My "something new" for today...

[alexpgp]

Some years ago, I heard a recording of Johnny Cash singing something called We'll Meet Again. I could tell it was not the voice of the energetic young singer who sang I Walk The Line at Fulsom prison, but there was enough left of that voice to hold my attention. I thought both the lyrics and his performance were very touching, especially since I assumed—that word again—that Cash was singing as if to his late wife, June Carter Cash, and telling her not only that they would meet again, but that he knew that reunion would occur soon.

Would you please say hello to the folks that I know,
Tell them I won't be long...

And there the matter rested until this past Monday's episode of Castle, where the song plays at the end (for varioius nefarious reasons; further deponent saith not).

So today, I googled the song title, and learned via Wikipedia that not only does the song date from the Second World War, but it was one of the most popular songs of that era and has since been sung in Dr. Strangelove and as a cut on the album Mr. Tambourine Man, recorded by The Byrds.

The immediate surprise aside, the secondary surprise (so to speak) is how the song had been jangling in my ears at various times during my life (I mean, I've seen Kubrick's film at least a half dozen times) and I hadn't really noticed it. The only phenomenon that I can compare it to is when you suddenly recognize an actor in some role that was played before he or she finally gets "imprinted" on your mind by some subsequent performance In my case, a good example is Chris O'Donnell's performance in the 1993 movie The Three Musketeers, though perhaps I may be forgiven for not immediately making the connection between a very young D'Artagnan there and more mature G Callen in NCIS: Los Angeles.

After Monday's show, I went back to listen to the Cash rendition, and I "listened with a new set of ears," so to speak. While my original interpretation (of Cash singing to his wife) remains plausible, I can now easily see how the song "applies" to those who are very much alive, and intend to remain so.

Cheers...

Comments

[allie63.livejournal.com]

My son and I just today were talking about how well the music in Castle is done. We are still watching last season on DVD, so I don't want to know anything further! The episode we just watched involved Kate standing on a bomb in a kitchen, and she and Castle doing flashbacks of their relationship. I was absolutely weeping, because their timing of touching scenes mixed with absolutely perfect music was making it impossible not to sniffle. James had something in his eye. He does not cry at TV shows. His allergies act up during Castle a lot as well.

Thanks for the history of the song. I look forward to the episode!