Grey Seal Are Not Actually Wise

It was 1973-1974, and my family was on a day trip to Munich, in Bavaria, just down the road from Nuremburg.  And where did military families go, when they visited the very fine city of Munich?  To the Post Exchange, of course!  Oh, and we also went to the town square and watched a particularly energetic cuckoo clock, but that's a story for another time.  

The PX was several floors of awesomely awesome...stuff.  There was stuff as far as my eight year old eyes could see.  I didn't even know what half of the stuff was, but it was stuff that I did not have, and it was glorious.  My brother and I were kids in a candy store...literally, because the PX had aisles of candy, too!  We immediately began to drive my parents crazy with the whining and the begging and the pleading over every single thing our little eyes could focus on. Because, stuff.  My parents, thinking that there couldn't be a single thing in that part of the store that we would want, directed us through the record section.

And that is where we found it.

I was 8.  My brother was 5.  We had ZERO idea who Elton John was, but that was absolutely the coolest album cover that either of us had ever seen, and we wanted it.  And my father, who denies the existence of all but Conway Twitty and Elvis, gave in to our request, just so he and my mom could have some peace and quiet on the drive back to Nuremburg. 

My brother and I shared one of those portable record players where the music comes out all tinny and shrill.  I hogged that record player often, because I had Donny Osmond albums.  But Donny was relegated to the bottom of the collection for Elton.  I listened to the entire album.  Then I listened to it again.  And again.  Then I just went for broke and sang along, thanks to the geniuses who put the lyrics inside the album along with very colorful art.  Before the end of the week, I could sing every single song on that double album.  No, I had not the slightest idea what most of the songs meant, and neither did my parents.  But I had my favorite songs anyway. Like Grey Seal. It had a terrific start, with Elton just whaling on his keyboards like he was having the time of his life.  I would try to imitate the rolling wave of the music, but I never got the hang of air-piano.  So I just sang.


And tell me grey seal
How does it feel
To be so wise?
To see through eyes
That only see what's real?
Tell me grey seal

Now...what the heck is a grey seal?  The picture in the album was a phoenix bird, but that didn't seem to go with the song.  My little brain was puzzled.  I even consulted an encyclopedia, only to find weird pictures of actual seals.  Why would Elton be singing about an elephant seal?   Also, seals don't talk, so how would anyone know that they are wise?   I asked my dad. What the heck was I doing singing this ridiculous song, he wanted to know, when the lyrics made no sense? He recommended that I listen to more Conway Twitty.  Which, in the timeless tradition of teenagers and rock and roll, made me love Grey Seal even more. 

I still have no idea what the song is about, but now that I am an adult, I realize that Bernie Taupin, the guy who wrote all the lyrics for the album, was likely stoned out of his gourd when he wrote Grey Seal.  All the musicians were stoned in the seventies.  Stoned people don't necessarily think deep thoughts about what they are writing.  Hence songs like Grey Seal. 

Ultimately, it really doesn't matter if the song lyrics make sense. What matters is how it makes you feel. That song made me happy. I still love the song, and Goodbye Yellow Brick Road is still one of my favorite albums.





Mamakat's prompt:   3.) But it’s got a great beat! Tell us about a song you loved growing up even though the lyrics were ridiculous.

The A-List: Things That Make Me Smile

It's August, and that means that it is time for Happiness Happens month, sponsored by the Secret Society of Happy People.   Go check them out and join in the fun.

Source: sohp.com via Tina on Pinterest

In the spirit of happiness, I decided to think about what makes me smile.  Smiling usually is a sign of happiness, right?  Well, mostly.  If a shark smiles, that's probably not a sign of happiness.  Unless the shark is happy that he's found lunch.  I am generally very happy when I have lunch in front of me, so why not a shark?  How did I get on the topic of sharks?  Back to the topic, which is happiness. 

Everyone wants to be happy, but a lot of people are confused about what constitutes happiness.  Yes, that feeling that you just won the lottery is happiness, but so is the pleasure you feel when you bite into the perfect peanut butter and jelly sammich.  Part of being happy is being in the moment, whether you are onstage receiving the gold medal at the Olympics or sitting in your favorite chair.  These are some of the things that can make me smile and bring me out of a dark mood. 

1.  Children laughing.   Having become a parent, I will be the first to tell you that children sometimes make you want to pull out all of your hair one strand at a time.  However, there's just something about the unfettered, directly-from-the-belly laughter that all kids exhibit that is just plain infectious.  When anyone laughs like that, there's no guile involved, no strings, no conditions.  That's just what kids do, and it is beautiful to hear.  Their joy in the world at that moment is complete, and that always makes me smile. 

2.  Cat purrs.  I love dogs, but cats are my favorite animal.  When a cat purrs, it is one of the most relaxing sounds in the world.  It seems to reverberate through your bones into that portion of your brain where the command to relax is hidden, and whacks that button with a big cat paw.  Purring is a sign of contentment, but it is also a method cats use to self-soothe.  I would love to be able to self-soothe without resorting to eating every piece of chocolate in sight.   When  cat purrs, all is right with the world, it seems. That makes me smile.

3.  Music.   I have favorite songs that always make me smile, even if some of them are incredibly inane or politically incorrect.  Why not songs that make me smile?   Elton John's "This Song Has No Title", is a short song and seems to have been thrown onto the album to take up space--and yet it is one of my favorites and I smile every time I hear it.  "I'm All Right", otherwise known as the Caddyshack song, is completely silly--and I smile every time I hear it.  Sometimes I even dance, but don't tell! Maybe it's that adorable gopher.  I couldn't tell you why, but does it really matter?


4.  That first taste.  When I get up in the morning, I have to have something with caffeine in it, because I am not a crazy person who wakes up all cheerful and perky.  No, I am one of those incoherent Cave Trolls until I have my caffeine.  That first sip of coffee?  The feel of that bittersweet warmth as it hits my tongue and heads down my throat?  Heavenly.  That makes me smile.  But it's not just the first cup of coffee.  It's the first bite of a juicy hamburger, or the first drink of the wine you just opened.  Eating is pleasurable for me, and I like to savor when I can, because it makes me happy.

5.  Reading.   Not everyone can read, and not everyone wants to read.  I find that very sad, since reading opens up a completely different world to a person.  Escaping into a favorite book reduces stress and lets the mind breathe.  No other species has the brain capacity to learn to read.  Those neural pathways do not exist in other mammals, which means that being able to read is a gift.   When I was a kid, I would sit in my room and read for hours.  I have stayed up all night reading a good book.  I love to read.  It makes me smile.  And while I am reading, I am happy. 

Now it's your turn!  What makes you smile?