The End of the Rainbow

Oh life seems so rosy in the cradle
But I'll be a friend, I'll tell you what's in store
There's nothing at the end of the rainbow
There's nothing to grow up for any more

These words come from End of the Rainbow, a song of Richard Thompson. I find them remarkable, the songs on those 1970s LPs with his wife Linda; that clear-eyed gaze at the starkest realities of life. We go on:

Tycoons and barrow boys will rob you
And throw you on the side
And all because they love themselves sincerely
And the man holds a bread knife
Up to your throat is four feet wide
And he's anxious just to show you what it's for

We look out at a sea of faces. Every one of them hates us, terrified that we might prosper only at their expense. Might we find common ground, work together so that both of us might flourish? Well, maybe, but they've never even been introduced to that possibility. Control of our world has been snaffled by people determined they should keep thinking this way.

Our own perceptions are poisoned:

And every loving handshake
Is just another man to beat
How your heart aches just to cut him to the core

When we deal with others we're changed, we 'grow up'; possibly even in respectful disagreement. There can still be something at the end of the rainbow. A country that believes "there's no such thing as scociety" is doomed because it stifles its citizens. Richard Sennett wrote, 'I do know a regime which provides human beings no deep reasons to care about one other cannot long preserve its legitimacy.'

What a great song! Maybe it's TOO bleak, others let the protagonists assert themselves more. Still worth your time.