Simon & Garfunkel - Bridge Over Troubled Water (P. Simon) ~ Erwin Lazaro 037

I was "instructed" to post this video.  I'm altering my schedule, once again, because I was "told" to do so.  I'm eternally grateful for such personal guidance.  A few days ago, I happened to visit the channel of a friend on YouTube.  His name is Dan (DesertRatDan).  I enjoy visiting his channel because he plays the harmonica.  I commented on his video for "Slow Harmonica Blues in F" and wrote, "I love the personality of the harmonica - especially with blues. "Solitude" is my word to describe the drifting tones that float into nothingness ... my romantic impression of a great instrument."  I can close my eyes and my consciousness boards those longing notes of the harmonica that float into nothingness.  The last haunting note transports me back to reality as if I had never left.  So, after enjoying one small trip, I longed for another - Sounds addictive, doesn't it? - I immediately clicked on another one of DesertRatDan's videos.  This video is the primary reason that I continue to revisit his channel, though I enjoy more of his videos now, I keep coming back to this one.  It is "Bridge Over Troubled Water".  I haven't sang this song since I was in high school, 24 years ago, when I was a senior.  I recently conveyed to Dan, on his video that, "Many years ago, the music teacher at my high school said that I really needed to sing this one.  I think that the time has come ..."  And so, a few days later, I set up my family room and sang "Bridge Over Troubled Water".  Alas, I was already prepared to post a different video and description.  Now, with only a few hours to spare, I've decided to adapt, once again.  That is the beauty of keeping an open mind, and spirit.  Sometimes, unexpectedly, something striking comes to pass.  We each have the choice to acknowledge, recognize, and act upon alternatives.  The trick is knowing whether the temptation is wise, or not.  I follow my gut, not my thought; nor do I follow convenience.  I do what I need to do, when it needs to be done. I had to start all over again for this week.  I didn't mind at all, because I knew that this was the right choice to make.  Remember, if you don't make the effort to act upon your instincts, you will never find yourself in the place where you want to be.  For me; for this action; I was "told" to do this, and I'm very happy that I did.  Since I spent all of this time basically describing "serendipity", all I'm going to say about the significance of this song choice is that, as I journeyed to recapture my soul, "Bridge Over Troubled Water" represents that lifeline that I had previuosly mentioned, two videos ago: The Hope.  That should be self-evident and why this choice is perfect for this particular week.  Lastly, I want to thank DesertRatDan for serendipitously inspiring me to sing "Bridge Over Troubled Water".  This may have represented my state of mind 12 years ago but, this one is also dedicated to one of my new YouTube friends, DesertRatDan.  Thanks, Dan.

From Wikipedia:
"Bridge over Troubled Water" is the title song of Simon & Garfunkel's final album together, released January 26, 1970, though it also appears on the live album "Simon & Garfunkel, Live 1969."  It reached number one on the Billboard Hot 100 chart on February 28, 1970, and stayed at the top of the chart for six weeks.  "Bridge over Troubled Water" also topped the adult contemporary chart in the U.S. for six weeks.  This song's recording process exposed many of the underlying tensions that eventually led to the breakup of the duo after the album's completion.  Most notably, Paul Simon has repeatedly expressed regret over his insistence that Art Garfunkel sing this song as a solo, as it focused attention on Garfunkel and relegated Simon to a secondary position.  Art Garfunkel initially did not want to sing lead vocal, feeling it was not right for him.  "He felt I should have done it," Paul Simon revealed to Rolling Stone in 1972.  Garfunkel said that the moment when he performed it in Madison Square Garden in 1972 was "almost biblical."  In recent performances on the "Old Friends" tour, Simon and Garfunkel have taken turns singing alternate verses of the vocal.  Rolling Stone named it number 47 on The 500 Greatest Songs of All Time.