Baby, I Love You

Humankind’s discovery of Rock ’n’ Roll marked a monumental step toward understanding passion, that mysterious force motivating both our lightest and darkest impulses. Many systems of belief, however, warn against the integration of Rock ‘n’ Roll, wary of passion’s hypnotic power and the surrounding culture’s idolatry. It’s a common mistake, then, to interpret ‘Baby’, a popular term in Rock’s incantations, as referring to the sole object of a seer’s desire - a false idol. Suppose instead that Baby,  or Babe, is used as a title for the nameless Spirit of Rock ‘n’ Roll.

Whenever we hear ‘Baby’ invoked, imagine the seer is addressing this Spirit as it is revealed in the singular form of another human being. In the presence of a lover, a friend, or even a complete stranger, the seer catches a glimpse of Baby, flickering like a flame inside Her human conduit. Taking this momentary incarnation, Baby connects the seer back to something essential: a deep well of omnipresent love that lies within. This vision, and the epiphany it presents, arouse a sudden rush of passion within the seer, a moment of OH preceding either a hysterical fit or the direct channeling of a Rock ‘n’ Roll incantation.

Each of Baby’s adopted forms provides its own unique connection back to loving awareness, so Rock ‘n’ Roll has embraced a wide range of alternate titles for Baby. When Darling or Dearest are used, along with the title Baby itself, the seer is addressing one of Spirit’s many androgynous forms. These forms can increase a seer’s emotional sensitivity or guide them toward an undeniable devotion. Other androgynous forms include Honey, Child, Honey-Child, and Honey-Baby.

Baby can also assume many masculine forms. Boy is the most playful, as charming as The Fool, letting us in on the cosmic joke. Guy and Man both reveal to us a more poised side of Baby, in our Guy’s presence we are protected and cared for. Each masculine form calls forth receptive states, with tender whispers and warm embraces activating our passionate responses.

Girl is Baby’s first feminine form. In Girl’s presence, a seer longs to hold Her and to never leave Her, struck by the delicate nature of Her precious light. Girl may just as well gift us with bursts of youthful energy when praised, really getting us going. The incantations tell us that Baby has manifested as My Girl, Jessie’s Girl, a Surfer Girl, an American Girl, and a Girl From The North Country.

Baby reveals Herself as Mama to a seer who desires nurture. Much like Prithvi, first referenced in the Vedas, She is the natural, fertile Earth-mother. Following Mama’s sudden appearance, we become aware of a yearning to be supported by Her, and Her alone, though a budding discomfort with this dependence on Mama’s support will often incite a rebellious streak. 

Of the countless incantations that have been discovered throughout Rock ‘n’ Roll history, most praise Baby for revealing Herself to us in all Her radiance, though some question Baby for Her seeming neglect:

I wanna know if She loved me.
Did She really love me?
Was She just playing me for a fool?
I wonder why She left me.
Why did She leave me so all alone,
so all alone?

Much of these quandaries read like self pity when we listen with the pretense that Baby refers to the seer’s romantic fling. Looking beyond these preconceptions, we unveil the seer’s struggle with doubt; if the preeminent Baby surrounds us at all times, why would She give us a clear peak at Her all-pervading glory only to leave us with memory and return us to our lonesome suffering? Frustrations arise at this age-old question, often leading a seer to passionate protest. Incantations exploring this loss of faith may paint Baby as a Witch, Tramp, or Trick, though these are not forms that Baby takes so much as projections from a devastated seer suffering momentary blindness.

In all Her forms, Baby has a magnetic pull on those She has chosen to reveal Herself to. She is compelled to glorious motion when we chant the mantrams, play our instrument of choice, or sing the incantations. Her dance emerges as a form of conversation, each move calling and responding outside the confines of spoken or written language. As those who notice Her start shaking, rattling, and rolling in their own expressive fits of passion, Baby responds by swinging Her hips and grooving to the Rock ’n’ Roll music. Baby “loves the world and all the people in it”, as one incantation tells us, “She is moving to describe the World…She’s gonna open our eyes up”.

The collective praise of Baby has, for many, become secondary to the collective praise of celebrity. Stages have been raised, presenting seers above Rock’s followers. Garments have been made in false worship of seers, sold to followers for exorbitant prices. Every spiritual practice has its fanatic appropriations, yet these examples among others have long been misconstrued as evidence of Rock ‘n’ Roll’s essential values. If we mistake extremism for ideology, we further perpetuate a grave misunderstanding.

Rock ‘n’ Roll’s system of beliefs calls forth all punks, surfers, and folks to rejoice in passion’s beautiful intensity. It is a loving ideological practice, encouraging us to praise the nameless Spirit as we witness Her presence in our own brothers and sisters. The closer we listen to Rock ‘n’ Roll’s teachings on Baby, the sooner we find that Baby was never the vague object of a fanatic’s desire; She is and always has been the divine principle as it appears within each of us.