Yesterday's Wine (1971)--take 2

7/7/2010

This may be Willie’s most questioning album. He begins by asking, “Where’s the Show?” He is asking God to explain his role on earth, on the world’s stage. He asks for “last-minute instructions” before being born. He is asking for the purpose and meaning of life. “In God’s Eyes” seems to be God’s answer to Willie’s questions about how to live. “Never think evil thoughts of anyone. It’s just as wrong to think as to say. For a thought is but a word that’s unspoken. In God’s eyes he sees it this way.” This is the sermon on the mount, the spirit over the letter of the law. I gave several of these songs 3 stars in January, but I find myself giving them 5 stars in July. Perhaps having heard so many poorly produced albums over the past six months, I appreciate even more the sparseness of this early album. In “Family Bible” Willie admits the Buddhist truth that life is suffering, and in this album he looks to God more than in any other of his non-gospel albums. He admits the importance of the God-like perspective in life. “It’s Not for Me to Understand” tells a touching story of a little blind boy standing alone on a corner. Willie prays to God and asks, “Why must this be?” How can a good God allow such evil? Voltaire’s question. God responds to Willie as he responds to Job. “It’ not for you to reason why. You, too, are blind without my eyes.” Now Willie prays, “Thy will be done.” He accepts God’s providence. The medley on track 5—“These are Difficult Times” & “Remember the Good Times”—offers a perfect example of the duality in Willie’s philosophy. He laments the difficult times, he sings the blues, but then he looks on the sunny side, remembers the good times, and sees that all is for the best. He does both on the same album, and, in this case, within the same song. This is Willie’s Remembrance of Things Past. I discuss “Summer of Roses” at length in my January blog, but suffice it to say here that it furthers Willie’s theme of time and seasons. Ditto with “December Day” and “Yesterday’s Wine.” Interestingly, in “December Day” Willie refers to “September wine.” Is that the same as “Yesterday’s wine?” “The ending that won’t go away” echoes through these songs as Willie’s memories race through his mind. In “Yesterday’s Wine” Willie personifies time and memory. He addresses his memory like an old friend: “Fancy meeting you here. The last time I saw you was outside of Houston. Sit down and let me buy you a beer.” This image of Willie sitting down to have a beer with his past may be the most apt. This seems to best describe his relationship with time, with love, with the past, with his history, his mortality. Reminds me of Ingmar Bergman playing chess with death in the Seventh Seal. Not sure exactly what he means by “Aging like time, we’re yesterday’s wine.” Who’s we? And how does time age? We age within the perspective of time, but how can time itself age? How can death die? Also not sure how “Me and Paul” fits in this album. The song has become so famous on its own that it is uniquely difficult to understand and hear it in the context of this album. I’m afraid there is no way to go back and hear it properly after so many listenings to so many other versions on other albums and in other live performances. “Goin’ Home” gets better with each listen. “The closer I get to my home, Lord, the more I want to be there.” Does he mean death? A longing for death in 1971? And he’s still going strong in 2010? Willie seems to be imaging his own funeral, and the tears shed for him and his wild ways, his reckless life. He reminds me of Tom Sawyer attending his own funeral. If Willie had died young, as he probably thought he would, this song would be prophetic. As it is, he seems to have proved others and himself wrong. It is fitting, though, that in 1971 Willie was looking ahead, trying to look into the future. He’s always looking back and looking forward, never content to be in the present. Or always wanting to appreciate and enjoy the present more by leaping ahead or harkening back to get a richer, wider perspective on each moment. Seeking broader contexts and vistas within which to appreciate the scope and depth of experience. “There’s a mixture of teardrops and flowers, crying and talking for hours about how wild that I was and if I’d listened to them I wouldn’t be there.” “Teardrops and flowers” sums up the duality in Willie’s music perfectly. He covets and craves both with equal vigor. A bouquet of teardrops and flowers. “Lord, thanks for the ride. I got a feelin’ inside that I know you. And if you see your way, you’re welcome to stay ‘cause I’m gonna need you.” Willie needs God more in this album than in any other except maybe “Spirit.” He is more vulnerable, more humble. I rated this album highly in January, but not highly enough. I am now convinced that it is in his tenable top ten, maybe top 5.