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Published: Apr 28, 2009
Category: Rock
Donovan Videos
Catch the Wind
Hurdy Gurdy Man
Lalena
Atlantis
Wear Your Love Like Heaven
This is a joke, right? Wild hair, tie-dye shirts, peace signs, acid trips, soft-headed mysticism --- that's Donovan, yes? The guy who sang about smoking banana peels and the glories of Atlantis? The poor man's Dylan?
No. It's not a joke. And that's not the Donovan I know. Forty years after I forgot about him, I find myself listening --- repetitively --- to Donovan's Greatest Hits. And the music I meet there isn't from some '60s relic. Donovan is our William Blake, a creator of songs of innocence.
That seems overwrought. After all, his first hit was so close to Dylan you couldn't be sure who recorded it. And the lyrics were simple as folk:
In the chilly hours and minutes,
Of uncertainty, I want to be
In the warm hold of your loving mind.
To feel you all around me,
And to take your hand, along the sand,
Ah, but I may as well try and catch the wind.
Okay, but then he met Dylan, who skipped his Nasty Bob act to befriend the Scots singer. And, three years later, The Beatles invited him to join them at Abbey Road for the last session of "A Day in the Life". Clearly, he was a bit more than a hippie at a hootenanny.
Who he was: an early appreciator of Zen. Like, here:
The lock upon my garden gate's a snail, that's what it is.
First there is a mountain, then there is no mountain, then there is.
Who he was: a clever wordsmith. Like, here:
Elevator in the brain hotel
Broken down a-just as well-a
Looking through crystal spectacles,
Ah, I can see I had your fun.
Who he was: a clear-eyed observer of the scene. Like, here:
Beatniks out to make it rich,
Oh no, must be the season of the witch...
But, mostly, what you hear in song after song --- especially in “Wear Your Love Like Heaven” and “Hurdy Gurdy Man” and “Atlantis” and “Happiness Runs” --- is a 100% bet on the ultimate victory of love. That was the way the world used to be; now we have to get ourselves back to the Garden. And the deepest affection for all living things is the only way to do it:
Lord, kiss me once more
Fill me with song
Allah, kiss me once more
That I may, that I may
Wear my love like heaven
Allah? In the mid-1960s? Not surprising. He was also using Indian drums back then and recording with the greatest of English rockers (Led Zeppelin, if you can believe).
As you may recall, Donovan got into meditation early. Unlike others, he wasn't diving inward just for a season; he's a lifer. Not surprising, for he was a very quick study:
Happiness runs in a circular motion
Thought is like a little boat upon the sea.
Everybody is a part of everything anyway,
You can have everything if you let yourself be...
In a time when many hope for “just enough”, you could do a lot worse than give your head over to a musician who not only wrote irresistible pop hits but who sincerely believes you can have it all. Even now, I'd bet. But only if you dare.
To buy “Donovan's Greatest Hits” from Amazon.com, click here.
To buy the MP3 of “Donovan's Greatest Hits” from Amazon.com, click here.
To visit Donovan's web site, click here.