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A Thought for Today
To forget we’re God’s children is to
never grow up.
Dear Ken,
While I love most all Rod's work there's a special place in my heart
for his collaborations with Jacques Brel.
"Come Jef", in particular, has always tugged at my heartstrings whenever
I've heard it. It's such a powerful song!
Sadly I no longer have the album which featured it so maybe you'd be kind
enough to print the lyrics someday.
Belinda Houghton.
It would be my pleasure,
Belinda, and here they are.
The song is featured on the
"Concert Collection - South Africa" double album, the liner notes of which
contain some press reviews of Rod's 1975 South African concerts.
Yesterday we read a review of
one of Rod's more recent appearances and I thought it would be interesting
for you to read some from more than twenty five years ago.
Die
Vaderland - June 5, 1975
He sings his beautiful songs with such feeling that one automatically
forgets the artists he wrote them for...
Johan Liebenberg
Sunday Times - June 8, 1975
Rod McKuen... poet, composer, lyricist, singer and entertainer - sings his
songs as you’ve never heard songs sung before... an unforgettable
experience.
Bill Brewer
Rand Daily Mail - June 4, 1975
A poet and songwriter with phenomenal output and probably one of the most
successful entertainers in the world today... his creativity is fired by
his boundless compassion.
Raeford Daniel
Rand Daily Mail - June 11, 1975
...all types of people were drawn together by the magnetism of a gentle
man in jeans and sneakers. ...Rod McKuen singing, his poetry and his
presence have brought some sun into this cold season.
Kate Lee
Sunday Express - June 8, 1975
McKuen Magic. His looks have been weathered by time but his words and
music are as fresh as newly picked flowers. There’s a very lovely quality
to this man with the crooked teeth and friendly smile. Something so earthy
and honest that you feel no one would ever want to hurt him, because there
is no malice in him. And when he says he’d like to be remembered as a man
who tried, you want to reassure him he will be, because he is already.
Bev Gilligan
Sunday Express - June 8, 1975
Rod McKuen is definitely an original... He has a rare gift of instant
communication. Ambling onto the stage through the auditorium, he makes an
immediate contact with his audience, chatting easily, throwing in marginal
comment on the world around him.
Evelyn Levison
Sunday Tribune - June 22, 1975
This is a man who knows where it’s all at. He’s lived, and so when he
sings about the sadnesses - his words storm across the footlights with the
power of sincerity.
Marilynne Holloway
The Natal Mercury - June 16, 1975
Rod McKuen is not just a writer who sings his poems but a comedian,
dramatist and a very commanding stage presence... whether drawing laughter
or the odd tear... he projects sincerity.
Lynne Kelly
The Daily News - June 17, 1975
Mr. McKuen is a romantically meaningful balladeer... on stage, he is
dangerously relaxed, extremely confident and in complete command of every
song and every mood.
Sjoerd Meijer
The Argus - June 20, 1975
He is an entertainer with a flair for humor and with a style that is
sincere, relaxed and quite enchanting. To see McKuen on stage is to see an
unassuming person whose personality, sharp wit and delightful humor make
his hour and half performance seem like a fraction of the time.
W.S. Kaplan
Eastern Province Herald - June 26, 1975
Rod McKuen, the man who has thrilled Carnegie Hall, last night played, as
he put it, in a “pillow factory” (the Feather Market Hall). But such was
his magnetic appeal that he brought charm to the old barn. An
unforgettable evening... he writes for the common man...
Carl Williams
Transvaler - June 5, 1975
During the run of the performance there were so many beautiful moments
that you desperately want to hold on to them...
Thys Odendall
Personality - July 1975
He made me young again on the wrong side of 40. McKuen, the weaver of
dreams. Spellbinding...
Jill Mills
The Star - Thursday, June 5, 1975
...imagination, good timing and a sense of the dramatic... there is an
undeniable appeal in hearing a man who has written for some of the best
popular singers of the era.
Roy Christie
I've spent a good portion of
my working life in the South African newspaper industry and know, or have
met, most of the critics featured above. It's sobering to note just how
many are no longer with us today.
Join me next Wednesday for
another edition of this weekly column. If you'd like to contribute
something about your favorite McKuen song or poem, my address is
ken@mckuen.com and I look forward to
hearing from you soon.
- Ken, Johannesburg,
December 5
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Morgan Brittany o
Margaret Cho o
General George Custer o
Joan Didion o
Walt Disney o
Morgan J. Freeman o
Maggie Hayes o
Larry Kert o
Fritz Lang o
Little Richard o
Jim Messina o
Grace Moore o
Frankie Muniz o
Jim Plunkett o
Otto Preminger o
John Rzeznik o
George Savalas o
Strom Thurmond o
Calvin Trillin o
Jack Valenti o
Martin Van Buren |
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We
have a special name for people who agree with us, we call them geniuses.
The calm that comes of one’s own making is
the most delicious of all treats.
The laws God made for us mean nothing
without application.
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COME JEF |
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Jef, the world
is wide,
we’ll get a ladder
and we’ll climb the other side.
Jef, the sky is high
though we can climb up to the top
if we’ll just try.
Don’t be afraid Jef
please don’t be afraid Jef.
Jef, another dawn comes tomorrow
and your troubles may be gone
forget about today Jef.
Jef, please Jef.
Come, come, come...
I’ll play you Spain on my guitar
I’ll take you walking to the stars.
Come Jef, come.
Come, we’ll walk a little more.
Come Jef.
Nothing’s like it seems
nothing’s bad in daylight or in dreams
come Jef, come.
Come, please don’t be afraid
don’t worry Jef
every day has an end.
Now Jef, around the corner is a big house
Madame Adolf, she has some new girls
Jef, come we’ll look at them.
We’ll look them over once.
Jef, the water’s deep, black, muddy,
wouldn’t you rather go on a clear day.
Now Jef, Jef don’t be afraid, come.
Come Jef, come, come,
come, I’ll play you Spain on my guitar
I’ll take you walking to the stars
come Jef, come.
Come, we’ll go around the corner to the moon
we’ll go around the corner of the room
come Jef, come, come.
It doesn’t matter what they say
it doesn’t matter what the day’s like
Jef, come, come Jef, come.
It doesn’t matter what you think
come... please don’t be afraid Jef.
Jef, come Jef, come Jef,
I’m your friend Jef
if a man has a friend he has something.
Come, come, I’ll play you Spain on my guitar
we’ll take you walking to the stars
come Jef, come.
Come, the world is wonderful and wide
and we can get a ladder, climb the other side
come Jef, come. - from the album "The Concert Collection - South Africa",
1975 |
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