Once upon a time there was a garden on a high hill
Green and blossomin' 'round against the sea
And there the sun came
And the rain pourin' down
Garden grew and flourished
And splattered bits of color on the ground
And it took shape and symmetry and all of life around
But there came winds, driven and howling
There came snow and I feared for the garden
So I built a wall and I built another
And roofed it over thick and strong
And kept it from the slings and arrows of outrageous fortune
The killing cold could not get in But when the sun came
And the gentle rain of spring
They could not reach the garden behind those walls
It would have died
Safely, securely, died
But as I longed and as I learned
I tore the walls all down
The garden still lives
The garden lives
This music was revolutionary when it emerged - and we loved it. Right up there with, as you may recall, the evolution that included The Beatles, The Kinks, Jeff Beck, The Doors, Cream, Moody Blues, etc etc. Thanks for posting this. It interested me in writing poetry - which I still write. I was then 13.
This is a hypnotic song for sure - it is unique. It somehow brings about a melancholy sensation - then it tries to convince us that there is never an ending to our experiences in life - and in spite of the downfalls of life - our human nature is to give in to the chance of trying once more to an ultimate happiness.
If The Beatles wrote this song the same people bashing it would be praising it as genius, ahead of its time, and a psychedelic masterpiece. Over analyzing it on each repeated listen to find the “true meaning”..But since it’s just that dirty no good hippie Crosby’s tune it’s not seen as anything more than stoned nonsense.