Revisiting the Partridge Family: Nostalgia, joy, and hidden metaphors
The first LP I ever bought was The Partridge Family Album. I was 11 at the time and felt like a grown-up when I presented it to my grandfather at the drugstore and told him that this is what I wanted for my birthday. Today, my friend Robin sent me a Partridge Family Christmas card. (She also told me I’m the only person she knows who has the original Partridge Family album…)
In my last post, I quoted James Joyce who wrote that any object could be a “gate of access.” Any object has a deeper layer of meaning and significance; we merely need to probe more deeply to find it. So in keeping with the theme of this blog, I think we should “deconstruct” the Partridge Family. (I personally think they’re due for a BIG comeback.)
The images that come to mind when I ponder the Partridge Family are psychedelic colors painted on their wonderful bus as they journey to their next gig as a family. Since all deeper wisdom lies in metaphor, let’s take a deeper look at these metaphors:
partridge: a game bird which provides nourishment to humans and sustains life.
family: they’re all stuck on the bus together, whether it’s a good trip or a bad trip.
bus: their songs are about traveling, being lost, being found:
Point me, in the direction of Albuquerque,
I want to go ho-me, help me get h-o-me.
I’m on the road….travelin’ free and easy
I can’t keep these wheels from rolling into one more town…
happy feelings: In the end, it’s all about being happy. The psychedelic colors are happy, the bus is happy, and they are happy. Listening to their songs, I’m happy too 馃檪
So what about you? What do you see in the Partridge Family? What significance does it have for you? What comes to mind when you think about it? Remember: There’s always hidden meaning beneath the surface because as Joyce told us, any object, intensely regarded, can be a gate of access.
Hope you all have a merry Partridge Family Christmas…or whatever holiday you celebrate!
Come on world, here’s the song that we’re singing,
Come on get ha-ppy!….
Traveling along, there’s a song that we’re singing,
Come on get ha-ppy!…
