Text by Bruce Gallanther (Downtown Music Gallery, March 27th, 2025)
“I’ll Wait for You” By Sun Ra, from Strange Celestial Road, Released on LP in 1980
In some far off place
Many light years in space
I’ll wait for you
Where human feet have never trod
Where human eyes have never seen
We’ll build a world of abstract dreams
And wait for you
In tomorrow’s realm
We’ll take the helm of a new ship
Like the lash of a whip
We’ll start on the way
And safely journey
To a new shore
In some far off place
Many light years in space
I’ll wait for you
As we get closer to World War III, the war on Democracy and Freedom, I keep thinking about where I can move to when the sh*t hits the fan. Is there a safe place on the planet Earth that has no right-wing extremists trying to take over? I feel sad, frustrated, and angry that all of the positive lessons that we learned in the sixties (civility, racial relations, manners, and gender politics, all known as “woke”) are being erased by those in control more and more every day. We are living in an ongoing nightmare that seems to be getting worse all of the time. The posse of evil clowns in the White House cabinet are in the spotlight, but many dangerous things are going on that we can’t see yet, which will change things for the worse before we can fix these problems, if indeed we can ever fix them again.
The above song/lyrics are by Sun Ra, intergalactic traveler/philosopher/composer/big bandleader, who was also a beacon of enlightenment for those who listened closely to his words and music. “I’ll Wait for You” comes from the album Strange Celestial Road, which remains one of my favorite Ra records. It is one of the hundreds released during his reign and since his departure in 1993. Marshall Allen (age 100!) and current Sun Ra Arkestra continues his legacy into new realms with each release and concert. Something about the chorus, “I’ll Wait For You, ” makes me feel hopeful for meeting up with many of those who have been lost to other worlds of spirits.
I look forward to meeting with many of the great spirits who have passed on when I too move to the next world. Peace and Love Always, Bruce Lee Gallanter at DMG
