’t want to be dead for all eternity. (Truly, “Darkness” is the atheist’s worst enemy! Atheists quite often need to have music playing or a little light burning, or the TV on, when they go to sleep at night, for fear of the darkness of eternity!) And so I would sometimes lie there in bed at night and try to think that possibly I might come back someday…somewhere out in the universe, as maybe…an earthworm or something.

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Pretty bleak as far as prospects for the future…huh?

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Photo of earthworm by Ryan Bushby &Wikipedia share-alike license.

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ATHEISM NOT VERY COMFORTING!

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So John Lennon’s song about “atheism”, though a pretty song, musically/poetically, was not much comfort for me back then, when I was an atheist. And even right now, as I’m writing this, my dear father is struggling with aging and Parkinson’s Disease. And it rips me in pieces to see him face eternity as an atheist. It’s a real heart-breaker! He’s facing death and he has no hope for the future!

https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:1265316_588476314549431_1256908306_o-1.jpg.

On the other hand, I can agree with Lennon on this one point: that no hellish torture chamber which goes on for all eternity is something to sing about! He was correct about that! And I was totally on board with him on that point!

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(Just a note: I remember reading an interview with John Lennon not too long before his death, in which he stated that he was “beginning to understand the parables of the Bible”. So it’s possible that God was working with Mr. Lennon prior to his untimely death. So maybe when he finally died, he had already become a believer in Jesus!)

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Imagine!! John Lennon in Heaven!! Now that would really be something to sing about!!

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John Lennon – Strawberry Fields, Central Park – Wikimedia – Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International

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https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:The_Beatles_magical_mystery_tour_(cropped).jpgThe Beatles song that “possessed” John Lennon and “wrote itself”

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And speaking of that, “Magical Mystery Tour-guide”, John Lennon, the following article excerpt on him was written by the Internet site, www.faroutmagazine.co.uk

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“John Lennon had a wild ride as part of The Beatles…The Beatles provided Lennon with the space to note down his feeling and emotions on paper and put them in a song and, on occasion, THE SONGS WROTE THEMSELVES DOWN.

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“One such track…was ‘Across The Universe’, a song which Lennon says “wrote itself”.

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http://www.roykerwood.bc.ca/

“The track is often thought of as one of Lennon’s best works, but the singer admitted he felt like he had little contribution to the track after explaining its conception to David Sheff…“(the song was originally written in 1967)…I kept hearing these words over and over, flowing like an endless stream.

“I went downstairs and it turned into a sort of cosmic song…It’s so interesting. ‘Words are flowing out like endless rain into a paper cup/ They slither while they pass, they slip away across the universe.’ Such an extraordinary meter and I can never repeat it!”

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“Lennon would hold his hands up and suggest that he had little to do with songs final construction: “It’s not a matter of craftsmanship—it wrote itself. It drove me out of bed. I didn’t want to write it… and I couldn’t get to sleep until I put it on paper… It’s like being possessed—like a psychic or a medium. The thing has to go down. It won’t let you sleep, so you have to get up, make it into something, and then you’re allowed to sleep.”

https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:John_Lennon_1969_(cropped).jpg

“It may have had something to do with the time in which he wrote it, a dreamlike state which McCartney has also professed to have found fruitful for songwriting. “That’s always in the middle of the night when you’re half-awake or tired and your critical facilities are switched off.”

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“However the song came about, there’s no doubting that it is one of The Beatles finest. The fact it arrived seemingly of its own accord is the icing on the cake.”

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The Beatles magical mystery tour (cropped) – Wikipedia – Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 Unported license

Photo of John Lennon courtesy of Roy Underwood for Wikipedia share-alike license. Click here for link to Roy’s site.

John Lennon – 1969 (cropped) – Wikipedia – Creative Commons CC0 1.0 Universal Public Domain Dedication

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https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Jimi_Hendrix_statue_outside_Dimbola_Lodge.JPGMANY OTHER DREAM-INSPIRED POP SONGS

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Well, there were other famous pop stars who got their inspiration from dreams. Such talents as Lynyrd Skynyrd, Jimi Hendrix, Rolling Stones guitarist, Keith Richards, Billy Joel, and others, which by surfing the Internet, these and similar accounts can be discovered. 

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Jimi Hendrix statue outside Dimbola Lodge – Wikipedia – Public Domain

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.Judgment Day license plate www.devouringfire.com

To go to next chapter , just click here…

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Ch. 21 Vacation From Hell

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(or should I say, “in” Hell)”… 

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If you think your vacation went badly, just read about this one!!

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