Dennis Hollingsworth

Alfie

A quick search for the term "love" in my blog will show my abiding argument that what the art world now needs is a restoration of this motive.

I remember a moment in the Golden Age of LA's Chinatown art world in the late 90's and early aughts. Friends were playing music in one of our studios, and I jumped in to see what I could contribute. I possess no musical skill, by the way. I sang the song Alfie by Burt Bacharach. Given my context, it was a tone deaf selection, but then I intuited that the lyrics were more than poignant, they seemed to go to the heart of what I dimly perceived then and strongly now, to be a growing problem in our world, art and otherwise.

The lyrics:

What's it all about, Alfie?
Is it just for the moment we live?
What's it all about when you sort it out, Alfie?
Are we meant to take more than we give
Or are we meant to be kind?

And if only fools are kind, Alfie
Then I guess it's wise to be cruel
And if life belongs only to the strong, Alfie
What will you lend on an old golden rule?
As sure as I believe there's a heaven above, Alfie
I know there's something much more
Something even non-believers can believe in

I believe in love, Alfie
Without true love we just exist, Alfie
Until you find the love you've missed you're nothing, Alfie
When you walk let your heart lead the way
And you'll find love any day, Alfie
Alfie ...