The Mamas and the Papas - California Dreamin'
"All the leaves are brown, and the sky is grey.
I've been for a walk on a winter's day…."
Stop. Right. There.
Let me explain a few things. I am from Canada. Not way up in the wilderness, but about as far north as you can get while still being considered Southern Ontario (sorry, non-North Americans, don't know if you can picture this). Our 2013-14 winter lasted about six months - the longest in my lifetime. It's not supposed to snow in temparatures below about -5 degrees Celsius, but we got blizzards in -20. The no parking sign on my street corner was buried, thanks to snow both from the sky and kicked up by our ****ty clearing service, which sometimes doesn't get the street plowed until 1:00 pm. If, in your winter, there are still leaves on the trees, regardless of colour, and if you can manage to get out for a walk, you are lucky. Having said that, I can relate to this song right now. Yes, now, when our short summer has given up the ghost.
Autumn is my favourite season. I love the crisp feeling in the air, the fall colours, and the easier sleeping temperatures. In fact, I dislike sunshine and heat, and am quite happy on an overcast, 15-degree day. But I am shaking in my fur-lined moccasins right now at the thought of another winter like last year's being potentially only a couple months away. And this one is supposed to be even worse.
California Dreamin' is an old favourite. The harmonies are immaculate, the lyrics are emotive, and The Mamas' and the Papas' voices are pleasing to the ears. The meaning isn't overly cryptic - it seems to be about a homesick musician who is pining for his hometown of Los Angeles - until the last verse, when it is implied that the narrator could leave if it wasn't for "her". I'm not going to attempt an analysis of the lyrics. That's been done before by wiser minds than mine. I'm happy simply to listen to and enjoy this gorgeous song without dissecting it.
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Everybody's dying just to get the disease
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