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Alfie, Mahogany and the music that changed our lives forever

Aug 09, 2015 Features / Columnists, Freddie Kissoon

It is natural to feel a touch of sadness when you hear a singer that had some shape on your consciousness has died. Recently two such artists passed away. Their music, like an event, book, movie, real-life hero, has left deep, lasting impressions on me.
I was a young boy when Cilla Black made “Alfie” a big hit. It wasn’t the movie that moved me, but the theme song. Life is strange. I met my wife long after the song deeply impressed me. And quite surprisingly, she loved “Alfie.” This has remained one of my wife’s most cherished songs.  It is Burt Bacharach’s only philosophical tune, but is a stunning piece of reflection on life and love.
The movie, “Mahogany” came to Guyana at a time when Walter Rodney was taking Guyana by storm. I was a freshman on the UG campus then and was one of Rodney’s converts. I left the campus one evening and went to the Astor cinema to see “Mahogany.” The social activist was played by Billy Dee Williams and I thought I wanted to be his character in real life. It turned out to be so for me. The theme song helped in the formation of my belief system. The lyrics of that melody left a permanent motif in my mind.
The year before I got married, the biopic (titled The Greatest) of one of the human race’s greatest persons, the boxer, Muhammad Ali came out.  The theme song was moving and touching. I personally identified with the words of the song and still do. I was sad when I heard that the composer, Michael Masser, of one of those two philosophical reflections, also passed away last week.
I was young when I saw the movies, “Alfie,” “Mahogany,” and “The Greatest” and the fantastic and philosophically-laced theme songs. It was the right age for me, because those compositions helped to give direction to my philosophical directions. Cilla Black and Michael Masser are dead, but what they gave the world will remain forever. I hope you listen to these three songs and find a way to see the films.

Theme from “Alfie” by Cilla Black

What’s it all about, Alfie?
Is it just for the moment we live?
What’s it all about when you sort it out, Alfie?
Are we meant to take more than we give
or are we meant to be kind?

And if only fools are kind, Alfie,
then I guess it’s wise to be cruel.
And if life belongs only to the strong, Alfie,
what will you lend on an old golden rule?

As sure as I believe there’s a heaven above, Alfie,
I know there’s something much more,
something even non-believers can believe in.

I believe in love, Alfie.
Without true love we just exist, Alfie.
Until you find the love you’ve missed you’re nothing, Alfie.
When you walk let your heart lead the way
and you’ll find love any day, Alfie, Alfie.

——————————————————————————
Theme from “Mahogany” by Diana Ross
Do you know where you’re going to?
Do you like the things that life is showing you
Where are you going to?
Do you know…?

Do you get
What you’re hoping for
When you look behind you
There’s no open door
What are you hoping for?
Do you know…?

Once we were standing still in time
Chasing the fantasies
That filled our minds
You knew how I loved you
But my spirit was free
Laughin’ at the questions
That you once asked of me

Now looking back at all we’ve planned
We let so many dreams
Just slip through our hands
Why must we wait so long
Before we’ll see
How sad the answers
To those questions can be

—————————————————————————————
Theme from “The Greatest” by George Benson

I believe that children are our future
Teach them well and let them lead the way
Show them all the beauty they possess inside
Give them a sense of pride to make it easier
Let the children’s laughter remind us how we used to be

Everybody searching for a hero
People need someone to look up to
I never found anyone to fulfill my needs
A lonely place to be
So I learned to depend on me

I decided long ago
Never to walk in anyone’s shadows
If I fail, if I succeed
At least I will live as I believe
No matter what they take from me
They can’t take away my dignity

Chorus:
Because the greatest love of all
Is happening to me
I found the greatest love of all
Inside of me
The greatest love of all
Is easy to achieve
Learning to love yourself
It is the greatest love of all

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