Donovan's "There Is a Mountain" came up in my shuffled songs as I was running the other day, and I'd been thinking about it for a while. At the Genius annotation of the lyrics:
“There Is A Mountain” by Donovan was released as a single in 1967. The lyrics reference a saying by Qingyuan Weixin. Here translated by D. T. Suzuki: "Before I had studied Chan (Zen) for thirty years, I saw mountains as mountains, and rivers as rivers. When I arrived at a more intimate knowledge, I came to the point where I saw that mountains are not mountains, and rivers are not rivers. But now that I have got its very substance I am at rest. For it’s just that I see mountains once again as mountains, and rivers once again as rivers."
Searching for the song this morning, Google gave me that Donovan clip — I love his shirt — and Bob Ross — just threw in Bob Ross like that. He's got a mountain too. A steep mountain. Okay.
Posts
45 comments:
But is Donovan's mountain, like Bob Ross' is, a happy mountain?
Fully of happy trees under happy clouds?
That Donavan song is such an ear worm, you don't even need to hear it for it to work its wormy magic.
Great post to start my morning to. I’ve always loved this song, as well as “Joy of Painting.” Never thought much about the lyrics, but the context presented here is interesting.
Donovan's shirt looks like PJs my kids used to wear when they were 4 : )
As long as the trees are happy (they assuredly are) then Bob Ross can paint as many as he'd like...
People think Ross does schlocky stuff, and in a way it kind of is. But pick up a paintbrush and try it sometime...not easy.
And I must say, Donovan was a terrible singer with British NHS teeth (yes, I know he's Scottish).
How did he get famous?
Maybe people were too stoned to notice.
First there is a Donovan then there is no Donovan then there is.
Bob Ross is the greatest art teacher of all time. His is a cautionary tale, however. Hi chronic exposure to odorless mineral spirits likely influenced his death by lymphoma at the young age of 52.
It's cringe-worthy to watch him beat the devil out of his 2-inch brush and spread the solvent all over the studio.
Donovan is a good sort. Loved Sunshine Superman. Hated Mellow Yellow, which of course gets more play.
In geology, one can apply the lyrics to both space and time.
Drive east across Nevada first there is a mountain, then no mountain, then there is (Basin and Range)
Over hundred millions of years, Plate tectonics builds mountains only to be eroded into the sea, then once again pushed up to great heights.
The only constant is change.
Joe Smith said...
People think Ross does schlocky stuff, and in a way it kind of is. But pick up a paintbrush and try it sometime...not easy.
11/27/20, 10:13 AM
I agree with you. What’s more it takes a lot of talent to originate this technique he has that allows him to paint these works so quickly.
By the way, has anyone ever tried painting along to the show?
Walmart has terrific Bob Ross t-shirts.
When I saw this blog post, I was afraid Donovan had died.
I liked Donovan as much as the next guy did back then. He had a few really good songs but so many of them were dippy (or was it him?...). "There Is a Mountain" was one of the dippiest.
Winter barn scenes with carriage wheel alongside the bar?
sorry... barn? Too much NPR.
I knew all about his daughter before I knew anything about him: like Ad Rock, I was down with the Ione.
River's Edge, the 1986 film starring Ione in her debut role, and Crispin Glover in his best performance, is worth a look. It's not on Netflix, but a contemporary Asian reimagining of the show can be streamed there.
The Bob Ross technique is easy. I bought his kit in 2003 and started painting with immediate decent results. It's the perfect jumping off point because it builds confidence and skills automatically. Of course, after banging out a dozen using his methods, it's time to learn more advanced professional methods and spend money on better paints and mediums.
Howard,
Are you a McPhee fan?
I could not care less about geology but he makes it interesting enough th I've read every book he's written.
John Henry
Gas Food Lodging is a minor movie, but Ione performs well, and it's an interesting example of early 90s independent feminist film-making, and based on the hype around it and direct Alison Anders, I would have expected to see a lot more from her in the ensuing almost 30 years. But it's got Ione in it, along with her brother Donovan Leitch, and nice atmospherics and setting. And you'll never look at certain highway signs again without thinking of the movie.
John henry said...
Howard,
Are you a McPhee fan?
I could not care less about geology but he makes it interesting enough th I've read every book he's written.
John Henry
11/27/20, 10:54 AM
Not Howard, but just wanted to chime in about my love for the book “Oranges.” Phenomenal writing. I also have a book of shorter pieces that I remember being quite good.
