Parkinson’s: Here Comes the Sun

“The sun shines on everybody. You’ve got to keep believing.” Dontrelle Willis

“After the rain, the sun will reappear. There is life. After the pain, the joy will still be here.” Walt Disney

Introduction: Recently, I have written several blog posts focused on musical songs that deal with perseverance. And the focus was to use the music/lyrics to live better with Parkinson’s. The blog posts were entitled:
•Parkinson’s: Won’t Back Down (click here);
•Parkinson’s: Don’t Look Back (click here);
•Parkinson’s: Don’t Give Up (click here);
•Parkinson’s: Running on Empty (click here);
•Parkinson’s: Right Now (click here);
•Parkinson’s: Fight Song (click here);
•Parkinson’s: Simple Man (click here);
•Parkinson’s: Please Come Home for Christmas (click here);
•Parkinson’s: Another Day (click here).

Today’s musical post is simply a feel-good song with straightforward lyrics, namely, “Here Comes the Sun” by The Beatles from their “Abbey Road” album, released in 1969.

“Rise up this mornin’, / Smile with the risin’ sun.” Bob Marley

Winter Moving to Make Way for Spring: My body with Parkinson’s does not like cold weather because I begin to shiver when I get outside in the winter. We had a cold and rainy winter, with some snow, but it was exceptionally wet. However, in North Carolina/South Carolina, it is the fourth week of March, and winter is quickly becoming spring, which says we need to be singing: “Here comes the sun (do do do do)/ Here comes the sun, and I say / It’s all right (da dun dun…)/ Little darling / It’s been a long cold lonely winter / Little darling / It feels like years since it’s been here / Here comes the sun (do do do do)/ Sun, sun, sun, here it comes….” The Beatles, Here Comes the Sun

“I intend to remember … even the sun shines above the storm.” Mallika Chopra

Rebounding from the COVID-19 Pandemic, Countries at War, Inflation in the USA, and Simply Trying to Stay Healthy: An essential aspect to managing Parkinson’s is to reduce daily and chronic stress. The longer you live with Parkinson’s, the better you understand how outside events alter your disorder, and you manage ways to handle this negatively in a positive manner. Current world news is enough to turn your stomach over when you think about COVID-19, the war in Ukraine, and the rapidly rising inflation rate. It may not be a huge help, but at least it will make you smile and think of sunshine, go ahead and sing along: “Little darling, the smiles returning to the faces. Little darling, it seems like years since it’s been here / Here comes the sun, doo doo doo doo / here comes the sun and I say it’s all right, ba dada dum dada dum dada dum dada dada dum. / Sun, sun, sun, here it comes…!”The Beatles, Here Comes the Sun

“Carry your heart through this world like a life-giving sun” Hafez

Singing to Strengthening One’s Voice. Several years ago, due to my role in medical education and the need to lecture in front of ~200 medical students, I enrolled in the LSVT-Loud Program. It is a series of voice exercises taught by Speech Pathologists to get someone with Parkinson’s to speak louder and more precisely. I still revisit some of these exercises as I drive to work in the morning. Being loud while alone in your car is acceptable to practice getting loud. And singing, especially loud, is beneficial since doing scales from low to high and vice versa is one of the exercises. Therefore, loudly singing a cheerful song like Here Comes the Sun while driving to work is instant energy and sound to warm up those vocal cords. You can feel the warmth and sentiment of the lyrics here: “Little darling / I feel that ice is slowly melting / Little darling / It seems like years since it’s been clear / Here comes the sun / Here comes the sun, / And I say, It’s all right.” The Beatles, Here Comes the Sun

“When all you can feel are the shadows, turn your face towards the sun.” Helen Keller

Writing/Recording the Song Here Comes the Sun and Recording the Album, Abbey Road: The four members of The Beatles, who had grown up together, were now growing apart. While they regrouped to make this album entitled “Abby Road,” it was a ‘writing on the wall’ scenario that the group named the Beatles was destined to break up. George Harrison wrote the song “Here Comes the Sun,” This album was his time to rise; he also wrote one of the most popular songs in the album, “Something.” According to Rolling Stone in 2020, Abbey Road is ranked #5 out of 500 of the best albums ever recorded. The lyrics of Here Comes the Sun are both positive and reassuring in contrast to some negative personal issues at that time for Harrison. To read more about the album, click here. To read about every song on the album Abbey Road click here. Recently, director Peter Jackson presented a documentary on The Beatles made from hours of recordings never viewed in >50 years (see video linked at the bottom).

“When the sun rises, it rises for everyone.” Aldous Huxley

The Beatles- Here Comes the Sun (2019 Mix):

Here Comes the Sun. Music and Lyrics by The Beatles
Here comes the sun
Here comes the sun,
And I say, It’s all right
Little darling
It’s been a long, cold lonely winter
Little darling
It feels like years since it’s been here
Here comes the sun
Here comes the sun,
And I say, It’s all right
Little darling
The smiles returning to the faces
Little darling
It seems like years since it’s been here
Here comes the sun
Here comes the sun,
And I say, It’s all right
Sun, sun, sun, here it comes
Sun, sun, sun, here it comes
Sun, sun, sun, here it comes
Sun, sun, sun, here it comes
Sun, sun, sun, here it comes
Little darling
I feel that ice is slowly melting
Little darling
It seems like years since it’s been clear
Here comes the sun
Here comes the sun,
And I say, It’s all right
Here comes the sun
Here comes the sun
It’s all right
It’s all right

Unseen footage of The Beatles revealed in new documentary, directed by Peter Jackson – BBC News

“Just imagine becoming the way you used to be as a very young child, before you understood the meaning of any word, before opinions took over your mind. The real you is loving, joyful, and free. The real you is just like a flower, just like the wind, just like the ocean, just like the sun.” ~ Miguel Angel Ruiz

Cover Photo Image by Mrexentric from Pixabay