If I were younger by about 30 years I’d buy a good pair of hiking boots and some mountaineering gear and then haul my ass up to the top of Mount Digitalium. Once at its summit I’d catch my breath before laying into the resident gods who control the performance of the internet and of computer hardware and software on Planet Earth. These titans are, needless to say, magnificently intelligent. They also are f*cking pains. And they seem to get a big kick out of being the latter.
“Yo!” I’d yell at them. “I can’t take it no more. It’s bad enough that my desktop computer has had a nasty case of the freezing-ups for the last year. And a worse case of the displaying-message-alerts-that-make-no-sense. But did you have to slip a bottomless bottle of vodka to the computer monitor two weeks ago? I can barely make out anything on it since then. It’s taken wobbly and blurry to Olympian heights.”
“And that’s not all,” I’d continue. “This morning my wife Sandy wanted to take a look at her most recent credit card statement, wobbly and blurry be damned. She signed into her account, and you know what? That’s a stupid question because of course you know what, seeing that you caused the problem in the first place. I’ll tell you anyway — the statements section of the website was empty. Nothing was available to examine or to print out!”
I would be shaking like crazy at this point. And the gods undoubtedly would let me shake for nearly forever before one of them made a comment or two.
“Thanks for stopping by, Earthling,” the chief god, Malfunctional, finally would say. “Now, though, it’s time for you to be on your way. Suck it up, fella, and figure out what your next steps should be. And, by the way, nobody ever said that life was easy for humans.”
That’s true. Nobody in their right mind ever did.
Back to what passes for reality. Still shaking, I fled the house and left Sandy to figure out what were the appropriate next steps, as I needed to be somewhere soon. Namely, at a local supermarket where once a week I bag and then load bakery items, donated by the market, into my car. Sandy delivers these goods to the food pantry she volunteers at.
Naturally, the credit card website situation wouldn’t disappear from my cranium. Man, I need to hire a personal assistant to handle tech issues for me and Sandy. It’d be worth it. That would free up more time for other aspects of living to rattle my very rattle-able nerves.
As I pulled out of the driveway, though, relief arrived. It came in the form of music, as often is the case for me. My benefactor was SiriusXM satellite radio’s The Loft, a channel that plays all sorts of good music. And the tune that filled the car’s interior and my ears as my journey to the supermarket began was a superb number that I hadn’t heard for some time: Al Green’s Tired Of Being Alone.
You know, there are hundreds of recordings that, when I hear them, I say to myself that they are just about as good as any recording possibly could be. That’s exactly what I thought when Tired Of Being Alone shot into my blood vessels and set me vibrating. A few simple, clear and rolling notes from an electric guitar, a handful of piercing trumpet blasts, and drums that snap steadily and regally set the table for Al’s entry. And what a pleading, powerful entry he makes. His is one of the great voices of the last 50 years, vulnerable when it needs to be, strong and sure when it doesn’t.
Not to downplay Green’s singing even a little bit, but I have to mention that I’m in love with the late Al Jackson Jr.’s drum work on Tired Of Being Alone. It couldn’t be more alive, even at the 1:47 mark when, empathizing with Green’s meandering, uncertain thoughts, it softens into a clickety-clack pattern for a spell. But when the spell breaks, Jackson’s drums explode, truly explode, as Green’s voice moves into vivid mode and female backup singers kick in loftily.
It all ends shortly after this, the dials in the studio having been gently turned to fade out the song. Maybe I wish that a different choice had been made conclusion-wise. I’d be a happy boy to be able to listen to another minute or more of Al’s and the gals’ and the instrumentalists’ amazing ride.
Or maybe it’s better that the proceedings were cut off artificially. After all, I was left breathless, a very good way to be left.
Al Green wrote Tired Of Being Alone in 1968. For various unimportant reasons it didn’t come out until 1971, and has been a pop music staple ever since. It’s a song about love, as most songs are. Al loves a girl. He can’t stop thinking about her. But she has sent him packing, and Al wants her back. He knows, though, that she’s unlikely to change her mind. But a guy can fantasize, can’t he? And that’s what Al does, ruminating during the song’s middle section about the nature of lost love and what he might be able to do to re-win a heart. With these words Al describes what many of us have felt at one time or another:
I’ve been wanting to get next to you, baby,
Sometimes I fold my arms and I say,
Oh baby, yeah, needing you has proven to me,
To be my greatest dream, yeah.
