A nice John Lennon song to cheer up Councillor Robert Rams

I hear that Councillor Robert Rams had a nasty accident and has shattered his shoulder. He tells how in his blog here - http://robertrams.wordpress.com/2012/04/20/im-a-one-handed-blogger/ .  Get well soon Robert. As you are laid up with nothing to do here's a song to cheer you up by John Lennon. Personally I think this is Lennons finest compostion. Hope you enjoy it. Such times are good to catch up on all the music which we should have listened to. Put it to good use.

I must admit, unlike many of his colleagues, Robert at least displays a sense of humour. For those of you new to the Barnet blogging scene, in 2009 the Finchley and Golders Green MP Mike Freer called myself and David Miller "One handed bloggers". He added "I call them this because you can imaging what they are doing with the other hand whilst they write them". Sadly it seems, poor old Robert won't be able to do that for a while. It is a crying shame that in the middle of his election campaign Brian Colemans team of supporters has been depleted by 50%.



Instant Karma

Instant Karma's gonna get you
Gonna knock you right on the head
You better get yourself together
Pretty soon you're gonna be dead
What in the world you thinking of
Laughing in the face of love
What on earth you tryin' to do
It's up to you, yeah you

Instant Karma's gonna get you
Gonna look you right in the face
You better get yourself together darling
Join the human race
How in the world you gonna see
Laughing at fools like me
Who on earth d'you think you are?
A superstar? Well right you are

Well we all shine on
Like the moon and the stars and the sun
Well we all shine on
Every one, come on

Instant Karma's gonna get you
Gonna knock you off your feet
Better recognize your brothers
Every one you meet
Why in the world are we here?
Surely not to live in pain and fear
Why on earth are you there?
When you're everywhere
Come and get your share

But we all shine on
Like the moon and the stars and the sun
And we all shine on
Come on and on and on on on

Yeah yeah, alright, ah haa, aaaahh

But we all shine on
Like the moon and the stars and the sun
And we all shine on
On and on and on on and on
But we all shine on
Like the moon and the stars and the sun
But we all shine on

Book of the week - Bad Karma by Andrew Harper

This weeks book is Bad Karma by Andrew Harper. For those of you who are not familiar with the concept of Karma, it is a philosophy whereby if you do bad things to others (such as cutting Sheltered Housing Wardens), bad things will happen to you. Hundreds of the oldest & most vulnerable people in Barnet have been traumatised by the decision to remove their wardens. The stress of this will probably kill some of them.

If I was the architect of the policy, I'd have deep worries about my Karma.

John Lennon addressed this issue in his classic song, "Instant Karma" - Freer, Coleman, Harper, Hillan, Cornelius et all be warned.

Instant Karma by John Lennon

Instant Karma's gonna get you,
Gonna knock you right on the head,
You better get yourself together,
Pretty soon you're gonna be dead,
What in the world you thinking of,
Laughing in the face of love,
What on earth you tryin' to do,
It's up to you, yeah you.

Instant Karma's gonna get you,
Gonna look you right in the face,
Better get yourself together darlin',
Join the human race,
How in the world you gonna see,
Laughin' at fools like me,
Who on earth d'you think you are,
A super star,
Well, right you are.

Well we all shine on,
Like the moon and the stars and the sun,
Well we all shine on,
Ev'ryone come on.

Instant Karma's gonna get you,
Gonna knock you off your feet,
Better recognize your brothers,
Ev'ryone you meet,
Why in the world are we here,
Surely not to live in pain and fear,
Why on earth are you there,
When you're ev'rywhere,
Come and get your share.

Well we all shine on,
Like the moon and the stars and the sun,
Yeah we all shine on,
Come on and on and on on on,
Yeah yeah, alright, uh huh, ah-.

Well we all shine on,
Like the moon and the stars and the sun,
Yeah we all shine on,
On and on and on on and on.

Well we all shine on,
Like the moon and the stars and the sun.
Well we all shine on,
Like the moon and the stars and the sun.
Well we all shine on,
Like the moon and the stars and the sun.
Yeah we all shine on,
Like the moon and the stars and the sun.

5 Songs that make me miserable

In this horrible week, I've been bombarded with songs I really don't enjoy listening to. Some of these songs are great songs, some are not. I turn the radio off when any of these come on because they make me feel miserable and generally I prefer to feel happy.

1. Days - Kirsty MacColl - I don't really enjoy listening to any Kirsty MacColl tracks anymore. Her death was just such a tragic loss. Of all of them, this one is probably the one which makes me feel most miserable. The only song she appears on that I can listen to is "Fairytale of New York" That is such a joyous celebration of life that it transcends everything.




2. "I want to know what love is" - Foreigner. I never liked what I call pompous rock as performed by Foreigner. To make matters worse, I once split up with a long term girlfriend and was feeling rather miserable. She told me she had been to see Foreigner with her new boyfriend, that they were better than all the rubbishy punk bands I used to drag her to and that "I want to know what love is" was her favourite song. Since then I've loathed and detested it. Mind you it made me realise that I was lucky to have split up with someone with such awful taste.

3. "Tears in Heaven" - Eric Clapton. This is probably the saddest song ever written. Having kids, I can't listen to it as it summons images that I really don't want. Clapton wrote it about his 4 year old son, Connor, falling out of a window to his death. I've never really liked Clapton since he made comments that lead to the formation of Rock Against Racism. Having said that as a father and a musician I "get" this song. Can't listen to it though.

4. "Candle in the wind" - Elton John. This song makes me miserable on lots of levels. It used to make me miserable because it was about the death of Marylin Monroe and she was an Icon. She had a few films left in her when she tragically died. Then it became the anthem for Princess Diana. I'm not a big fan of the monarchy, but her death was a tragic loss of a young mother. The thing that it reminds me of most though is Tony Blair and his speech about Diana. That always reminds me of the death of my own hopes for the Labour Government and what it would do with it's massive majority. Don't get me wrong, I think they have done far better than the Tories would have, but they didn't do what I voted Labour for.


5. "Woman" - John Lennon. Now in the Beatles vs Stones argument, I'm firmly in the Stones camp. I also prefer Paul McCartney's compositions to John Lennon's. Having said that, you have to say the man was a musical genius and he was pivotal in the development of modern music. This song was his last hit while he was alive and became the anthem of his death. In my opinion, it is probably his worst song. I think it is quite cruel that such a horrible song is the one we associate with John Lennon's death. I wish he'd bowed out on a higher note. If I had to pick my favourite John Lennon solo song, I'd probably pick "How do you sleep?" written at the height of his argument with Paul McCartney it's sharp, incisive and to the point.


I suppose it's only fair to say that being a punk rocker, I don't really like downbeat music at all. I like fast, furious thrashes. My Missus is under firm instructions that at my funeral, they will play "I'm stuck in a Pagoda, with Trisha Toyota" by the Dickies. I love the idea of my coffin disappearing through the curtains during the solo. I think it would be impossible to listen to this song and feel miserable, which is just how I want it to be.
See what you think?