Lines that changed lives.

General discussion & socializing in a Lind-related vein.

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GeorgepEp
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Joined: Sat Feb 10, 2024 9:49 am

Lines that changed lives.

Post by GeorgepEp »

I thought it might be interesting to hear how individual lines from Bob's songs have had a real impact on lives. Share your story and tell how Bob helped.

I used to give Bob's albums to people who were having problems, since I figured they'd find answers there.

In my own case, I knew this wonderful, beautiful, intelligent and witty girl named Ann in high school. We were buddies, but I never dared to try to be her boyfriend, since she was so cool and I was, well, not. I was afraid if I tried for more, I'd lose that small part of her that I had. As life usually works, she "found" someone and left me behind, anyway. Years later, I saw her again, and she said that she was quite interested in me, but thought that I was the one who wasn't interested.

A line from Bob's song came to me. In Nameless Request, Bob sings, "You only lose when you let yourself confuse what you want with what you think you should try for."

I have tried to live my life by that line ever since. After all, it is better to have loved and lost than to be a total moron.
mre5165

Re: Lines that changed lives.

Post by mre5165 »

Hello and thanks to all - I have been lurking on this site for years. What a great find!
Bob Lind's lyrics have formed the background to my life for many years. We used to see him at the Ice House in Glendale, and my wife and I used to play his albums so much that you could hear side 2 on Side 1.
How did those lines change our lives? When we were living in Australia in 1974, we went to buy a used car. We had several choices, but finally picked an old Morris 1100. The reason we chose that particular car was that Bob wrote, "Until then, could anything be finer, than rolling toward the ocean in your trusty Morris Minor?" What a mistake!! That car was a wreck, but we did get a lot of laughs (in retrospect) from it.
Thank you bob, for all the old ones and all the new ones.
And thank you, Danny Harris, for driving around Victoria listening to Lind. I am vicariously there with you!
Danny Harris
Posts: 426
Joined: Thu Jun 28, 2007 9:41 am
Location: Lake Wendouree,Victoria, Australia

Re: Lines that changed lives.

Post by Danny Harris »

mre5165 wrote: And thank you, Danny Harris, for driving around Victoria listening to Lind. I am vicariously there with you!
Well Hello there, mre5165...yeah, like Maddo before me (& your good self, I see...), when the rubber hits the road - Lind comes too...

"A woman's an emotional creature..." - padding my way down to the pub-TAB to collect yesterday's winnings (LOL), I sang along to this little gem on the iPod...
"Some may call it wander-lust, some may call it crazy.
I don't call it anything - I Just Let It Take Me."
bob_32_116
Posts: 395
Joined: Sun Aug 07, 2005 12:51 pm
Location: Perth, Western Australia

Re: Lines that changed lives.

Post by bob_32_116 »

mre5165 wrote:We had several choices, but finally picked an old Morris 1100. The reason we chose that particular car was that Bob wrote, "Until then, could anything be finer, than rolling toward the ocean in your trusty Morris Minor?" What a mistake!! That car was a wreck, but we did get a lot of laughs (in retrospect) from it.
MISTAKE!

You should have realised the entire song is tongue-in-cheek, so I would not have expected the Morris Minor to be "trusty". "Rusty" was probably the original lyric, changed to trusty to avoid the threat of a lawsuit from the Morris firm!

If Bob had been Australian, the song would have featured a Leyland P76.
GeorgepEp
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Joined: Sat Feb 10, 2024 9:49 am

Re: Lines that changed lives.

Post by GeorgepEp »

bob_32_116 wrote:You should have realised the entire song is tongue-in-cheek, so I would not have expected the Morris Minor to be "trusty". "Rusty" was probably the original lyric, changed to trusty to avoid the threat of a lawsuit from the Morris firm!
This is a little off-topic, but I didn't take the song as tongue-in-cheek. I imagined that Bob had met a very interesting woman, that they had had a great talk, or done something fun together, but at some point, she said that she had a jealous boyfriend, so she wouldn't be "allowed" to spend more time with him.

So I see the song as teasing her and ridiculing the boyfriend. Also, he says "your" trusty Morris Minor, so it existed. You can hear the irony in Bob's voice when he sings "Minor." I interpreted that line to mean that her car was not reliable, so "trusty" meant "if we get there."

Back on topic, my daughter is backpacking through South America, on her way to see every country in the world. I lent her Bob's 25-song CD, pointing out songs like that have to do with wonder lust, and she says that is EXACTLY how she feels, but of course, Bob states it so poetically. So we have another convert. In this case, Bob didn't "change" a life, but "confirmed" it.
Susanne Gilmore
Posts: 76
Joined: Wed Nov 09, 2005 11:27 pm
Location: Long Beach, CA

Re: Lines that changed lives.

Post by Susanne Gilmore »

I had a Morris Minor from 1966-1970. I got it when I was in high school and it lasted through my first two years of college. Since I live in Southern California, I had a lot of fun "rolling towards the ocean" in it. Trusty? Well, not any more or less than all of the other old cars that my friends drove.
I used enjoy driving gas station attendants (remember them?) crazy. The gas cap was INSIDE the trunk, and it was a hoot to watch them walk all the way around the car and say, "I give up! Where's the gas cap?"

But back to the original topic, "Lines That Changed Lives." The words of Bob Lind, Joni Mitchell, Simon & Garfunkel and other great songwriters of that era touched and changed my life in so many ways. But that's a post for another day ...
Martin Roberts
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Joined: Tue Aug 24, 2004 1:19 pm
Location: London
Contact:

Re: Lines that changed lives.