Ms. Althouse, how familiar are you with the Allman Brothers Mountain Jam? 33 or 34 minutes of them working on the Donovan melody. You will know by the end of the first minute whether you want to listen to the rest of their instrumental piece.
You will know in the second minute that you made the right decision.
No discussion of Donovan's There is a Mountain is complete without a link to the Allman Brothers Band playing "Mountain Jam"
Your thanks is not necessary.
I agree
About McPhee
And love
The Curve of
Binding Energy
"It's cringe-worthy to watch him beat the devil out of his 2-inch brush and spread the solvent all over the studio."
I did press checks for years at commercial printing plants back in the days when all inks were solvent-based.
I loved the smell of the ink and the sounds of the presses...one of the best parts of my job as an art director.
Then they switched to water- and soy-based ink and it wasn't the same.
The ink never laid down nearly as nice...
In an effort to make things better, they were of course made worse.
Every geologists I know loves John McPhee. My favorite is "Coming into the Country" which isn't a geology book.
I love the smell of aromatic hydrocarbons in the morning...
Whatever happened to Bob Ross's pet squirrel?
Here are my "mountain" songs:
Doc Watson - Black Mountain Rag
Doc Watson - Black Mountain Rag--1
Doc Watson - Black Mountain Rag--2
Donovan - There Is a Mountain
DreadZep - Black Mountain Side
Grateful Dead - Fire on the Mountain
LedZep - Black Mountain Side
LedZep - Misty Mountain Hop
LedZep - Misty Mountain Hop
Mountain - Mississippi Queen
Neil Young - Sugar Mountain 1
Neil Young - Sugar Mountain 2
Ozzy - Rocky Mountain Way
Steve Martin - Foggy Mountain Breakdown
Steve Martin Earl Scruggs - Foggy Mountain Breakdown
Watson Scruggs Skaggs - Foggy Mountain Top
Guy could sway part of a crowd!
Sing-songy stuff; koans set to music are a genre of limited appeal.
McPhee is great, Donovan mediocre, I don't know what to say about Bob Ross.
Narr
RIP I guess
"The caterpillar sheds his skin to find a butterfly within"
That's not how it works.
"How does a caterpillar rearrange itself into a butterfly? ...
First, the caterpillar digests itself, releasing enzymes to dissolve all [**] of its tissues. If you were to cut open a cocoon or chrysalis at just the right time, caterpillar soup would ooze out."
** except perhaps the eyes and some other organs.
"I love the smell of aromatic hydrocarbons in the morning..."
I sure as hell did...but rarely in the morning.
Speaking of tectonic plates:
I was an oceanography major back in the 70s and took a course in physical geography. First time I think ever heard of them.
The textbook dismissed them as unproven and unlikely.
Always trust science. Because, you know, it's science and anyone who disagrees is a deplorable no good national socialist denier who needs to be locked up in an education camp until they become a believer. (or at least pretend to)
John Henry
What about the 60s group "mountain"? No love for them? https://youtu.be/ZFUUtGVsEOE
John Henry
Allman Brothers?!! What about Kenny Loggins and his lovely daughter Hana?
I saw a commercial just yesterday for a Bob Ross Chia pet. Must have found a crate lost in the depths of some warehouse.
Cute maybe...but 'lovely'?
Which is surprising, because it seems like every famous musician marries a supermodel.
This is the loveliest father-daughter duet I’ve seen
Pop music moved a long way in a few years.
When I need help getting to sleep, I turn to Bob Ross. He's magic. Happy little clouds and all.
I actually like Loggins (and Messina), but I could not make it through the vid.
Narr
I assume his girl is the featured fairy.
Maharishi Mahesh Yogi used to lecture about consciousness by talking about the flower as petals, leaves, stem and explained that what it actually is the sap which runs through the whole thing. When you experience the whole flower as sap then you probably also are able to stop seeing the mountain only as mountain and river only as river; you see their common essence of life and existence. It is a peaceful state of awareness that he called "unity consciousness." That intellectual knowledge and the actual experience are not the same thing however. A lot of people started meditation back in the 60's as result of altered consciousness due to drug and then wanted to gain that state through a spiritual practice which would make the experience a more permanent state. I don't know many people who can maintain that level of absolute equanimity through meditation but it beats the ideology of imposing state controls to guarantee equality of outcomes and prevention of thought crimes.
A mountain of evidence they say... but it’s a steep hill to climb up the court house steps or something.
An entertaining YouTube video is called Drunk Irish People Try Folliwing a Bob Ross Tutorial. The Irish people are young, attractive,drunk and hilariously funny.
Post a Comment