Long but worth reading (I hope)

Early one morning in our kitchen and waiting for the tea bags to sufficiently leach, I turned on the radio. A well-known song had just started which normally would not distract me but this morning, it did. It stopped me and made me listen all the way through until it had finished. A testament to great song writing because it meant that we had cups of tea that were not quite hot enough – a grave crime on these shores.

When we think of the great singer songwriters of the last fifty years; a raft of usual suspects spring to mind.

Elvis, Elton John, Billy Joel, Michael Jackson, Stevie Wonder, Bob Dylan, David Bowie, Lennon and McCartney, Roy Orbison, Nile Rodgers… The list goes on and you get my point.

And if we refine our search to black artists, then Sam Cooke, Marvin Gaye, Jackie Wilson, Otis Redding, Nat King Cole… The list goes on and you get my point.

But how many lists would include Bill Withers?

The word genius should always be used sparingly and particularly so pertaining to the arts where hyperbole is almost a default. That said, it seems to me that Bill Withers might be that rare thing in the arts and genuinely a genius?

Read on and decide for yourself.

Depending on your age, it could well be that you haven’t even heard of him, although I’d be surprised if you haven’t heard his music; arguably, some of the greatest pop songs. This is subjective of course but his music will certainly endure and it clearly has the power to make us stop and listen and to think.

And in this instance, feel a need to write about it.

Undoubtedly, it is music which alters listeners mood and makes them feel good. This alone is a feat and a great legacy to leave.

Bill Withers was truly a talented man.

The song in question – the one which ruined our morning tea is Lean on Me.

Perhaps his most famous song and much loved by so many. A song I have heard countless times and so I wonder how its power hasn’t really occurred to me until now. What stopped me that morning were the lyrics – and before I explain why, a little context and a quick nod to the luminaries already mentioned.

Quite possibly, some of you are raging at inclusions and omissions. What, no Sinatra or Neil Diamond? Jonny Mathis, Bing Crosby…

All duly considered but omitted because these stars were merely singers. By this, I don’t mean to demean the voice. I can’t hold a tune but my point is that a great many people can. Every cruise ship afloat our oceans has a raft of singers on board who can all smash a room. But only a hallowed few can write the music that moves us. And fewer still, who can write such songs and sing them also.

Bill Withers was one.

And so to his lyrics – and in particular, Lean on Me.

I know almost nothing about music, (which I might have proved already in this post) but I do know something about words and their power. Withers had a masterly command of words. I would reason as powerful as many of our great poets.

Great songwriters are remarkable because they need to be so economic. Authors can indulge. They are afforded as many words as they desire to create but songwriters must work with ruthless efficiency and still, their impact can be so profound. Billy Joel’s Piano Man is a remarkable example. Listen to that song and tell me you’re not in that bar putting bread in his jar.

Lean on Me is the same.

I reproduce the song’s lyrics here – but before you read them, allow me to highlight what I think is their power.

Broadly, it is the song’s overall message – that we need to help one another; a moral which is  highlighted and distinguished by the simplicity of the words. It is a unifying song and very much a song for our times when we are seemingly so divided.

Similarly, the melody is simple, with so few chords. I imagine it is a cinch to play, even a novice musician.

But this is not to say it is a simple song – or that writing something as ‘simple’ is easy. If it were simple, then we would all be doing it. I would argue the very opposite. That to write a song so seemingly simple and yet so powerful (that can force an Englishman to ruin his tea) is a fiendishly difficult feat to pull off.

I have noticed this with my son, Sam and the songs he plays on piano; how so many of the most famous pop songs are so straight forward. Much of the Beatles canon wouldn’t trouble even a basic musician – and yet, they are indelible melodies.

To the lyrics then…

I reproduce them here in full to read (and possibly sing along to) and then again below and with my personal takes…

Sometimes in our lives we all have pain
We all have sorrow
But if we are wise
We know that there’s always tomorrow

Lean on me, when you’re not strong
And I’ll be your friend
I’ll help you carry on
For it won’t be long
‘Til I’m gonna need
Somebody to lean on

Please swallow your pride
If I have things you need to borrow
For no one can fill those of your needs
That you won’t let show

You just call on me brother, when you need a hand
We all need somebody to lean on
I just might have a problem that you’ll understand
We all need somebody to lean on

Lean on me, when you’re not strong
And I’ll be your friend
I’ll help you carry on
For it won’t be long
‘Til I’m gonna need
Somebody to lean on

You just call on me brother, when you need a hand
We all need somebody to lean on

*

I should say that these lyrics resonate even more for their slow delivery. Sung so slowly, they are almost spoken because perhaps he knew how important they were?

