STOP! for just a second - "Would you like to ride in my beautiful balloon?"

[El Pinko]

Can you believe that there was a time not so long ago (1967), when our
country had such broad prosperity and hope that a song
of such simplicity and cheer was relevant enough to be a
top ten hit?

I was listening to this just thinking, "there is no way a
song like this could ever be written and produced today
without tons of irony and/or profanity." (edited because even
I couldn't write one sentence without profanity in it. :( )

:cry:
What the hell happened to the country I was born and raised in?



“Up, Up And Away”
The Fifth Dimension

Would you like to ride in my beautiful balloon
Would you like to ride in my beautiful balloon
We could float among the stars together, you and I
For we can fly we can fly
Up, up and away
My beautiful, my beautiful balloon
The world's a nicer place in my beautiful balloon
It wears a nicer face in my beautiful balloon
We can sing a song and sail along the silver sky
For we can fly we can fly
Up, up and away
My beautiful, my beautiful balloon
Suspended under a twilight canopy
We'll search the clouds for a star to guide us
If by some chance you find yourself loving me
We'll find a cloud to hide us
We'll keep the moon beside us
Love is waiting there in my beautiful balloon
Way up in the air in my beautiful balloon
If you'll hold my hand we'll chase your dream across the sky
For we can fly we can fly
Up, up and away
My beautiful, my beautiful balloon
Balloon...
Up, up, and away....

[SoCalDem]

1. The 5th Dimension was a favorite of mine.. Loved them

Our music was happy, wasn;t it?

Yummy,Yummy, Yummy etc..Ohio Express..
(shame on me for giving you THAT earworm :evilgrin:..)

[rocktivity]

2. Yeah, the Fifth Dimension was that black vocal group

who was accused of sounding too white!



:headbang:
rocknation

[DesertRat]

3. I love that song

And "Wedding Bell Blues". http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IkMhWQgkZ8c

[blondeatlast]

14. I love WBB--no one has ever done a bad version of a Laura Nyro song.

Not even Barbra Streisand.

[MilesColtrane]

4. Written by the great Jimmy Webb...

...who also wrote the amazing "Witchita Lineman", among other songs.

I consider Webb and other writers during the 60's as the last of the great composers of standards.

[El Pinko]

5. Although, I have to admit that the sentiment of this song gave me some hope last year...

Umbrella
Rihanna


When the sun shines
We’ll shine together
Told you I'll be here forever
Said I'll always be your friend
Took an oath
I'mma stick it out 'till the end
Now that it's raining more than ever
Know that we still have each other
You can stand under my Umbrella
You can stand under my Umbrella

[Art_from_Ark]

6. I remember watching them sing that song on TV

The music shows from that era were fantastic-- something for just about everyone.

Yes, indeed, what happened?

[truedelphi]

9. And commercials every fifteen minutes - not every five seconds like now

[zorahopkins]

24. And TV Was Free!

Most people got their TV signal in 1967 for free!

They did not have to pay a cable company or a satellite company to provide them with 20 minutes of commercials and 10 minutes of programming every half hour!

(In 2008, we actually PAY cable companies to provide us with commercials!)

[truedelphi]

26. I know I know

Since I doubt that any real achange is possible in the current system of Corporte Politics, I am almost ready to say I'll vote for whichever candidate will get rid of so many commercials.

[Virginia Dare]

15. Marilyn McCoo & Billy Davis Jr.

they had a musical variety show for a while. They were considered to be the black Sonny & Cher, except not as weird. She was absolutely gorgeous, and still is!

http://www.cbn.com/700club/guests/bios/mccoo_davis_021005.aspx

[whistle]

7. It was all Clinton's fault and of course the pinko liberals

:sarcasm:

[A HERETIC I AM]

8. It's been replaced by music like this;

What's happened?

Instead of "Up, Up and Away" it is now "Just bought a Cadillac (Throw some D's on it)"

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bMFj0sWpIAI&feature=related

Although it is a good tune and some decent Hip Hop, Rich Boy is no 5th Dimension.

[Kitty Herder]

10. Sixties music was the best.

I'm thirty-one, and the sixties were over before I was born, but I listen to sixties music as much or more than I listen today's music. I love the optimism and hope that was still apparent in the popular music of that time. Those things are totally missing from today's music.

[rasputin1952]

11. Odd you should post this, as I've been going through nostalgia

night this evening.

I went to U-Tube and looked up some old songs that I recall from years gone by, My Back Pages, Yesterday When I was Young, I know You're Out There Somewhere, Turn Turn Turn, Eight Miles High, Somewhere, You Don't Have To Say YOu Love Me, When You Love, and a few others.

I recall Up, Up, and Away and I have to wonder just how much music has changed, IMO for the worse. I guess I'm just too old to get into all of the stuff these days, violence, disrespect for others, all about getting as much money as you can...we had an unpopular war back then as well, songs were about peace, love, compassion...hope.

Today, I live for tomorrow, hoping I can make a positive difference in someones life. Each day, I try to perform at least one random act kindness; I got that way from some of the music I listened to way back when. If I became the person I am, partly because of the music I listened to years ago, I am concerned about what people will become in the future if they base some of their traits on the music they listen to now.

If you'll hold my hand we'll chase your dream across the sky...

