A favorite Rolling Stones song from 1965:
I wasn’t yet born when this song became a hit. In fact, I was already in high school when I first heard it. This was back in the pre-CD days. I had bought an LP (long playing record) which was a compilation of the Rolling Stones’ greatest hits. I bought it from a classmate whose father owned and ran a record store in Cubao, Quezon City. There was only one reason why I bought that LP and that was because I enjoyed listening to “Satisfaction”, one of the Stones’ earliest rock hits and the only Stones song I was familiar with.
The LP proved to be my introduction to other Rolling Stones tunes such as Paint It Black, Get Off My Cloud, Jumpin’ Jack Flash, and Gimme Shelter, to name a few. Listening to the other tracks on the album, As Tears Go By was kind of a surprise because the musical style was a departure from the rock and blues format the Stones used in all of their other songs.
The song was a ballad and was written by band members Mick Jagger and Keith Richards along with their then manager, Andrew Loog Oldham. It was written in 1964 but did not become a hit for the Rolling Stones until its release late the following year as part of their album “December’s Children (And Everybody’s)”.
Though simple, the words are thoughtful and reflective and speak of lost innocence. I enjoyed its music when I was in my teens. I appreciate its meaning now that I’m in my forties.
Let me just share a video of a live performance of this song from back in 1966. It’s hard to give it a good listen because of the screaming fans but it’s nice to see a young Mick Jagger and Keith Richards back in the day when both were still in their early 20s.
It is the evening of the day,
I sit and watch the children play;
Smiling faces I can see
But not for me;
I sit and watch
As tears go by.
My riches can’t buy everything,
I want to hear the children sing;
All I hear is the sound
Of rain falling on the ground;
I sit and watch
As tears go by.
It is the evening of the day,
I sit and watch the children play;
Doin’ things I used to do
They think are new;
I sit and watch
As tears go by.
Posted by panaderos 
Posted by panaderos 
That Structure on the Roof
October 22, 2009Across the street from the hotel where I’m staying stands an old apartment building. From its looks, I am guessing that it’s probably at least 50 years old. It stands about 10 stories high and judging from its exterior, the building obviously suffers from lack of proper maintenance. The following picture shows the sight that greets me every time I open my hotel room window:
It shows the apartment building’s 10th floor and its rooftop. Please pay close attention to the structures on the rooftop. The concrete structures house the utility stairways that lead to the rooftop and, I’m assuming, the building’s water tanks. There are also non-concrete structures present, mostly built of wood, galvanized iron, and meshed wire. You will see that all of the non-concrete structures on the rooftop are used as storage sheds except for the one at the right. The one on the right looks like someone uses it as living quarters.
The rather thin layer of iron roofing ought to provide the structure’s resident with adequate shelter from the rain. However, the roofing becomes more of a liability during very hot and humid days because its thinness hardly provides any buffer between the resident and the sun’s rays. In fact, the thin metal sheet could even exacerbate the heat within that structure. As a result, the temperature inside could be much higher than what it actually is outside.
Unlike residents of the regular apartments on the lower floors, this structure does not have the benefit of any installed airconditioning unit and the absence could be due to a number of reasons. One reason could be that its wooden walls are probably not strong enough to support the average window-type of airconditioner; another reason could be either the lack or absence of appropriate wiring to support the power requirements of an AC unit in that particular section of the building; and lastly, it’s also possible that the resident simply decided not to have one installed.
Let me switch gears now by saying that when I started writing this piece, my original intent was to simply write about that rooftop structure that caught my attention and piqued my curiosity. I was almost done with organizing my geeky thoughts for this piece when the SO informed me that there are actually two or three Filipino women living in that structure. She knows it for a fact because she actually saw them come out of that structure one morning to retrieve some clothes that they had hung out to dry.
Thus, from wondering about an inanimate structure, I now started wondering about the people who have made it their home. A different set of questions now came to mind. How long have they lived in that structure? How long have they been away from their families? Are they related to each other or are they friends who decided to live together in one housing unit in order to save rent money? Do their families back home know of where they live and how they live? Do the folks back home know of the tremendous sacrifices these women are making in the hopes of a better future for their respective families?
I hope that they all eventually do well with their lives. I hope that they don’t get to stay in such a structure for long. I hope that when the day comes and it’s time for these women to come home, that a loving and grateful family will welcome them back with open arms and with gratitude and positive returns to show for their sacrifices. Given all the hardship they’ve gone through for their families, it is only fair to say that these women certainly deserve no less.