Nostradamus

In order to understand how Nostradamus and Justin Hayward are connected, you must first understand that his plight, his motivation, could not remain secret no matter how much he wished it to be so.

The other members of the Moody Blues learned of it early, and before long were contributing to the effort with their own songwriting. There are too many examples to list here, but some that you will recognize immediately are Candle of Life with John collaborating, his Isn’t Life Strange, and It May be a Fire, Ray Thomas’s For My Lady, Graeme Edge’s After You Came, Mike Pinder’s One Step Into the Light.

The British music scene was tight, with bands meeting at The Bag o’ Nails and other pubs as well as flowing in and out of each others’ recording studios. And so Justin’s strange story became known.

Songwriters are feeling people. Their success depends on it. And so it was natural that some of those more intuitive and compassionate writers and performers took on his quest and made it their own through their music. It’s my belief that Peter Gabriel wrote In Your Eyes and Mercy Street with Justin’s story in mind, and later, in 1992 released US with its evocative cover of a man (Gabriel) chasing the ghostly figure of a woman. On it are Steam, Come Talk to Me, and Kiss That Frog. Give them a listen.

In that period of grace that I found myself in (see previous posts) – around 1992 through ’94, many such efforts came out. Whether Justin actually spoke to the artists I can’t say, but there seemed to be some collective consciousness, a subtle vibration that those sensitive people (including others not in the musical industry, like James Cameron who launched his epic effort to create his film Titanic) picked up on. Phil Collins was one of those.

I quote his notes on his album Both Sides: “This is the first time I’ve ever written sleeve notes for one of my albums. The reason I write them now is to give the listener a direction or to maybe explain what the songs are about. Songs are all things to all people but sometimes the wrong path is taken and the misinterpretation stays with you forever. This batch of songs crept up behind me during the last few months of ’92 and the first half of ’93.”

Precisely when the knowledge came to me.

Was he referencing Justin’s frustration and despair, so clearly painted on his face as he sang New Horizons at Red Rocks, September 9th, 1992?

Both Sides is filled with the story: Everyday, Can’t Turn Back the Years, Can’t Find My Way, but most notably, especially, in Survivors, where the printed lyrics read “No I never meant to cause you pain, no I never meant to hurt you” but he actually sings (listen closely) “No I never meant to cause you thaed” – which is death – backwards. He also says at one point “Survivors in THEIR night” as if making a nod to the fact that this was not his story, but Justin’s.

And We Fly So Close. In this song his empathy is so touching it tears at the heart.

In November 1993 a hauntingly beautiful album was launched by Andreas Vollenweider featuring Eliza Gilkyson, called Eolian Minstel. The name itself speaks volumes – eolian meaning borne by the wind – but the songs within it tell our tale from both sides of the story, with a mention in the notes of a person behind the scenes. It’s quite possible that, knowing how much I loved Andreas’s music, Justin spoke with him about the fact that he couldn’t reach me – in another attempt to overcome what he perceived was my misinterpretation of his songs, as Phil alluded to.

And then there’s Sting – with his evocative story telling skills. There are many examples but the one that speaks most clearly is Fields of Gold. “You’ll remember me when the west wind blows among the fields of barley…” He echoes Justin’s descriptions of heaven: the golden meadows and luminous light. In it he hopes the sight of golden fields here on earth will spark the memory. The “jealous sun” is our sun, jealous because it can’t compete with the light of heaven. It is an odd song among love songs, but it speaks directly to our strange situation and has given me much comfort.

Years later Sting wrote A Thousand Years. A mysterious song. Give it a listen.

There are more artists, possibly even the Beatles. Less crazy than you may think, given the fact that Mike Pinder was a frequent visitor to their studio. But I won’t labour the point.

How does this factor into any connection to Nostradamus beyond Justin’s song about him? Next post.

There are so many conspiracy theories out there right now I recognize the need for skepticism, but I do thank you for your open mind as I unwind this story.