To the lyrics then and my interpretation…

*

Sometimes in our lives we all have pain

A bold opening statement that rings true. Does anyone not have pain? Of course not.

We all have pain. Both physical and emotional. We all understand the reality of pain and how we try to quell it.

We all have sorrow 

Grief, regret, guilt, remorse…

But if we are wise

I like his use of the word, “but”

It implies that Bill has a solution for us and that he is about to explain to us a way to deal with our pain. Immediately then, it is a line of great hope.

“…if we are wise”

Wisdom is one of the few upsides of getting old. Wisdom is acquired with experience and heeding mistakes and why young people are wise if they listen to their elders and don’t dismiss them.

We know that there’s always tomorrow 

Tomorrow is a new day. And who knows what it might bring?

This is most self-help books distilled in to one single line. Live for today. Don’t let the past inform the present…

Lean on me, when you’re not strong

The word ‘lean’ is evocative. Leaning is not being carried.

In life, we shouldn’t want to be carried but equally we shouldn’t mind being helped.

Leaning is being helped. It is dignified and it is mutually beneficial because it is a shared experience.

When you’re not strong…

Another truism. Because we are all fallible. Everyone has moments when they falter and in these moments we need help. We will need to lean on someone or something.

And I’ll be your friend

The power of this line is implicit and doesn’t need my explanation.

A challenge for you though, can you think of five other such simple words with as much power.

I’ll help you carry on

And carry on we must. All of us. We only fail when we give up. The show must go on.

For it won’t be long
‘Til I’m gonna need
Somebody to lean on

This three line refrain sums up being human. In essence; no matter how accomplished we are, we cannot do everything alone – and that all of us – at some point will need help. All of us will need to lean.

Please swallow your pride

Pride can be an affliction and why it is one of the deadly sins. Pride prevents us acknowledging weaknesses – without which we are in danger of not recognising when we need to lean (help).

If I have things you need to borrow 

Friendship again and the beauty that comes from sharing.

For no one can fill those of your needs
That you won’t let show

A further nod to pride and self-awareness – to allow people to see our vulnerabilities and needs or else, we cannot be helped.

You just call on me brother, when you need a hand

Such plain words – ‘Brother’ and ‘Hand’ and yet so profound and evocative.

We all need somebody to lean on
I just might have a problem that you’ll understand

A plea for help; an essential admission if we are to be our best selves.  

We all need somebody to lean on

The word WE.

*

Even the title of his song – Lean on Me – is noteworthy.

It is as kindly and welcoming as the song itself – listen to it now – and see if you agree.

It is song that makes me feel happy, secure, needed, included, assured… and above all else, it makes me feel hopeful.

A remarkable song, by a remarkable man. Possibly the most unheralded singer songwriters of his generation – which he had a hand in by the quiet and unassuming way that he lived.

When he died earlier this year, it shocked me because I hadn’t realised that he was still alive. In fact, it occurred to me that I didn’t really know anything about him. I didn’t know what he looked like. I would recognise Miles Davis, Marvin Gaye or Louis Armstrong. But not Bill Withers. I assumed he was black but I didn’t know for sure. Not really.

Bill Withers loved writing music but he eschewed fame and the trappings that his great talent could have provided for him.

We are used to seeing so many talented individuals but who are also seemingly as flawed. Almost that with great talent comes great destruction and often accounts for their early demise: Jackson, Prince, Phoenix, Cobain, Ledger, Dean, Winehouse, Houston, Mercury, Warhol, Presley, Hendrix…

And it is rare then when someone so blessed is able to live out a normal life and almost in obscurity.

His life lives on, however with Lean on Me, Lovely Day, Aint no Sunshine, Grandma’s Hands…

Listen to Lean on Me and accept my challenge.

With so few words and so few chords – put forward anything in the English language as moving and as profound.

No doubt, there are examples, but you’ll be hard pushed to find it.