1 post tagged “jorma-kaukonen”

Those of you who are old enough might remember Jefferson Airplane, the psychedelic rock band that was so influential and popular in the 60s. I still remember "Don't You Want Somebody to Love" and "White Rabbit" (feed your head!).

The lead guitarist for that group was a fellow by the name of Jorma Kaukonen. He seemed an odd match for a hard rock band, since his roots were in the blues and in traditional acoustic folk music. After the band broke up, Jorma drifted for a while and eventually returned to those roots with an absolutely gorgeous recording that he made in the 1970s: He did some Rev. Gary Davis spirituals on the guitar and also came up with a few songs of his own.

My absolute favorite song of his goes by the name of Genesis, and has to do with love and reconciliation. According to the liner notes, he had an affair of some time and his wife found out. They eventually worked it out and this song came out of it. For me, this is one of those "driveway" songs: that is, you hear it as you pull into your driveway and stay in the car until the song ends. The lyrics are just as beautiful as the song. I'll post them below the audio:

01 - Genesis

Jorma Kaukonen

If you like this song, I'd recommend investing the CD. There's some nice stuff on there. Not everything's as good as Genesis, but it alone is worth the purchase price of this album.

Genesis, by Jorma Kaukonen:

Time has come for us to pause

And think of living as it was

Into the future we must cross, must cross

I'd like to go with you

And I'd like to go with you

You say I'm harder than a wall

A marble shaft about to fall

I love you dearer than them all, them all

So let me stay with you

So let me stay with you

And as we walked into the day

Skies of blue had turned to grey

I might have not been clear to say, to say

I never looked away

I never looked away

And though I'm feeling you inside

My life is rolling with the tide

I'd like to see it be an open ride

Along with you

Going along with you

The time we borrowed from ourselves

Can't stay within a vaulted well

And living turns into a lender's will

So let me come with you

And let me come with you

And when we came out into view

And there I found myself with you

When breathing felt like something new, new

Along with you

Going along with you