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[av_heading heading=’JUST ANOTHER DAY | ‘Does anybody really know what time it is?’’ tag=’h3′ style=’blockquote modern-quote’ size=” subheading_active=’subheading_below’ subheading_size=’15’ padding=’10’ color=” custom_font=”]
BY LUIS BUENAFLOR JR.
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Friday, May 19, 2017
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“As I was walking down the street one day
A man came up to me and asked me what the time was that was
on my watch, yeah
And I said
Does anybody really know what time it is
I don’t
Does anybody really care
If so I can’t imagine why
about time
We’ve all got time enough to cry” …
– Robert Lamm
IT’S Friday folks, TGIF or “Thank God It’s Friday” for most of the salaried workers slaving five days a week on some boring, uninspiring job just to feed, clothe and provide shelter for their family.
The anticipation of the weekend going to the mall with the family or eating out at Villa Beach probably makes the drudgery of the work week worth the sacrifice.
Allow moi to plagiarize Tito Escalera. “On the lighter side” let’s take a break from the usual topic of stupid arrogant politicians i.e. Pangilinan, Alejano, Robredo, and Trillanes and talk about music instead.
Most if not all these so-called millennials have probably never heard of the band Chicago, let alone this particular song we are talking about. Really, I don’t blame them for being “culturally and artistically challenged”; just dare to listen to the garbage they think is music that they’re listening to and you’ll get my drift.
Here’s what the internet has to say about Chicago and our feature song:
“‘Does Anybody Really Know What Time It Is?’ is a song by the rock band Chicago. It was included on their 1969 debut album Chicago Transit Authority and released as a single in 1970. The song was written and sung by Robert Lamm.
“The original uncut album version opens with a brief ‘free form’ piano solo performed by Lamm. A spoken verse by Lamm is mixed into the sung final verse of the album version.
“Chicago is an American rock band formed in 1967 in Chicago, Illinois. The self-described ‘rock and roll band with horns’ began as a politically-charged, sometimes experimental, rock band and later moved to a predominantly softer sound, generating several hit ballads.”
Chicago is basically what you can call a “jazz/rock fusion band” incorporating a horn section i.e. saxophone, trumpet, which are musical instruments associated with jazz, and the basic electric guitar a staple of the rock genre.
During its heydays in the ‘70s the band Chicago is one of the pioneers in the fusion genre with their eclectic mix of jazz and rock plus “spoken verse.” Coming to the late ‘80s till the ‘90s Chicago reinvented itself with soft ballads mostly jazz influenced.
So what does the song really mean?
This is an anti-war song. It was written in the time of the Vietnam War when teenagers were getting drafted and dying in large numbers. It was also a time when you couldn’t just come out with an anti-war song if you wanted to make it as musicians considering this was the band’s first single, which explains why the references are veiled.
So the time of the day seems rather trivial when your buddies are dying in Vietnam and you are worried about being drafted. “We’ve all got time enough to cry/die” seems pretty obvious. Meanwhile all of the older crowd (the ones old enough to not be drafted) are running around worried about their jobs… Remember there was also a large disparity in that the poor kids were often drafted while rich kids often found ways to avoid it.
Here are the rest of lyrics of the song:
And I was walking down the street one day
A pretty lady looked at me and said her diamond watch had
Stopped cold dead
And I said
Does anybody really know what time it is
I don’t
Does anybody really care
Care
If so I can’t imagine why
About time
We’ve all got time enough to cry
Oh no, no
And I was walking down the street one day
Being pushed and shoved by people trying to beat the clock,
Oh, so I just don’t know,
I just don’t know
And I said, yes I said
People runnin’ everywhere
Don’t know the way to go
Don’t know where I am
Can’t see past the next step
Don’t have to think past the last mile
Have no time to look around
Just run around, run around and think why
Does anybody really know what time it is
I don’t
Does anybody really care
Care
If so I can’t imagine why
About time
We’ve all got time enough to die”…
On a personal note, this song sort of calms you down whenever you’re in a hurry; this song is a reminder not to worry about time but to focus on relationships. (brotherlouie16@gmail.com/PN)
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