Oh Well
I can’t help about the shape I’m in
I can’t sing, I ain’t pretty and my legs are thin
But don’t ask me what I think of you
I might not give the answer that you want me to
Oh well
(From Oh Well, written by Peter Green)
Peter Green.
Born Peter Greenbaum October 29, 1946.
Many of you are familiar with Fleetwood Mac. I have confessed to my being a rather big Fleetwood Mac fan before.
What you may not be familiar with is that originally Fleetwood Mac was called Peter Green’s Fleetwood Mac. The Fleetwood Mac years that included Peter Green was the Fleetwood Mac I remember liking most.
A pretty good guitarist, Peter actually replaced another pretty good guitarist named Eric Clapton when Clapton left John Mayall’s Bluesbreakers.
In 1967 Peter left the Bluesbreakers to start his own band that included other former members of the Bluesbreakers, Mick Fleetwood and John McVie.
I have a calendar hanging in my office.
It’s a guitar calendar.
Each month it features a cool photo of a famous or unique guitar and its history. It also lists birthdays of notable guitar players for that month.
Peter Green was on that birthday list for the month of October, October 29th to be exact.
You can probably imagine hearing a conversation like this:
Joe: “Hey man how is it going how are you feeling?”
Jack: “Ah man you know I am not really feeling very well, I got this cough that I can’t kick, headaches, a fever that just won’t go away and the doctors can’t seem to figure how to make me well again.”
Joe: Wow that’s too bad, listen get plenty of rest, drink lots of water, and you know I am sure everything is going to work out. And I will be thinking about you. Be sure to let me know if there is anything I can do for you. I will keep you in my prayers.”
And you can probably also imagine hearing one like this:
Joe: “Hey man how is it going how are you feeling?”
Jack: “Ah man, you know I am not really feeling very well, I can’t sleep, my heart is racing, I am depressed, I don’t have any appetite, I feel like I am going to lose it at any time and the doctors can’t seem to figure how to make me feel good again.”
Joe: “Wow man, I am sorry to hear that, that’s too bad, yeah I got an uncle like that too, hey about those Nats huh?”
Oh well.
Joe just might not give the answer that you want him to, huh?
Due to his mental illness, Peter Green would fall out of the music scene in the mid 70’s. He would eventually undergo therapy for schizophrenia. Thankfully he would come back and be inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1998 and tour as late as 2010.
As is often the case with me, a song sticks in my head for a day and gets me thinking and then you poor folks have to hear about it. That is what happened when Oh Well played in my head recently and Peter Green’s birthday was listed on my office wall.
And I am reminded by how I feel this is the time of the year when the daylight ends sooner, that many people are struggling. And not just from the touch of seasonal affective disorder (SAD) that plagues me to some minor degree, but many more to a much more serious degree from a multitude of reasons or causes.
But whether its schizophrenia, or seasonal affective disorder, or post-traumatic stress disorder, or anxiety, or depression, or grief, or some other behavioral disorder or life situation that causes unbearable stress, we need to be attentive and sympathetic to the needs of those folks too.
You may have people in your life who are struggling with something.
Actually, let me say that a different way.
You do have people in your life who are struggling with something. A person that you love, a person that you work with, a person who is your friend, the person waiting on you in a restaurant.
You may not realize it.
Or, you may prefer to avoid it.
You may prefer to say, “Oh well, how about those Nats?”
I have written before, that those brothers and sisters need our help too.
And if we don’t know how to help them, which may often be the case, we just need to pray about it.
Pray for them.
And maybe just listen.
And maybe not say anything.
Maybe just be there.
And it could be me, and it could be you.
And if it is, we need to tell somebody.
Now, when I talked to God I knew he’d understand
He said, “Stick by my side and I’ll be your guiding hand
But don’t ask me what I think of you
I might not give the answer that you want me to
Oh well
(From Oh Well, by Peter Green)