You\u2019re probably not surprised to find out that my husband played in a band (mainly rhythm guitar, but he also plays bass and piano). And, he\u2019s recorded his own CD of original songs called Preferred Risk. Over the last few days, I\u2019ve heard one of his songs \u2013- called \u201cWords\u201d \u2013- playing in a loop in my head. The \u201chook\u201d or catch phrase is this:<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Words that are written down \u2013
\nMeanings realized \u2013
\nWords placed together
\nChange our lives.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
What could be more true? Think of all the wonderful words that have altered the course of your life: \u201cI do.\u201d \u201cIt\u2019s a boy!\u201d or \u201cIt\u2019s a girl!\u201d or \u201cIt\u2019s twins!\u201d or \u201cYou won!\u201d or \u201cI have your back.\u201d Or \u201cYou\u2019ll be attending (your favorite school\u2019s name here) this fall!\u201d or \u201cI love you.\u201d These words lift us up for years to come.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
John Lennon placed his heart\u2019s longing and his life\u2019s purpose in the hands of words. He said quite honestly, \u201cHalf of what I say in meaningless. But I say it just to reach you, Julia<\/strong>.\u201d In that simple, honest line he offered up, unabashedly, his life\u2019s mission statement. And throughout his years here, John did just that. He used words to try to reach the \u201cgirl in a million, my friend,\u201d the lovely Julia Lennon.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Paul McCartney, likewise, tried endlessly to explain to Jane Asher through his lyrics that he needed her to relinquish her career and \u201cbe with him\u201d if they were to be happy. In one song after another (increasingly argumentative), he pled his case via \u201cWhat You\u2019re Doing,\u201d \u201cI\u2019m Looking Through You,\u201d \u201cWe Can Work it Out,\u201d \u201cYou Won\u2019t See Me,\u201d and even \u201cHere, There, and Everywhere.\u201d Paul kept saying in plaintive words: \u201cI need you to give up what you\u2019re doing and be there for me.\u201d He phrased it in every version possible. <\/p>\n <\/p>\n Why? Because Paul knew that words have great appeal, great power. American poet Carl Sandburg realized that when he wrote this simple but unforgettable poem, \u201cPrimer Lesson.\u201d <\/p>\n <\/p>\n No one understood this simple or \u201cprimer\u201d lesson better than John Lennon. When his long and complicated discussion with journalist Maureen Cleave ended up being dissected, lifted out of context, and placed on the cover of Datebook magazine, John discovered how quickly the things we say and write can get away from us\u2026can stalk off to live sordid lives of their own without our being able to \u201ccall them back.\u201d Over and over and over on the 1966 North American Tour, in press conference after press conference, John apologized for his words about The Beatles being \u201cmore popular than Jesus.\u201d But it was to no avail. His words had taken on a life of their own.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n I\u2019m a news junkie, and last night as I was listening to a rehashing of the day\u2019s events, I decided that about 80 percent of our news items center on things that people have said: words or phrases about someone else, to someone else, about another country, agency, political candidate, or alleged crime for which they are being investigated. We even have a term for this sort of thing; we call it \u201ca sound byte.\u201d Words dominate our politics as well as our private lives.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Because society is inexorably \u201ctied at the hip\u201d (or \u201ctied at the hype,\u201d as you choose) to Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn, Twitter, and every other social media \u201cflava of the month,\u201d words have become dangerous weapons hurled at others on the spur of the moment. <\/p>\n <\/p>\n We Tweet without censure. We blast someone on Facebook. We \u201cLike\u201d or \u201cDislike\u201d and leave nasty comments for one another at will. We use words to wound, accuse, blame, and tear down. Without any concrete evidence, we sling vile accusations that have zero basis in fact. And we think that is acceptable. It\u2019s not.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n John and Paul would have been the first to warn us all that words, once spoken (or written) cannot be retrieved. Indeed, Paul eloquently sang, \u201cHer words (and kindness) linger on when she no longer needs you.\u201d <\/p>\n <\/p>\n Images fade. Over time, facts blur. But the words that someone speaks to us and about us linger on. We remember.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n What does Paul McCartney remember about his Mother Mary? He remembers her words: \u201cLet it be.\u201d <\/p>\n <\/p>\n What does John Lennon say will set you free? \u201cThe Word.\u201d<\/p>\n <\/p>\n What immediately ties you to George Harrison? A single word. \u201cSomething.\u201d<\/p>\n <\/p>\n And without Ringo\u2019s words (for example, \u201cTomorrow Never Knows\u201d) Beatles history would have been quite different.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n In Liverpool, one of my favorite spots is the \u201cbombed out church\u201d now turned into a garden of reflection in the heart of the city. Here, the violence of war has been turned into a retreat of peace. The wreckage of a bomb\u2019s tragic destruction is daily being transformed into beauty.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n But the wreckage of words will not reverse itself as easily. Children are \u201ccrippled inside\u201d for a lifetime by the words we say. Families are torn apart. Friendships are ended with no hope of reparation. Marriages are injured. Look out how you use words. They have a dark magic all their own. And, my friends, it is large and in charge.<\/p>\n Jude Southerland Kessler is the author of the John Lennon Series:\u00a0www.johnlennonseries.com<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n \u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n Jude is represented by 910 Public Relations —\u00a0@910PubRel<\/a>\u00a0on Twitter and\u00a0910 Public Relations<\/a>\u00a0on Facebook.<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" You\u2019re probably not surprised to find out that my husband played in a band (mainly rhythm guitar, but he also plays bass and piano). And, he\u2019s recorded his own CD of original songs called Preferred Risk. 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\nLook out how you use proud words.
\nWhen you let proud words go, it is not easy to call them back.
\nThey wear long boots, hard boots; they walk off proud; they can’t hear you calling–
\nLook out how you use proud words.<\/strong><\/p>\n
\n