All I’ve got is a red
guitar, three chords and the truth
All I’ve got is a red
guitar, the rest is up to you
The above lyric, inserted
into U2’s rendition of Dylan’s All Along
the Watchtower, got me thinking about the power of music and art to rise
above simple entertainment and get us worked up about serious issues.
OK, I’m as guilty as the
next person as far as not wanting to be lectured, and sometimes musicians,
actors, etc. can get a bit too full
of themselves. But I’ve never subscribed
to the notion that artists should just shut up and perform. As Neil Young would say, “What? Just because I’m a singer means I’m not
entitled to an opinion?”
Anyway, if art is a
reflection of life, how can art not
be making a statement?
So here’s to Bono, and
Dylan, and Lennon, and Springsteen, and Young, and Woody, and Marley, and all
the other cats that have the courage to tell it like it is.
The rest is up to us.
