AboutTracy Zimmermann Expertise I’m pretty confident that I can answer just about any question about the band or their music you may have. I’ve been a fan since 1972 and have followed their careers (collectively and as solo artists,) closely ever since. In addition, I've amassed a vast database on all things Moody - from "completest" discographies for the band and all of their solo projects, to extensive bibliographies, videographies, posterfiles, etc. I have an extensive collection of memorabilia; both group and related solo projects. My collection includes vinyl, CDs, tapes (cassette, 8-track, and reel,) posters, shirts, sheet music and songbooks, back stage passes, magazines, books and other publications, equipment, and video. If I don’t know it, I know where to find it. All you have to do is ask!
Experience I’ve been a fan of the band since 1972. I was a contributing editor to "Higher and Higher", the Moody Blues Magazine 1994, to the magazine’s untimely demise in 2007, writing the Videography Department.
Publications As noted previously, much of my writing has appeared in “Higher and Higher” since 1994, but I also wrote a piece that appeared in issue #1 of Mike Pinder’s newsletter “Have You Heard”.
Education/Credentials Though I haven’t yet finished, my educational focus is on a Journalism degree.
Awards and Honors I've also had the good fortune to have traveled to England to catch the end of the Band's Spring 2000 concert tour; a trip I've always wanted to take.
I’ve supplied research information on the band to a number of sources, including the July 5, 2004 English Quiz Show “Mastermind” which featured a contestant whose expertise was also the Moody Blues.
I also participated in the UK Channel 4 presentation of the “Top Ten” program's episode on Progressive Rock, that featured the Moody Blues at #3 on their list. That program aired on March 3, 2001.
Question please give me your insight behind the words of the song "Question"..........or let me know where I can find more information
thank you
Helen
Answer "Question" is a song that has sparked a lot of curiosity from fans over the years. Justin has said in several interviews that the song originally began life as two completely different songs, each at a different tempo. He was struggling with both simultaneously when he realized that they were both in the same key. Once he realized that, he decided to solve two problems at once by putting them together. So, that's how the song, itself, came into being.
As to the meaning? Again, Justin's commented that "Question" was written at a time when the members of the band (like the rest of the world then,) were trying to come to terms with the Vietnam war and all the pain, confusion, fear and media attention surrounding it. He has said that he was feeling very overwhelmed by what was happening here in America, especially, and felt he needed some kind of outlet for those feelings.
Once Justin decided to put both the slower part and the faster part of the song together, he may have realized that in an odd way, the slower part worked as a pleading, plaintive counterpoint to the frustration and anxiety expressed in the faster part of the song. The faster part could be the civilian world's angst coming to the fore; his own personal confusion and frustration, perhaps, while the slower part could easily be construed as the soldiers' perspective, or perhaps that of those whom the soldiers left behind.
Though I don't believe Justin's ever specifically defined the song (in more than the most general of terms), I haven’t got any definitive place to send you, I’m afraid. The Moodies have never been ones to push their interpretation of a song onto their fans; they’ve always wanted each of us to find a song’s meaning for ourselves – as it related to our own lives.
I know for myself, I was 10 years old when this song was released and I had an older brother serving in the Navy in Vietnam, at the time. I know I was confused by everything I saw on television and heard from my parents, grandparents, friends and the media of the time. The song’s opening line of “Why do we never get an answer, when we’re knocking at the door…” seemed like a reasonable inquiry to me. Yet (and still), no one’s answered it.
However, while I may have been frustrated at 10, now that I’m in my 40’s, having lived through countless wars, invasions and “military actions” over the last 30 years or so, I’ve come to the conclusion that this isn’t a question that can be easily answered. To me, “Question” has become a very interpersonal song; an introspective song. One that may seem to be addressing a generation, but in actual fact, it’s a song with a far more individual message. It implores each of us as individuals, to look at how we live our lives; how we behave toward one another and how we view “hate and death and war”. And, hopefully, to learn that “…all the love you’ve been giving, has all been meant for you.”
Anyway, Helen, I hope that helps you out. “Question” is just one of those songs that seems to take on new life for me every couple of years or so; depending on what’s going on in the world, my community and my life. And in all honesty, I think that’s the greatest success any songwriter could ever hope for. Justin must indeed, be a very happy man to know he’s inspired so much dialog – both internal and external, on such a universal topic. Thanks for your question, and for using Allexperts.com!
