Front row center. I sat down in ecstasy during the intermission at a Union tour Yes concert. Having gradually seat-hopped my way here throughout the first half of the performance, I was now, I prayed, firmly and finally planted where none of the rest of the spectacle would escape my senses. The exhilaration, however, was tempered with a wariness. I began screening passersby for one who might pluck me from my place, either a security person or the legitimate owner of the lonely seat.
All at once a man with an official air came to a full stop in front of me, bent down and blurted into my face. "Couldn't ask for a better seat than that, now could you?" "Um, no!" I responded, trying to hide my terror with an enthusiasm that matched his. He went on his way and I breathed out at length, when a young woman came to my (Second) Attention. Casually she sauntered by, allowing me plenty of time to read her teeshirt. "BORN AGAIN PAGAN" flowed boldly across her ample bosom and the words registered right before the house lights went down. Despite the typically powerful series of sensual stimuli that ensued, I was haunted all night by the slogan, distorted as it was both in appearance (by the woman's curves) and also in meaning. After months of careful considering, I came to understand why someone would make such a statement at a Yes concert.
If you're wondering when the God in my title is going to appear, poof! "God you know... wears a blue teeshirt, too, with 'GOD' inscribed in heaven on both sides." Jon Anderson's lyrics are replete with references to the Divine. He has been called "rock's choir boy," in part for the high notes he hits, but also because of the chord that he strikes in the heart of his audience. Anyone with an affinity for Yes can attest to a certain, inspirational quality the music possesses. Yes is not about Christianity, at least, not in the conventional sense. Except for his solo experimentation with the Christmas carol theme, Three Ships, Jon's lyrics rarely comply with widely accepted western concepts of the Supreme Being. Rather, the spiritual precepts of many past and present "pagan" civilizations seem to hold sway in the body of his work, within and without Yes.
Long ago, in the days when advertisements were almost non-existent in concert programs, interesting, elaborate text filled the spaces between photos of the band. A lengthy essay, in particular, could be found within the mysterious folds of the Tales From Topographic Oceans tour booklet. The words stood out, white against a black background, plentiful, intriguing, revealing. Reading it seemed a perfectly appropriate way to unwind the anticipation of hearing all four movements of the new album, about to be performed live in their entireties, for the first time...
You and Earth and History are one. You do not belong to a race or nation, to a time or doctrine. You belong to Earth... Early man, unblinded by science ( I wonder if Steve Howe is aware of this reference) and institutional religion... seemed to know this... For him every tree and stone, every river and mountain, possessed a spirit that was inextricably entangled with Earth. Kings felt and understood their descent from the sun. Their people felt it,too. And if they could not express it in cold equations as a fact of physics, believing in it as a divine truth, that does not make them more naive or less sensible than anyone alive today. What they had, what we have lost, is a sense of wonder, a sense of union with every living and non-living entity on Earth and in the universe... For us, then, is the task of recovering, of finding what has been found and lost a hundred times before... Life is its own religion, and we are all highpriests. Neither life nor Earth nor Man needs a savior or a received religion to impose form and direction. The direction and the form are there. We must search for them.
In the same way Roger Dean depicted the Yes "message" in the album's package design, Donald Lehmkuhl (where are you, now?) managed to spell it out. Images of the earth, the sky, man, and an implicit meaning in life came together to express what Jon was attempting when he lead the group in its performance of Topographic.
In the Yesyears video, Jon was called to account for the reason he brought Tales From Topographic Oceans into being. Some music reporter had suggested the group might try to set the Bible to music. "Right, sucker," was Jon's response. "I'll show you. We can do it! It can be done." He found the inspiration he needed in his own brand of Bible, Paramahamsa's Autobiography Of A Yogi. Tales was intended to affect the spirit of the listener, to stir the soul. The lyrics, an esoteric revelation direct from Jon's psyche to ours, are in keeping with the words in any Good Book. You can see similar expressions of Jon's most high hopes on every Yes and solo effort Beyond and Before.
