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Apr 2014 · 1.2k
"Aja" by Steely Dan (lyrics)
Random Beauty Apr 2014
Up on the hill
    People never stare
    They just don't care
    Chinese music under banyan trees
    Here at the dude ranch above the sea

    Aja
    When all my dime dancin' is through
    I run to you

    Up on the hill
    They've got time to burn
    There's no return
    Double helix in the sky tonight
    Throw out the hardware
    Let's do it right

    Aja
    When all my dime dancin' is through
    I run to you

    Up on the hill
    They think I'm okay
    Or so they say
    Chinese music always sets me free
    Angular banjos
    Sound good to me

    Aja
    When all my dime dancin' is through
    I run to you*




I can't say enough about this jazz/rock masterpiece and title cut of one of my essential deserted island scenario albums. It is one of the most incredibly well produced albums...a treat for the ears, mind, and soul.

    Listen to Steely Dan's song "Aja" at this link...
    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fG2seugAgnU

    ...and strongly consider purchasing the album...
In my opinion, no serious music collection can be complete without it.
Random Beauty Apr 2014
I took off for a weekend last month
Just to try and recall the whole year
All of the faces, and all of the places
Wonderin' where they all disappeared

I didn't ponder the question too long
I was hungry and went out for a bite
Ran into a chum with a bottle of ***
And we wound up drinkin' all night

It's those changes in latitudes, changes in attitudes
Nothing remains quite the same
With all of our running, and all of our cunning
If we couldn't laugh we would all go insane

Reading departure signs in some big airport
Reminds me of the places I've been
Visions of good times that brought so much pleasure
Makes me want to go back again

If it suddenly ended tomorrow
I could somehow adjust to the fall
Good times, and riches, and son-of-a-*******
I've seen more than I can recall

These changes in latitudes, changes in attitudes
Nothing remains quite the same
Through all of the islands and all of the highlands
If we couldn't laugh we would all go insane

I think about Paris when I'm high on red wine
I wish I could jump on a plane
So many nights I just dream of the ocean
God, I wish I was sailing again

Oh yesterday's over my shoulder
So I can't look back for too long
there's just too much to see waiting in front of me
And I know that I just can't go wrong

With these changes in latitudes, changes in attitudes
Nothing remains quite the same
With all of my running, and all of my cunning
If I couldn't laugh I just would go insane
If we couldn't laugh we just would go insane
If we weren't all crazy we would go insane*



Listen to Jimmy Buffett's "Changes In Latitudes, Changes In Attitudes"
at this link...
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=56nHBah7mdE

...better yet...buy it...pour a glass of red wine or a Margarita...
...play it...enjoy...and laugh!...
Random Beauty Apr 2014
For attractive lips, speak words of kindness.

For lovely eyes, seek out the good in people.

For a slim figure, share your food with the hungry.

For beautiful hair, let a child run his or her fingers through it once a day.

For poise, walk with the knowledge that you never walk alone.
People, even more than things, have to be restored, renewed, revived, reclaimed and redeemed; never throw out anyone.

Remember, if you ever need a helping hand, you'll find one at the end of each of your arms.

As you grow older, you will discover that you have two hands, one for helping yourself, the other for helping others.

The beauty of a woman is not in the clothes she wears, the figure she carries, or the way she combs her hair. The beauty of a woman must be seen from in her eyes, because that is the doorway to her heart, the place where love resides.

The beauty of a woman is not in a ****** mole, but the true beauty in a woman is reflected in her soul. It is the caring that she lovingly gives, the passion that she shows, and the beauty of a woman with passing years only grows!
This poem was written by the late American educator-humorist Sam Levinson for his grandchild. It also happened to be one of Audrey Hepburn's favorite poems. She used it on occasion when she was asked for beauty tips.
Random Beauty Apr 2014
Most of the time
He's the lord of the jungle
Everyone grins while he gripes
Usually he's found just
Lounging around in his stripes

His tiger lady's
A superfine feline
Just what his highness deserves
A sweet purring pussycat
Proud of her pussycat curves

He's a tiger in the rain
It's the thunder and lightnin'
He can't explain
A tiger in the rain
Who's frightened

Caught in the storm he came
Searching for shelter
Right up to me and my spouse
We both stroked his chin and
Invited him into the house

He's a tiger in the rain
It's the thunder and lightnin'
He can't explain
A tiger in the rain
Who's frightened

He's a tiger in the rain
It's the thunder and lightnin'
He can't explain
A tiger in the rain
Who's frightened*



An absolutely beautiful song...both poetically and musically.
Jazz singer/songwriter Michael Franks has been backed up by a long list of celebrated musicians and vocalists throughout his long career.

