February 14, 2020
One of the ways I keep my spirits up in the face of life’s vicissitudes is to sing. This week I’ve needed to sing more than usual. Three family members are suffering: one cousin is recovering after being hit by a truck while walking his dog, another cousin is dealing with her dysfunctional adult children, and my mom is bedridden and depressed.
I try to stay positive no matter what I read in the newspaper or hear on the radio or see on TV, and no matter what is going on in my personal life. And fortunately, other than my family problems, my own life is pretty good these days. Even so, there are times when my Pollyanna optimism needs a booster shot in the butt. Luckily two songs came along this week that lodged in my brain and cheered me up considerably.
Although I’ve never been a Monty Python fan, I found myself laughing and singing and whistling along with their silly song on YouTube, “Always Look on the Bright Side of Life.” This video clip from their “Life of Brian” movie shows a couple of dozen men being crucified in Roman (?) times. One of the men, apparently an incurable optimist, decides to cheer up his fellow sufferers on their crosses by singing and whistling to them. The song is wickedly funny because of the contrast and absurdity of crucified men joining the original vocalist in warbling and whistling an upbeat tune. Even nearby corpses are swaying their feet to the cheery ditty:
Always look on the bright side of life
Always look on the light side of life
If life seems jolly rotten
There’s something you’ve forgotten
And that’s to laugh and smile and dance and sing
When you’re feeling in the dumps
Don’t be silly chumps
Just purse your lips and whistle – that’s the thing
For life is quite absurd
And death’s the final word
You must always face the curtain with a bow
Forget about your sin
Give the audience a grin
Enjoy it – it’s your last chance anyhow
So always look on the bright side of death
Just before you draw your terminal breath
Life’s a piece of shit
When you look at it
Life’s a laugh and death’s a joke it’s true
You’ll see it’s all a show
Keep ’em laughin’ as you go
Just remember that the last laugh is on you.
Yes, the last laugh is on me, and I’m fine with that because I’m doing the laughing. And the singing.
It’s also interesting that such dark humor can be hilarious and inspirational at the same time.
The other song that came into my life this week is more representative of the kind of cheerful tune that I’m usually drawn to. It’s a beautiful romantic song by John Denver called “Tradewinds”:
Ridin’ on a tradewind
Fillin’ my sails with a soft and southerly breeze
Livin’ on the ocean blue
Dreaming of the islands
Wrappin’ myself in the glow of a tropical moon
I never shiver when the sun goes down
All the earth she sings to me
Every shallow, every tree
Surely my love’s shining like the sea
I love the innocence and joy of Denver’s song and the loveliness of his voice and music. And often I’m more in the mood for this kind of song. But sometimes there’s a part of me – my shadow side? – that needs to acknowledge the truth in the black humor of Monty Python’s “Always Look on the Bright Side of Life.” That truth is that there is terrible suffering in this world, and sooner or later we will all experience some degree of that misery. We can only hope that our share of misery will be minimal and brief.
But I also think that a positive attitude can ameliorate some of that unhappiness. So for as long as I am able, I intend to sing and laugh at life and at death and at suffering.
And do what I can to cheer up my family members and anyone else that I know who needs a ray of hope in the midst of hell. Until it’s my turn to be uplifted.
David Wigginton 