A story from my life … “What the World Needs Now”
Lately I have been writing stories from my life that incorporate song, with the intention of eventually compiling them into a one woman show for stage. I don’t assume that my life is so interesting that this would be a commercial success. I do, however, wish to leave my children and grandchildren, along with generations to come with a glimpse into my life. Let me remind you that these stories are meant to be spoken to an audience with all the innuendo that comes with live story telling. When I actually told this story to an audience, there were improvised additions, some forgotten lines, but all in all, telling our story to others has great reciprocal rewards between the storyteller and the listener. It’s an art form
“What the World Needs Now”
A Story from my Life
Diane Austin
(sing)
What the world needs now is love sweet love
It’s the only thing that there’s just too little of
What the world needs now is love sweet love
It’s the only thing that there’s just too little, too little of.
I was 7 years old in 1965 when that song came out. I had the cutest pixie haircut you ever saw, only because I cut my ponytail off when I was 5, and my mother, in a fit of rage, informed me I was doomed to pixie haircuts for the rest of my life. I still had that pixie cut when I won my first talent show in the NCO Club at SHAPE Headquarters, Belgium. They called my name, I walked on the stage, looked at the band leader, and with confidence few 7 year olds can muster, I shouted “Do a Deer”, HIT IT!
Ever since that moment, music has been a huge part of my life. I have a playlist in my head from every decade of my life. For example, All You Need Is Love by the Beatles, takes me right back to when I was 8 years old, living in Brussels, Belgium one block away from a very raucous Congo bar that played that song on the jukebox every night. I was tucked away in my bed in my room in an apartment above an Italian restaurant. I can still hear the late- night street sounds and recall the musty smell of antique furniture, kind of like your grandparent’s house, the type of smell that makes you feel safe and cozy.
By now you have likely realized that I am a military brat – we moved a lot. So fast forward to Denver, Colorado, my father’s assignment for the next year following 6 1/2 years in Belgium.
I felt like I had been picked up and dropped into an alternate universe. Living in Belgium on a military base that consisted of 14 nationalities had somewhat protected from the racial tensions that erupted in the late 60’s and early 70’s in the states. I spent that entire year completely traumatized by the racial unrest and violence I witnessed in Denver.
Ice skating was the thing for kids in Denver. I was terrible at it, but I went every Friday. When “Love Train” by the Ojays started playing I suddenly became Dorothy Hammil – a legend in my own mind. In reality, my arms were flailing, my ankles were bent and my knees were knocked. But Lord I loved that song.
Being an empath and lover of all people, many of the songs in my playlist are about THAT.
One exception – “Staying Alive”. Yes, I loved disco. By that time my family had settled in Nashville. Every Friday and Saturday, I would put on a sequin tube top, parachute pants, and stilettos, and hit the dance floor at the Blue Max Disco at the Hyatt Regency with my dear friend, Kevin. By then I had traded in the pixie haircut for a cute little side ponytail.
I often wonder what makes a song like What the World Needs Now pass the test of time. I think relevance …. If you can take a song an drop it in any time frame and it is still relevant, it is probably a pretty decent song.
When What the World Needs Now was released, the US was deeply divided over the Vietnam War much like our politics today are divided. The first version I recall is by Jackie DeShannon, but I always loved the mix put out by a Detroit DJ, Tom Clay where he mashed What the World Needs Now with Abraham, Martin and John - interspersed with audio from news coverage from Vietnam, and the assassinations of John F. and Bobby Kennedy, and Martin Luther King. This arrangement is bookended with the DJ asking a very young child “What is bigotry?”- to which the child answers - I don’t know.
The lyrics of this song are not profoundly deep, but they are profoundly true. I am 65 years old and I have witnessed everything from The Cuban Missile Crisis to Vietnam - to the Civil Rights Movement – from 3 assassinations to Watergate. From Columbine to Sandy Hook. And as I think back to that little pixie cut girl laying in that bed, I imagine if anyone had asked her what hate means, I am pretty sure she would have responded with I DON’T KNOW.
And I wish I didn’t know now.
Anybody here seen my old friend Bobby?
Can you tell me where he's gone?
I thought I saw him walkin' up over the hill
With Abraham, Martin, and John
