4+20... why not...?

[blews]

Does anyone have a good tab version of this song other than what you can find on the internet? tx

[Frank Roberts]

Originally Posted by Sage97

I don't get it.

The song is about loneliness and depression isn't it? I don't see how its related to what Frank Roberts says it is.

Sage,

It is certainly subject to interpretation and I'm not advocating, just reporting what I was told. You be the judge,

"Morning comes to sunrise and I'm driven to my bed.
I see that it is empty and there's devils in my head
I embrace the many colored beast..."

Frank

[Danno]

I tend to concur with this guys interpretation.....

I think it's about a man who sacrifice a lot to become rich:
"and he worked like the devil to be more."
He makes it:
"A different kind of poverty now upsets me so. "
but loses his woman on the way and realises that money doesn't make you happy:
"I see that it is empty and there's devils in my head"

When he see that he has devils in his head it could be a metaphore for him realising that he has done some wrong things on his way to the top.

Danno

[Sage97]

Originally Posted by Frank Roberts

Sage,

It is certainly subject to interpretation and I'm not advocating, just reporting what I was told. You be the judge,

"Morning comes to sunrise and I'm driven to my bed.
I see that it is empty and there's devils in my head
I embrace the many colored beast..."

Frank

Frank,

Someone here at work told me that Dylan's Tambourine Man is not really about a Tamborine Man.

I can only conclude that my command of the English language does not go too far beyond the literal. Either that or my imagination is just not as colorful as I'd like for it to be.

Thanks for the clarification.

[ayavner]

Originally Posted by blews

Does anyone have a good tab version of this song other than what you can find on the internet? tx

I think I actually used the tab that is commonly available on the internet, to get the basic changes down then used some of the other youtube postings to really solidify the pattern. Thank goodness for people that don't mind singing in front of a camera with that little red light!! Think that will be my goal for next year, to be able to do that.

[Bob1131]

Originally Posted by Frank Roberts

Sage,

It is certainly subject to interpretation and I'm not advocating, just reporting what I was told. You be the judge,

"Morning comes to sunrise and I'm driven to my bed.
I see that it is empty and there's devils in my head
I embrace the many colored beast..."

Frank

I think it is an over active imagination to see masturbation in those lines! Anyone who has been in a relationship with a cheating lover would recognize what Stills is saying. He has been up all night waiting for her to come home and looking at the bed empty, he imagines all things she might have been doing last night (the devils in my head). He does not want to think the worse, but can't help it and just wishes for peace from the thought that she is out cheating on him. At that moment, he thinks that only death would silence those painful thoughts.

[Frank Roberts]

Originally Posted by Bob1131

I think it is an over active imagination to see masturbation in those lines! Anyone who has been in a relationship with a cheating lover would recognize what Stills is saying. He has been up all night waiting for her to come home and looking at the bed empty, he imagines all things she might have been doing last night (the devils in my head). He does not want to think the worse, but can't help it and just wishes for peace from the thought that she is out cheating on him. At that moment, he thinks that only death would silence those painful thoughts.

Bob,

You obviously feel strongly about this.

Was it James Taylor who wrote, "An artist paints a picture to show us what he sees, but when that curtain drops, we all see it differently."?

Your interpretation makes the song meaningful to you; so it is therefore as valid as anyone's. But does it invalidate other people's interpretation(s)?

Only Steven Stills could tell us exactly what he intended when he wrote that, true? The rest of us are just speculating until he signs on and sets us straight.

[Bob1131]

Originally Posted by Frank Roberts

Bob,

You obviously feel strongly about this.

Was it James Taylor who wrote, "An artist paints a picture to show us what he sees, but when that curtain drops, we all see it differently."?

Your interpretation makes the song meaningful to you; so it is therefore as valid as anyone's. But does it invalidate other people's interpretation(s)?

Only Steven Stills could tell us exactly what he intended when he wrote that, true? The rest of us are just speculating until he signs on and sets us straight.

Gee, I apologize for sounding like I felt strongly about this ...I don't. To me, I take the song for what it says, and if one follows the words it tells a story or describes a situation. If anyone reads more into it, then I think they have a much more active imagination than I do, and I don't mean that as a negative..it's a put down about me not anyone else.

Again, I apologize if my response offended you or anyone else...that wasn't my intent.

[Frank Roberts]

Originally Posted by Bob1131

Gee, I apologize for sounding like I felt strongly about this ...I don't. To me, I take the song for what it says, and if one follows the words it tells a story or describes a situation. If anyone reads more into it, then I think they have a much more active imagination than I do, and I don't mean that as a negative..it's a put down about me not anyone else.

Again, I apologize if my response offended you or anyone else...that wasn't my intent.

Bob,

No apology necessary. I wasn't offended in the least. I appreciate your opinion and your kind words.

As I said in my first post on this topic, I was clueless concerning the open tuning and the meaning of the words. What I was told about the meaning was not my interpretation. But when I was told, I could see that might have been the meaning; it seems to make sense. Thereafter, I felt a little uneasy singing it; plus it's been a long time since I was 4+20!

In any event, a great tune and song. I love the guitar tone & arrangement, the melody and the words. They are poetic and tell a tale, whether I know exactly what they mean or not. One of Stills' best songs ever!

Frank