Many folks have heard Al Green sing Tired Of Being Alone not only on record but on stage. But will anyone ever encounter a stage version again? Hard to say. About 40 years ago religion called Al, and he, for the most part, left the pop music scene (his most recent tour was in 2012). He is the pastor of the Full Gospel Tabernacle church in Memphis, Tennessee. In an interview last year he left the door open for a return to public performance (click here), but I’m not holding my breath.
Yes, Al is doing what he must. And as he does so his many hits live on. I was a lucky individual to hear one of them on my way to the supermarket. It steadied my jangly nerves for a while. Thanks, Al. I needed that.
(Don’t be shy about adding your comments or about sharing this story)
Yeah, Another Blogger 
I hate technology when it’s not doing its one and only job, especially computers. And I love Al Green!
LikeLiked by 2 people
Hi.
Al’s great, for sure.
LikeLiked by 1 person
How about the next time my daily call comes offering to fix my Windows I redirect them to you?
LikeLiked by 2 people
Maybe they can help me!
LikeLike
As soon as I saw the title of your post, before I’d even clicked the link, that song immediately began to play in my head. Of course, now it’s stuck there. 😄
LikeLiked by 2 people
Hi. The same thing happened to me in the course of writing this story. It’s one of those songs that can do that.
LikeLike
Oh I feel your frustration re the Gods of the Internet Neil – I had to have my new PC reset to factory settings 3 times in the first 8 months of ownership – I pay a hefty fee to have everything stored in the Cloud but it’s so darned time-consuming to restore it all that the gods are now welcome to it – Can’t be bothered looking for it any more!
As for Al Green I think you know that I wrote about one of his songs just the other week – Wonderful stuff that can both break your heart or calm the soul – Glad he had the calming effect on you.
LikeLiked by 2 people
Hi Alyson. Thanks for visiting.
Al helped me out (for a short while, anyway).
LikeLike
Good song! Yes technology is frustrating!
LikeLiked by 2 people
Joyce, again I thank you for being one of my most loyal readers!
LikeLike
Computer glitches are the biggest time wasters of them all. I hope your problem is easily solved. The right music does help stress. Al Green has a very soulful voice which is bound to lift anyone’s spirits. Great song.
LikeLiked by 2 people
Hello, and thanks for stopping by.
I suppose that everyone gets frazzled now and then by computer and website problems. It’s all part of the modern world.
LikeLiked by 1 person
I think all of us can commiserate when it comes to dealing with the fickle gods of Mount Digitalium (I love your neologism). Glad Al came to your rescue at the right moment. 🙂
LikeLiked by 2 people
Hi Tanja. You sent me to Google to find out what neologism means. Good word!
LikeLiked by 1 person
Good word for your good made-up word.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Yeaaaaaaa…..in the middle of my own computer/technology wonkiness, I got up and danced! Thank you!!! (hopefully you only swayed in the car).
LikeLiked by 2 people
Hello Janet.
I did a lot of swaying in there. Definitely.
LikeLike
I have to say, Neil, that technology problems make me so depressed and desperate that not even this admittedly wonderful song by Al Green, which I have long enjoyed, could cheer me up. Guess you’re made of more positive energy than I am.
LikeLiked by 2 people
Hi Janet. I don’t know about that. Tech problems make me shudder. And they seem to occur on a pretty regular basis.
LikeLike
Gosh, Neil. You got me running through my favorite AG songs in my head so then I started playing them all on YouTube and now it’s been, like, 45 minutes. Dang.
LikeLiked by 3 people
Afternoon, C.C.
Al is tremendous. What a singer and songwriter.
LikeLike
Love Al Green! This particular song makes me mellow, and it makes me want to slow dance with my hubby of 40 years. Powerful stuff!
I hope your computer woes are behind you now.
Sometimes you just have to bite the bullet and buy a new one…
LikeLiked by 2 people
Hello Lynne. Thanks for visiting.
It’s our desktop that’s heading south. Got to replace it with something.
But we have a laptop that’s operating OK. And smart phones. So we’re in decent shape overall.
It’s amazing how so many people, including me, are so dependent on these devices.
LikeLiked by 1 person
I had forgotten about this great song until I clicked on your link. Definitely a mood-lifting finger-snapper!
LikeLiked by 3 people
It’s a great one.
See ya’, Cindy.
LikeLike
Man does that sound good! That makes my day better. Like the Al Jackson nod. Absolutely love Al for doing his thing and following his path. Thanks for the AG reminder. That is one good radio station.
LikeLiked by 2 people
Hello there, CB.
Al might not be performing much anymore, but at least he gets played on radio/Spotify/etc. quite a bit. Great singer.
LikeLike
Wonderful record and the perfect balm for nerves left jangled by our utter dependence on technology and it’s seemingly wilful ability to frustrate.