Three Yes offerings ago, on ABWH, Jon sings, "We have walked the paths of all the known religions." Anderson draws from so many different mythologies, one may wonder if he isn't purely a Pantheist. The "three jewels" in Future Times, for example, are the fundamental beliefs of Buddhism: the Buddha, his Law, and the community of believers. "Countenance Divine" is an expression used to describe the Buddha's face, upon which the aspirant may gaze to meditate his worldly concerns "away delight away." Meditation, the basic religious practice of Japan, China, India and California is also referred to in Play Within A Play and State Of Independence, where, "in the gardens of belief meditators turn the key" and a "sense of freedom derives from a meditative state," respectively. His bias toward reincarnation arises in In A Lifetime where Jon claims, "I could never find a life so right, not in any other lifetime." The concept comes to life again in Quartet/I Wanna Learn: "I want to change all that I dream about, my waking and my so many lives." On Talk, a whole song on the subject appeared: Where Will You Be. (I was happy to hear the word "reincarnation" receive cheers when Jon introduced the song to the audience during the Talk tour!) Perpetual Change relates the alternating play between the opposites, Yin and Yang, whose relationship is the Oriental divine principle. The undaunted Order Of The Universe has a Taoist smack to it, calling on the individual to struggle against accepted ideas and follow one's innate divine dictates, "this revelation mine." At the end of the song, Jon repeats a syllable that sounds, coincidentally perhaps, like "Tao." (pronounced "da- oh" in Chinese) Likewise, the "LA AHA's" in Wondrous stories could be construed as the shifting around of another name for God, Allah, if you wish. "Oh for the perfect sound, Jah Jah, for my life" in For You recognizes the deity of the Rastafarian experience. Sundancing reflects the Native American's sacred regard for the forces of nature, as do Jon's contributions to Requiem For The Americas: Songs From The Lost World. He uses music to relate the need for today's world to heed an ancient but timeless directive, "to return to the Center, out of All where we came from." In Building Bridges we hear "the world is waiting for a season change to set the rule of cross-culture wisdom." Perhaps Jon Anderson is offering a new translation of ancient thinking, ushering in a new, global mythology. While we may not know "who was the first to learn the Universal Consciousness Divine," it seems safe to say that Anderson is among the first to bring the idea to light in the popular music arena.
Jon is generally more explicit with his convictions on A solo Venture: "All God's children shall be free. All God's people shine their light on me." However, due to Yes's standing in a medium often associated with the devil, sex and drugs, he tends to express himself more discreetly within the context of the group. Here the same uplifting effect is achieved with imagery. We Have Heaven, for example, the abode of God and destination of All Good People. References to the sky, especially to the sun and its influence, penetrate throughout Yes music. Bask for a moment in the following Yessegments...
Sunshine is creeping in. Letting in the sunshine. Straight light moving and removing sharpness of the color sunshine. Call to the sea right to the sun. Nu sommes du soleil (we are of the sun). Wish the sun to stand still. Sun high streams through.
The list continues; our star just may be Jon's pet metaphor.
Astral Traveler and Starship Trooper take us beyond the Milky Way to more distant vistas still, "in space on a starry ride" or "as eyes see young stars assemble." Yet, for all his stargazing, I doubt Anderson intends for the audience to "easily stand up and fly away, to where I don't know." While we may come close sometimes, his ideas eventually guide us back to earth where there is so much to be experienced and achieved:
According to the man who showed his outstretched arm to space, he turned around and pointed, revealing all the human race. I shook my head and smiled a whisper knowing all about the place.
As often as Yes music invites us to look up, it also suggests we look around and allow the view of heaven to heighten our perception of life. Light and our ability to see often appear in the lyrics, and from these emanate a deeper meaning of sight, one of understanding or illumination of the truth.
Since "received religion" has lost its appeal in the face of science, and "as the history of science rewrites itself each day," getting to the truth of human life -- what we are and why we are here -- is as difficult as ever. Still, there are those among us who dare to believe in and to pursue a more fulfilling reality than the one in which we only seem to live. Jon suggests we look within our being and our lives for the truth: "Look to yourself to see the light appear." In many non-Christian philosophies around the world and across the aeons, an idea has been proposed that the ultimate truth, a veritable kingdom of heaven, exists now, completely, inside each one of us. Ask any alchemist -- and Jon may be seen as one, his secret laboratory a sound studio. The workings of the higher powers are closely linked to the endeavors of mankind: as above, so below. If indeed, as Jon contends, we are of the sun, then the human heart happens to house the same expansive light energy we see in the sky. We call it the human soul. To identify with one's inner being is to be linked to the cosmic power. This connection opens the individual to all the possibilities of creation, evoking the ability to alter our sense of self, the lives of those we love, and even the course of events. The key is belief. Jon's philosophy seems to rely on this "given," soaring beyond any ordinary religion and well above the supposedly solid ground of western science and logic.
Imagination and possibility are important elements in the Yessphere, which glows with a sincere hope for the future of the planet and her inhabitants. This emotion is well articulated in New Civilization, in which Jon envisions "an incredible journey for all our countries, all our people," a future "beyond war." To enhance this omnipresent theme the sun appears, again and again:
In the morning when you rise, do you open up your eyes, see what I see? ...Do you think of a way to start the day getting things in perspective? Spread the news and help the world go round. As long as we see there is only us who can change it, only us to rearrange it at the start of a new kind of day.
