Where Have All Those Love Songs Gone?

​                         Books by Patti Liszkay available on Amazon:   
     "Equal And Opposite Reactions"      http://amzn.to/2xvcgRa
     "Hail Mary"                                           https://www.amzn.com/1684334888
     "Tropical Depression"                        https://www.amzn.com/B0BTPN7NYY

​Where Have All Those Love Songs Gone?

     On day last week I was hobbling around Kroger's on my no-longer-immobilized-but-still-underperforming knee (see post from 7/7/2025,  https://www.ailantha.com/blog/paying-the-stupid-tax). 
​        Turns out I have a sprained Medial Collateral Ligament,

...which, thanks to the healing properties of physical therapy and time, is now well on the mend and, thankfully, no longer trussed up in a knee immobilizer as before.

      However, the week before last during one of my first post-injury outings to Kroger's I was still moving slower than usual and stopping frequently to lean for a few moments on my shopping cart and give my knee a little rest break. 
      It was was during one of these idle moments of knee respite that I happened to notice the usually unnoticeable supermarket background music, and the lyrics of the song being piped in caught my ear:
                                   People all over the world, join hands,
                                   Form a love train, love train
       I recognized these lyrics as belonging to a catchy soul tune from the early 1970's  sung by a popular R&B group of the time called the O'Jays.

       "Love Train" was a huge hit back in its day, which was also my day, which is probably why I spent a moment (while waiting for my knee to agree to take on the frozen foods aisle) waxing nostalgic. 
        And then as I listened to the words it hit me: We don't have songs like "Love Train" anymore. We don't have songs that prevail upon us to love one another. That remind us that we're all brothers and sisters the world over, no matter our race or nationality. Songs that enshrine caring about each other, whoever we might be. Songs that are prayers for peace.
​           And yet there was  a time, from the mid-1960's through the mid-1970's, that these were the themes of the popular songs. There were so many of those kinds of love songs back then, with their message conveyed in the lyrics:

            What the world needs now is love, sweet love, no, not just for some, but for everyone...

               I'd like to teach the world to sing in perfect harmony; I'd like to hold it in my arms and keep it company...

                Come on, people, now, smile on each other, everybody get together, try to love one another right now...

                   All you need is love, love; love is all you need...

                There is just one moon and one golden sun, and a smile means friendship for everyone; there's so much that we share that it's time we're aware it's a small world after all...

                 Let your love fly like a bird on the wing, and let your love bind you to all living things...
                
                   When the moon is in the seventh house and Jupiter aligns with Mars, then peace will guide the planets and love will steer the stars...

                      I see trees of green, red roses too; I see them bloom for me and you;
And I think to myself, what a wonderful world...
​
​                 Mother, mother, there's too many of you crying; brother, brother, brother, there's far too many of you dying; you know we've got to find a way to bring some loving here today...

               It's a long, long road from which there is no return; while we're on the way to there why not share? And the load doesn't weigh me down at all; he ain't heavy, he's my brother...

              Another day goes by; still the children cry; put a little love in your heart; if you want the world to know we won't let hatred grow, put a little love in your heart; and the world will be a better place, yes the world will be better place for you and me, you just wait and see...

                  All we are saying, is give peace a chance; all we are saying, is give peace a chance...

          The United States was in a turbulent time back in the 60's and 70's, wracked with social problems, societal upheaval,  deeply divisive political and cultural polarization, an unpopular foreign war, protests, demonstrations, civil dissent.
           And yet through it all there was a permeating desire in this country for the ideals expressed in the songs we listened to and sang. Through all the national turmoil those ideals were part of the mood, ideas, and spirit of America in those times.
           Which is unlike the turbulent time we now live in, where there is in fact less poverty in this country, less hunger, better healthcare, and our population is, in fact, wealthier than people were 5o years ago before the social safety nets and protections we now have - or had, until recently - were put in place, mostly during the 60's and 70's. 
            Yes, the spirit of the turbulent but more affluent times we now live in is very different. The spirit of extending our hand in world-wide friendship and mutuality, of sharing with our hungry and less fortunate brothers and sisters here at home and around the world,  has been replaced with a self-righteous dogma of America First - as if America weren't already first. Caring about those outside our own tribe, respecting the rights and feelings of those who are different from ourselves, supporting policies of treating everyone as we would like to be treated, these things are labeled woke, weak, or DEI, all modern-day American mortal sins, if not outright illegal. Talk of opening our hearts, of getting together and everybody loving one another would be considered utterly laughable. Nobody would sing about those things these days.
         But how I wish somebody would.