Listen to Michael Franks' song "Tiger in the Rain" at this link
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hIEN24bctkc
Random Beauty Apr 2014
I'm a dweller on the threshold
And I'm waiting at the door
And I'm standing in the darkness
I don't want to wait no more

I have seen without perceiving
I have been another man
Let me pierce the realm of glamour
So I know just what I am

I'm a dweller on the threshold
And I'm waiting at the door
And I'm standing in the darkness
I don't want to wait no more

Feel the angel of the present
In the mighty crystal fire
Lift me up consume my darkness
Let me travel even higher

I'm a dweller on the threshold
As I cross the burning ground
Let me go down to the water
Watch the great illusion drown

I'm a dweller on the threshold
And I'm waiting at the door
And I'm standing in the darkness
I don't want to wait no more

I'm gonna turn and face the music
The music of the spheres
Lift me up consume my darkness
When the midnight disappears

I will walk out of the darkness
And I'll walk into the light
And I'll sing the song of ages
And the dawn will end the night

I'm a dweller on the threshold
And I'm waiting at the door
And I'm standing in the darkness
I don't want to wait no more

I'm a dweller on the threshold
And I cross some burning ground
And I'll go down to the water
Let the great illusion drown

I'm a dweller on the threshold
And I'm waiting at the door
And I'm standing in the darkness
I don't want to wait no more

I'm a dweller on the threshold
Dweller on the threshold
I'm a dweller on the threshold
I'm a dweller on the threshold*



Listen to Van Morrison's "Dweller On The Threshold" at this link...
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-Ln-H2HV6o0
...better yet...truly own his spiritual music in every way...
Random Beauty Mar 2014
I will arise and go now, and go to Innisfree,
And a small cabin build there, of clay and wattles made;
Nine bean rows will I have there, a hive for the honey bee,
And live alone in the bee loud glade.

And I shall have some peace there, for peace comes dropping slow,
Dropping from the veils of the morning to where the cricket sings;
There midnight's all a glimmer, and noon a purple glow,
And evening full of the linnet's wings.

I will arise and go now, for always night and day
I hear lake water lapping with low sounds by the shore;
While I stand on the roadway, or on the pavements grey,
I hear it in the deep heart's core.
Random Beauty Mar 2014
This morning as I walked along the lakeshore,
I fell in love with a wren
and later in the day with a mouse
the cat had dropped under the dining room table.

In the shadows of an autumn evening,
I fell for a seamstress
still at her machine in the tailor’s window,
and later for a bowl of broth,
steam rising like smoke from a naval battle.

This is the best kind of love, I thought,
without recompense, without gifts,
or unkind words, without suspicion,
or silence on the telephone.

The love of the chestnut,
the jazz cap and one hand on the wheel.

No lust, no slam of the door –
the love of the miniature orange tree,
the clean white shirt, the hot evening shower,
the highway that cuts across Florida.

No waiting, no huffiness, or rancor –
just a twinge every now and then

for the wren who had built her nest
on a low branch overhanging the water
and for the dead mouse,
still dressed in its light brown suit.

But my heart is always propped up
in a field on its tripod,
ready for the next arrow.

After I carried the mouse by the tail
to a pile of leaves in the woods,
I found myself standing at the bathroom sink
gazing down affectionately at the soap,

so patient and soluble,
so at home in its pale green soap dish.
I could feel myself falling again
as I felt its turning in my wet hands
and caught the scent of lavender and stone.
Billy Collins is a former Poet Laureate of the United States and author of this poem. "Aimless Love" is also the title of his recently released book, a collection of new and selected poems.

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