Harry Chapin, for me, is one of the most incredible songwriters I've ever heard. He had such a depth of understanding of the human condition. I was lucky enough to see him live, and it was a night I shall never forget, ever.
He was a man of compassion, integrity and empathy.
When he wrote 'Sequel', the story of Sue and Harry went to a happier place:
A Better Place To Be Mail Order Annie Flowers Are Red Circle Cats in the Cradle Mr. Tanner Taxi Sequel Story of a Life Dance Band on the Titanic Tangled Up Puppet Corey's Coming
The list goes on and on....
I never realised that one day, 'Flowers Are Red' would come to mean so much to me. It's about education and how we turn children off from the magic of the world, to the science of fact, to the idea that they MUST learn as some say they must, and are then judged accordingly, by those same people.
That song was in my mind for many years, as I watched my first child being told to conform, to do things the way the system dictated, the way that some teachers dictated, just as Harry's song told the story of. Like the child in Harry's song, by the time she'd found the teacher who'd let her paint her flowers the colours she wanted, the damage had gone so deep, that it took years to repair. And even now, to this day, that damage floats back now and then, given to her by those who thought of themselves as 'teachers' but who had no idea what life, teaching, children or kindness are about. REAL teachers are born, never 'made' and it makes no difference how many certificates you may have, because if you have no kindness inside you, no love for children, then you are not a teacher. I've said before that all teachers should have to listen to this song, as part of their 'training'until they understand the meaning behind it...although the real teachers, the natural teachers, those who need no training, will only ever need to hear it once, as they'll immediately understand.