Where have we gone, where are the dreams we knew could become realities if we worked hard enough to make them come true?

[NuttyFluffers]

12. well, the children of Sesame Street grew up... and gave us Sonny J

hope this cheers you up! (it's from UK, though. so we have to import our happiness and hope. :7)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r8Y8XpFtLbk

[trof]

13. That was the TWA tv commercial theme song for a while.

Loved it.

[Virginia Dare]

16. Remember Up With People?

of course their most well-known song was "I'd Like To Teach The World To Sing" which became famous for being a Coke commercial.

[bdamomma]

17. Aren't they still around Up With People?

[Virginia Dare]

21. Correct you are..

I hadn't heard about them in a while, but they're still touring apparently..

http://www.upwithpeople.org/index.php?id=29&div=sub5

[OmmmSweetOmmm]

18. Escapist. Although I enjoy the song, don't forget that our country was in turmoil over the

Vietnam War.

Also 1967

Feel Like I'm Fixin To Die Rag - Country Joe and The Fish

Well come on all of you big strong men,
Uncle Sam needs your help again,
He got himself in a terrible jam,
Way down yonder in Vietnam,
Put down your books and pick up a gun,
We're gonna have a whole lotta fun

And its 1,2,3 what are we fighting for?
Don't ask me I don't give a damn,
The next stop is Vietnam,
And its 5,6,7 open up the pearly gates,
Well there ain't no time to wonder why,
WHOOPEE we're all gonna die

Well come on wall street don't be slow,
Why man this is war go go go,
There's plenty good money to be made,
By supplying the army with the tools of the trade,
Just hope and pray that if they drop the bomb
They drop it on the Vietcong.

And its 1,2,3 what are we fighting for?
Don't ask me I don't give a damn,
The next stop is Vietnam,
And its 5,6,7 open up the pearly gates,
Well there ain't no time to wonder why,
WHOOPEE we're all gonna die

Well come on generals let's move fast,
Your big chance is come at last,
Gotta go out and get those reds,
The only good commie is one that's dead,
And you know that peace can only be won,
When you blow them all to kingdom come

And its 1,2,3 what are we fighting for?
Don't ask me I don't give a damn,
The next stop is Vietnam,
And its 5,6,7 open up the pearly gates,
Well there ain't no time to wonder why,
WHOOPEE we're all gonna die

Well come on mothers across the land,
Pack your boys off to Vietnam,
Come on fathers don't hesitate,
Send your sons off before its too late,
Be the first one on your block,
To have your boy come home in a box

And its 1,2,3 what are we fighting for?
Don't ask me I don't give a damn,
The next stop is Vietnam,
And its 5,6,7 open up the pearly gates,
Well there ain't no time to wonder why,
WHOOPEE we're all gonna die

[aikoaiko]

19. I thought that song was about mass suicide?

:shrug:

[blondeatlast]

20. How in the HELL do you get that? That takes some MAJOR paranoia and/or projection.

:wow:

[zorahopkins]

22. 1967?

I seem to recall that this song was popular in about 1970.

I could be wrong, because they tried to make me go to rehab -- I said no no no.

Also, if memory serves me, 1967 was not so wonderful and innocent and light.

There was a draft.

We were in the middle of a civil war in Viet Nam.

over 58,000 Americans died in that war.

In 1967, the US was BOMBING Hanoi.

There were riots in US cities.

I don't recall 1967 with great fondness.

[AngryOldDem]

23. Nope -- it came out in 1967,

In 1968, it won Grammys for Record of the Year and Best Contemporary Single, while the 5th Dimension won Best Contemporary Group Performance and Best Performance by a Group of Two to Six. The song finished in the top 10 for 1967. So says the booklet that is with my 5th Dimension CD package.

This was back when the Grammys recognized what could pass as actual music.

What you may be remembering are TWA commercials that used the song. Those could have come out around '70.

[Javaman]

25. Age Of Aquarius (whatever became of this prophecy?) (I love this song)

When the moon is in the Seventh House
And Jupiter aligns with Mars
Then peace will guide the planets
And love will steer the stars

This is the dawning of the Age of Aquarius
Age of Aquarius
Aquarius! Aquarius!

Harmony and understanding
Sympathy and trust abounding
No more falsehoods or derisions
Golden living dreams of visions
Mystic crystal revelation
And the mind's true liberation
Aquarius! Aquarius!

When the moon is in the Seventh House
And Jupiter aligns with Mars
Then peace will guide the planets
And love will steer the stars

This is the dawning of the Age of Aquarius
Age of Aquarius
Aquarius! Aquarius!

Let the sun shine, Let the sun shine in
The sun shine in
Let the sun shine, Let the sun shine in
The sun shine in
Let the sun shine, Let the sun shine in
The sun shine in
Let the sun shine, Let the sun shine in
The sun shine in
Let the sun shine, Let the sun shine in
The sun shine in
Let the sun shine, Let the sun shine in
The sun shine in
Let the sun shine, Let the sun shine in
The sun shine in
Let the sun shine, Let the sun shine in
The sun shine in
Let the sun shine, Let the sun shine in
The sun shine in
Let the sun shine, Let the sun shine in
The sun shine in
Let the sun shine, Let the sun shine in
The sun shine in

[leftofthedial]

27. but then we left the cake out in the rain . . .