“All Things Must Pass” was a song written 50 years ago by George Harrison. I didn’t previously know this, but the lyrics were originally written by Lao-Tzu (ca. 6th century BC), who is traditionally considered the author of the Tao Te Ching and the founder of Taoism. Timothy Leary, a Harvard professor and advocate for the use of LSD to expand consciousness, compiled his version of the poem from a collection of English translations. George Harrison then modified Leary’s version and added the music.
I’ve slightly modified the lyrics for this global pandemic version and have found that it’s given me inspiration, perspective and optimism in this dark and challenging time. I hope it does the same for you.
Enjoy,
Dr. Weiss
PS FYI (and for the more philosophically minded), here is the rest of the poem by Lao-Tzu:
What always changes? Earth…sky…thunder…mountain…water…wind…fire…lake…
These change
And if these do not last
Do man’s visions last?
Do man’s illusions?
Take things as they come
All things pass
Bosendorfer piano sound – For this recording I’m playing a Yamaha Clavinova – which has the same keyboard action as a traditional acoustic piano, but there are no strings. Pressing a key activates (in this case) a sound which was sampled from a Bösendorfer Imperial Concert Grand piano. Try listening to it with a good set of headphones! It sounds better than any piano I’ve ever owned!!
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