Rhymes and Reasons: Gen-Xers in the of Winter 1974

For several weeks I’ve been trying to come up with the perfect story, song or poem to go along with these wonderful black and white photos of young Gen-Xers. They were taken at an elementary school outside of Boston in the winter of 1974.

I finally decided on this old John Denver song, Rhymes and Reasons, from an album my sister Becky had in her room on London Lane, Southboro Addition, Colorado Springs. A late-wave Baby Boomer, she loved John Denver and folk music. She even had a gig at the Blue House, a folk house near Colorado College. I was in awe when she took the stage! She loved this song and I loved to hear her sing it.

So you speak to me of sadness
And the coming of the winter
Fear that is within you now
It seems to never end

And the dreams that have escaped you
And the hope that you’ve forgotten
You tell me that you need me now
You want to be my friend

And you wonder where we’re going
Where’s the rhyme and where’s the reason
And it’s you cannot accept
It is here we must begin
To seek the wisdom of the children
And the graceful way of flowers in the wind

For the children and the flowers
Are my sisters and my brothers
Their laughter and their loveliness
Could clear a cloudy day

Like the music of the mountains
And the colours of the rainbow
They’re a promise of the future
And a blessing for today
Though the cities start to crumble
And the towers fall around us
The sun is slowly fading
And it’s colder than the sea

It is written from the desert
To the mountains they shall lead us
By the hand and by the heart
They will comfort you and me
In their innocence and trusting
They will teach us to be free

For the children and the flowers
Are my sisters and my brothers
Their laughter and their loveliness
Could clear a cloudy day

And the song that I am singing
Is a prayer to non believers
Come and stand beside us
We can find a better way

Rhymes and Reasons by John Denver