Here in Time And A Word and Then, and frequently among the herds of words that comprise Yes lyrics, the image of morning, the "dawn of light," evokes a sentiment of promise for the new day. "Dream on, on to the heart of the sunrise!" Jon also refers repeatedly to dreaming in his music, but not as an idle speculator; he is a visionary. And You And I was released during the Vietnam era and is an anti-war song which does not protest, but proposes we nurture our imaginations as the first step toward world peace: "and you and I climb clearer toward the movement." During the Union tour, Jon did his best to incite the audience with this hopeful notion, shouting, "wake up and dream!" He accompanied Kitaro on his Dream tour, and together they sang a grand composition entitled Peace Symphony. (Are we ever to see a recording of this??!) Also on that tour, Jon first recited his Letter to God which can be witnessed on his South American Tour 1993 video...
We are all the children of the universe. We will live in a world beyond war. We will live in a world beyond greed and starvation. We will live in a world of peace, love and understanding because we are the children of the universe.
There is so much in this music that invites the more insightful among us along on a "straight and stronger course." It offers the listener so many reasons to believe "It's all true!" As if music alone weren't therapeutic enough, listening to, singing and dancing with Yes can promote deeper feelings of personal worth and growth. We are moved individually toward happiness, in pairs toward friendship and love, and together "to build a shining tower. You know we've got the power." I've never encountered a system of beliefs so appealing in its optimism (a rare thing in contemporary music) and encouragement:
Do not suffer through the game of chance that plays. Always doors to lock away your dreams. Think it over. Time will heal your fears. I believe that all the fear you have can gently fly away. Look again outside your prison bars. See the workings of the dream of love. Break the chains of everyone! In between the perfect flame of you this love will never let you down. Just take it as it comes for everything will come around. Don't be afraid. Look at me. Sing with your eyes what you see in your heart.
It seems especially hopeful that the Yestrend continues despite all the years the group has been around; even now we devotees may live in the happy expectation of the next Yes effort.
Some of the more music-oriented among you may feel I have been unfair, having come so far without mentioning the rest of Yes, the formidable talents upon whom Jon's inspired ideas rely for their best expression. There is no disputing the musical prowess of anyone in any one Yes lineup; each is as familiar and adept with the power of his instrument as is Jon with his voice. All possess and employ a distinctive style, expertise and innovation. Their greatest strength, however, may be a willingness to allow individual ideas to merge and mesh and be guided the while by Jon's desire to express his dreams. This cooperative spirit represents Jon's ideal of human oneness. The interaction takes a unique kind of creative pacifism, each member knowing intuitively when to shine and when to step back out of the spotlight, so that only the strongest music survives. It allows for a sound that is whole, organic, (macrobiotic maybe?) with a life almost independent of the musicians involved. The best of Yes is propelled by the power of its own wings beyond the realms of poetry and music, right into a "fourth dimension dream." Lost in the allure of the resultant heavenly tones, we may be unaware of what draws us in droves and with such loyalty to a Yesshow. The seeker of the Yes experience listens attentively and with wonder under a shower of gifts from an abstract above. Each of us can "capture all we want" and be "so satisfied."
Considering Jon's lyrics within this context has revealed how much Yes has shaped, supported, and accompanied me along my own life. I met my husband in a Roundabout way because he was a fan, and our four children, following our example, have adopted our love of this certain sound -- "it makes the children really ring." We avoid local churches, but attend concerts regularly, kids in tow. On a Sunday or holiday, when the focus is on one another, Yes often provides an atmosphere of sound for the occasion. Close friendships formed years ago out of a mutual regard for the group are still going strong and new Yespenfriendships are flourishing. If living gets either dull or hairy, hearing Jon's voice does wonders to lift my spirits or kindle the will to press on. I have come to regard Jon Anderson as my own spiritual guide and feel eternally grateful that he has followed his heart all these years, sharing his findings with his audience. Yes is as close to being a religious experience for me as anything has ever come. The music does entertain, but it involves me as well on more intimate levels, kindling a sure feeling of being close to the earth, embraced by the wind, connected to heaven, protected from doubt and fear and guided in the right direction. Here is my testimony. "All I know can be shown by your acceptance of the facts here shown before you. Yes it's there, you can see what you want to see." I leave you respectfully, with a few more Yescerpts upon which to reflect...
Mother Life, hold firmly onto me! Anticipate the love of creation. Be honest with yourself -- there's no doubt, no doubt. We'll sound our lives to the sun as we wait for the call to ascend to the stars. Cast off your garments of fear, replace them with love. From this love we'll never fall. It's an honor just to be alive. It's all around each one, it's all around within: the perfect union, just inside your dreams. On a clear day we will love forever. The days are blessings. So, in answer to the prayer, the one you want is there, the one you feel so close to. The order of the sun and everyone is one and all the pieces fit together. You seekers of the truth accepting that reasons will relive and breathe and hope and chase and love for you and you and you.
-- merry celeste,1992