Palabras da man ao corazón: Letters in Music: "P.S. I Love You"

Wednesday, June 22, 2016

Letters in Music: "P.S. I Love You"

'Tis a lesson you should heed:

Try, try, try again.

If at first you don't succeed,

Try, try, try again.

Is this a motto in your life? I guess it should be for all of us, because it is not normally the case that we succeed the first time we try something. Many people we consider successful nowadays (Stravinsky, Mozart, Monet, Emily Dickinson, Van Gogh, or Harrison Ford, among others) were faced with numerous obstacles that forced them to work harder and show more determination than others.

Take The Beatles. We can't deny the lasting power of this music group, still popular with audiences around the world today. Yet, when they were starting, a recording company told them NO. Eduardo Galeano wrote a short story about that in his book Los hijos de los días (2011), which I am including for you below, along with a song about letters, "P.S. I Love You".

So, next time you are feeling down about your failures, keep this story in mind and remind yourself that sometimes failure is just the first step towards success.

Febrero 11

Mientras nacía el año 1962, una desconocida banda musical, dos guitarras, un bajo, una batería, grabó en Londres su primer disco.

Los muchachos regresaron a Liverpool y se sentaron a esperar.

Contaban las horas, contaban los días.

Cuando ya no les quedaban uñas por comer, un día como hoy recibieron la respuesta. La Decca Recording Company les decía, francamente:

No nos gusta su sonido.

Y sentenciaba:

Las bandas de guitarras están desapareciendo.

Los Beatles no se suicidaron.