LikeLiked by 2 people
Hi George. Utter dependence is right. Without modern technology, most of us would be lost.
Thanks for adding your thoughts. Enjoy the weekend.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Great work, Neil – only thing I would say is it could be wider in scope than digital technolgy, as I find all inanimate objects has the power to frustrate and annoy … !
In other news, I did the draw yesterday for the Wrong Box mug (you remember, for anyone who’d reviewed it?) and guess what? You won! If you can send me your home address to andrewcferguson [at] blueyonder [dot] co [dot] uk, I’ll send it over.
LikeLiked by 2 people
Many thanks. I’ll send the info to you.
LikeLike
Hubby was a BIG Al Green fan and listened to him constantly. I wouldn’t know of Al Green if it hadn’t been for my husband. Great song!
LikeLiked by 2 people
Hello there.
Because of writing this story, Tired of Being Alone is semi-stuck in my head.
Thanks for stopping by. Enjoy the weekend.
LikeLike
In case you don’t know Thom’s site, y music our kind of music fan: https://theimmortaljukebox.com/
LikeLiked by 2 people
Thanks for stopping by.
I look at Thom’s articles. He writes good stuff.
LikeLike
My hubby’s traveling today, on our anniversary. I’m sending him this link and pretending I thought of it all by myself. Great post.
LikeLiked by 2 people
Hello there.
Thanks very much.
I appreciate it.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Tech is all good until it goes wrong, sigh… !
LikeLiked by 2 people
Frustration!
LikeLiked by 1 person
Something how music depict our lives. I might i add, even in some precarious situations.😕
LikeLiked by 2 people
Hi AOC.
Thanks for visiting.
Right — what would we do without music? It’s basic to what we are.
LikeLike
True! Music often defines who we are. It also punctuates events and episodes of our lives. In a lot of ways it is an elixir, and often an anecdote. Ok …uncovered, and you guessed right, I’m an oldie but goodie!😕🎵🎵
LikeLiked by 1 person
I so love Al. How Can You Mend a Broekn Heart and Let’s Stay Together my faves. Sorry about the computer woes. He also does a bag up job with For the Good Times.
LikeLiked by 2 people
Hi.
Those are great songs. Al is terrific.
LikeLike
Super … just what I needed to read today! For past week or so I’ve been responding emotionally (and maybe a bit rationally) to an unexpected blast of past music – headed to the grocery store, like you! — in my case it was the Pointer Sisters’ “Fairytale”, a song with a whole cluster of connotations and associations for me. Wow. Now, reading your post I applaud the role music plays in bridging backward as well as intensifying “right now”.
LikeLiked by 2 people
Hello there. Thanks a lot for adding your thoughts.
Music is essential to many of us. Hard to imagine what life would be like without it.
LikeLike
I so get this–music saving your life (or at least the moment). My husband likes to tease me that I know every lyric to every song from 1962 to 1980. Well, that’s an exaggeration, but I know a lot of them because whatever got you through middle childhood and adolescence will get you through life. Even when your computer’s bent on throwing you back to the Stone Age.
LikeLiked by 2 people
Hello Amy. Thanks a lot for visiting.
Absolutely — the music a person grows up with usually becomes a major part of their life.
Don’t know what we’d do without music.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Thanks for sharing this experience. I love how music opens a drain for the horrible emotions or gives a window for the beautiful ones. I hope things were rectified online!
LikeLiked by 2 people
Hello. Thanks for visiting.
I heard another of Al Green’s songs today on the radio. He’s great.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Your story leaves me on edge… Did Sally sort out her credit card statements?????
LikeLiked by 2 people
Hi.
Yeah, it was a temporary glitch on the company’s website.
Thanks for stopping by. I appreciate it.
LikeLike
Music therapy! Good story. I was you for a while there. I’m a low-tech girl so I can relate to the computer issues. Fortunately, I’ve got a high-tech son under the same roof!
LikeLiked by 2 people
Can I borrow your son?
LikeLiked by 1 person
Love Al Green and this particular recording. It can life a person out of the doldrums or at least give a respite as we listen to his amazing voice and message.
LikeLiked by 2 people
Hello there.
Al has a lot of fans, despite the fact that he rarely performs any more. A great talent.
Thanks a lot for dropping by.
LikeLike
I grew up in a seaside village, with a small population. Your article takes me back to a time when things were simpler. Al Green was full of soul. Music certainly can soothe the heart
LikeLiked by 2 people
Hi Sacha.
Without music we’d be lost!
LikeLike
Muchas gracias. ?Como puedo iniciar sesion?
LikeLike