Here’s a little music tidbit I didn’t know. The first musical performance on Saturday Night Live was Billy Preston singin’ his hit song, Nothin From Nothin. And that didn’t just pop up, randomly in my poetmagination brain. Because I wanted to share some of the lyrics from that song. And I remembered it came out in the 70’s. But I looked it up to be sure when.
Nothin From Nothin was a chart-topper in 1974.
And the chorus went like this:
Nothin’ from nothin’ leaves nothin’
You gotta have somethin’ if you wanna be with me
Nothin’ from nothin’ leaves nothin’
You gotta have somethin’ if you wanna be with me.
It’s a fun song. If you’ve never heard it, you’re either misled hermit or you’re just too young to have enjoyed the good stuff.
But the reason I brought up that song and those lyrics is because they show how even recording artists inherently know you can’t get somethin’ from nothin’. And you know how recording artists aren’t the sparkliest crayons in the box.
So, who cares if you can or can’t get somethin’ from nothin’? Well, it might surprise you (if you’re the aforementioned hermit or too-young person) most people care. On some level or another. In fact, they build their lives around one perspective or the other. Most people either believe everything came from something or it came from nothing. There’s almost no one (and certainly no one I know) who falls in between.
And that means you believe that in the beginning, God created. Or you believe that in the beginning dirt created itself. You’re free to believe either way. But it seems so obvious you can only get nothin from nothin. Billy Preston thought so.
And here’s the thing.
Dirt will always keep you down and dirty. And God will lift you up higher than the universe. He’ll show you eternal love and give you eternal life. But not if you don’t want that.
Not sure why anyone wouldn’t want that. But most people prefer to thumb their nose at God. And I firmly believe they’ll regret that decision. Forever. So, here’s what I always recommend to those people.
Give up your god complex. Let God have that title. Show Him the respect He deserves for creating all living matter. And take Him up on His offer of eternal life in paradise with Him. It’s up to you. But choose carefully. And you can enjoy…
The Living End
How can I explain the numbers in the rain?
I’d like to help illuminate the pathways to your mind.
But I am just a man; I’ll do the best I can
I’ll show you where to look, and I’ll tell you this:
It isn’t behind…
It’s a firecracker and a windchime
It’s a loudspeaker and a street mime
And It’s the friction of invisible wind…It’s the living end
I should write a book; give back what I took
It’s the kind of thing that multiplies
When you give it away
The knowledge and the lack;
The rails that make the track
Tend to open doors and open hearts
To what they can say…
It’s a sand pebble and the fired glass
It’s a skyscraper and a mountain pass
And It’s the friction of invisible wind…It’s the living end
Oh, and I’m sure I can’t make you believe
If it’s not within your will
Oh, and it’s been around since Adam and Eve
And it never stood still
How can I extol the matters of the soul?
I was never one to shake my fist and preach in the square.
No, I just always knew that faith would lead me through,
And there has to be a larger life that lasts forever out there
(repeat 1st chorus)
© 1992
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