Pure Imagination

The Husband left his company last month to strike out on his own as an artist & designer. Well, not quite on his own all the time. He looks forward to future collaborations with his friend & colleague- Kimberlee, &  he is in the start up phase & working out the details of making a Branding firm with his former co-workers Little Jake & Syslee. The Husband gave me 24 hours before his final day, so as to save me from undo anxiety. I later discovered that he had a long standing, &possibly slightly unwise exercise to ease his dread at work. The Husband would write an Email venting his frustrations with his company & the owner, with no varnishing or censoring. He would save this document as a draft, re-read it one more time & then delete it, having felt better for having released his feelings.


Well, of course, just like in one of those plucky, yet yucky Tom Hanks-Meg Ryan films,& to his horror, the Husband accidentally sent one of his loose cannon Emails. I surmise that this was the beginning of the end, & the start of the new beginning. It has been a bit of an adjustment for both of us to have him home almost all the time, although the dogs love it. & I must add, the Husband has been keeping himself quite busy with projects around the house, & he has had a couple of hours here & couple of hours there with clients. He rarely sits still, unlike me.


I don't really understand what product this commercial is trying to seduce us with, but the ad & the song- Pure Imagination makes the Husband curiously, & conspicuously captivated & convivial... if not downright gay. When the Husband mentions a song, I try to get it worked into a custom mix CD as a surprise. The song is from the soundtrack to 1971's Willy Wonka & The Chocolate Factory by Leslie Bricusse & Anthony Newley, & was nominated for an Oscar for Best Score, which also features a jaunty little tune- The Candy Man, a hit for Sammy Davis Jr.. In the film & in the TV spot it is sung by Gene Wilder.

Pure Imagination has been covered by Lou Rawls, Buckethead, Maroon 5, the punk band- Smoking Popes, Mariah Carey, Sammy Davis Jr., Johnny Mathis, Ben Vereen & Miss Piggy, Kenny Loggins, the UK electronica band- Crazy Penis, the Irish band- The Frames, Jass pianist- Bill Charlap, Fatboy Slim,  Micheal Feinstien & The Swell Season. The Husband & I agree, the original Gene Wilder version is beyond compare. I watched Willy Wonka & The Chocolate Factory (with a screenplay by Roald Dahl, based on his book) several times in it's original release. At the time, I saw it as a drug taking allegory, but who knows... I was mostly likely stoned. I do remember that I really dug it.

Come with me, & you'll be

In a world of pure imagination

Take a look & you'll see

Into your imagination

We'll begin, with a spin

Traveling in a world of my creation

What we'll see will defy explanation

& if you want to view paradise

Simply look around & view it

Anything you want to, do it

Want to change the world?

There's nothing to it

There is no life I know

To compare with pure imagination

Living there, you'll be free

If you truly wish to be

There is no life I know

To compare with pure imagination

Living there, you'll be free

If you truly wish to be

Leslie Bricusse & Anthony Newley

1971