Post by Martin Roberts »

Oh I have enjoyed these recent posts, two of my favourites Bob Lind and Morris Minor! In case you’ve missed it check-out http://www.boblind.com/board/viewtopic.php?f=1&t=437 for a photo of Bob and my Trusty Morris Minor on his last UK tour. Can’t wait for the new one!
Back on subject, well sort of, not sure I’d class them as having a real impact on my life but lines that have struck home;
“take off your lies they don’t match with your eyes…” A Nameless Request
“When you walk through your memories I’d like to think that you look for me…” Eleanor
"Don’t ask my mind for reasons for what my heart’s believing…”Somewhere In The City
And all of it! “The Saints Had It Easy”
The thing with listening to Bob's lyrics is that on a particular day to suit a particular occasion or event a lyric will just jump out at you. A bit like choosing a favourite song, tomorrow it's different...
Maddo
Posts: 44
Joined: Tue Feb 20, 2007 7:18 am
Location: Queensland Australia

Re: Lines that changed lives.

Post by Maddo »

Line that started my downward spiral in the mid 60's was what is now Danny H's signature -
"Some may call it wander-lust, some may call it crazy.
I don't call it anything - I Just Let It Take Me."

Maybe I shouldn't have taken Lind so seriously..when I was so young and impressionable.

Hey ...but there really is so much life-wisdom in Bob's early work and his newest songs.
Still reckon he's one of the greatest poets in our (fast-dissolving) time.
y8earp
Posts: 3
Joined: Mon Oct 20, 2008 9:24 pm

Re: Lines that changed lives.

Post by y8earp »

If I remember correctly, the line from Drifters Sunrise that says "you can't look back and still face your tomorrows" has proved to be the best advise anyone ever gave me. Thanks, Bob. Gary
Louissitly
Posts: 0
Joined: Wed Feb 28, 2024 12:44 pm

Re: Lines that changed lives.

Post by Louissitly »

My performing career was limited to children's entertainer, I decided that I no longer enjoyed performing, so I disposed of my stuff.A friend of mine wanted my magic tricks but was hesitant at taking them, he felt that one day I would perform again. I could not convince him that I was happy for them to go to another performer and that I don't want to do magic any more. So I said to him performing was just a "long abandoned ruin of a dream I left behind"(some poetic licence there!). At that, he understood and accepted my gift and is enjoying doing the odd magic show, just for fun.

This is only a small, almost silly event but I shows how powerful songs are. Quite a responsibility, Bob!!
Leon
Docal
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Joined: Thu Feb 29, 2024 11:42 pm

Re: Lines that changed lives.

Post by Docal »

GerBear wrote:I thought it might be interesting to hear how individual lines from Bob's songs have had a real impact on lives. Share your story and tell how Bob helped.

I used to give Bob's albums to people who were having problems, since I figured they'd find answers there.

In my own case, I knew this wonderful, beautiful, intelligent and witty girl named Ann in high school. We were buddies, but I never dared to try to be her boyfriend, since she was so cool and I was, well, not. I was afraid if I tried for more, I'd lose that small part of her that I had. As life usually works, she "found" someone and left me behind, anyway. Years later, I saw her again, and she said that she was quite interested in me, but thought that I was the one who wasn't interested.

A line from Bob's song came to me. In Nameless Request, Bob sings, "You only lose when you let yourself confuse what you want with what you think you should try for."

I have tried to live my life by that line ever since. After all, it is better to have loved and lost than to be a total moron.
Hi, I am new to Bob Lind's music, the line of the lyric is very intriguing. I have made a note of it and I am going to find it out.
Danny Harris
Posts: 426
Joined: Thu Jun 28, 2007 9:41 am
Location: Lake Wendouree,Victoria, Australia

Re: Lines that changed lives.

Post by Danny Harris »

Hey Elaine:-

In a similar vein (I think) - you will no doubt also like "It's Too Late", "The Gravity of the World", "West Viginia Summer's Child","We've Never Spoken", "Theme From the Music-Box", "Spilling Over", "She Can Get Along," "Anymore", etc.

It's an impressive body of work that this Lind fella is responsible for...enjoy...
"Some may call it wander-lust, some may call it crazy.
I don't call it anything - I Just Let It Take Me."
gutarrr1@yahoo.com

Re: Lines that changed lives.

Post by gutarrr1@yahoo.com »

I don't know exactly how or why i ended up here this morning..other than the magic of google...but mostly thinking about my life ..especially the best times ..the late 60;s...70's...hitchkiking across America...in my head the entire trip was a song called..Drifter's Sunrise...i must have played the album..Don't be Concerned..a million times...the album cover is now faded back in a closet...I don't know of any one song that changed my life..or made me think about my life more than Drifter's Sunrise...I have never posted a reply on a message board..thought it important to learn how tonight..I am 63..it's about time i suppose....thank you for this song...thank you for the memories....wayne
Stephen Kemp

Re: Lines that changed lives.

Post by Stephen Kemp »

"I musta been I musta been hung up somewhere..."

From "Love Comes Riding"

Thanks to the Lind Legend...

- SK
Stephen Kemp

Re: Lines that changed lives.

Post by Stephen Kemp »

The song is titled "Love Came Riding."

Not "Love Comes Riding."

Apologies I got it wrong the first time.

I was hearing his beautiful singing in my head, got distracted and I musta been I musta been hung up somewhere.

So many beautiful songs by a beautiful songwriter and man.

Now you know how I really feel.

Thanks again, BL!
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