Lyric For The Day 30.9.11 from I Don't Want To Know by Swell Season (written by John Martyn)

 

“Yes, it's getting hard to listen
Hard for us to use our eyes
'Cause all around the gold is glistening
Making sure it keeps us hypnotised

I don't want to know 'bout evil, I only want to know about love
I don't want to know 'bout evil, I only want to know about love”

-      I Don’t Want To Know by Swell Season (written by John Martyn)

The new Tribute album to the late John Martyn, Johnny Boy Would Love This..., has a few wonderful revelations on it. This is one of them. Swell Season do a great job with it and, as a song from Solid Air that I wasn’t that familiar with, I was blown away by the spiritual insight. The obsessiveness and addiction of materialism is leading us astray. Indeed the refrain suggests that it was “evil” and perhaps distracting us from what really matters – love! There is an echo of Romans 12:9 about it too – “Love must be sincere. Hate what is evil; cling to what is good” – though whether Martyn would have any knowledge of this I am not sure. Still, this is a lovely refrain to shape your daily decisions.