Tag Archives: music

Open Doors

Son, I am the eagle
that has come
to take you home.

Son, the wind is
blowing; your heart
is machinery going

BOOM
BOOM
BOOM.

Son, climb the hill
again; you can trust
imagination. Time

stands still, son;
grab anything
that takes you

home.

 

 

After Peter Gabriel’s “Solsbury Hill.” I love this song, but there’s another reason I chose it for today. This morning, I met with a friend who is from China. She has been reading my poems, and we had a very nice conversation about a few of them. She mentioned the BOOM BOOM BOOM in this one. It occurred to me that I knew another song where a heart goes BOOM BOOM BOOM. Betty, if you’re reading this, I hope you enjoy it! 🙂

Standard

Jeremiah, the King of the World

Joy to you and me,
boys and girls.
Joy to you and me,
and rainbows.

Joy and sweet love.
And wine.

In the deep blue sea,
there are no cars,
but we get around
mighty fine,

the bullfrogs,
the boys and girls,
the wine—

and me.

 

 

Probably obvious, but this one’s based on “Joy to the World” by Three Dog Night. If it’s Tuesday, 3 p.m. Eastern or later, check out Open Link Night at dVerse Poets. And if you’re feeling the joy, please feel free to leave me a song request in the comments!

Standard

Midnight Drive

Letting in sky, I shine—
I know what it’s like.
Under the city lights,

I start screaming,
leaning back, smiling,
blowing that roof off.

I wanna just live
inside my big white
walls, lounging,

easy weaving, riding
into the night, trying
to cross the bridge.

 

 

After Macklemore & Ryan Lewis’s “White Walls.” Amidst all the bitches and hoes, f this and that are some really lovely images. I lifted those out and rearranged them here.

Standard

When You Get Home

I need feet to run away from you.
I hear a lilting melody; it’s Hoochy-Coo
from a carnival tent in Scunthorpe.
I’ll walk there after I run, and I’ll
dance there after I walk.

Did you ever stop to think, as you
stood on my toe? Did you ever see
how I was fraying at the ends? I am
not to be sniffed at, nor are my feet,
after a hard day’s work.

But you’re a pretty girl; when you
gaze at me, how can I lose my temper?
Think of all the things we can do
in Scunthorpe. I need my feet
to run away with you.

 

 

Ever heard of Bernard Bresslaw? ‘Ave ya? I hadn’t, but in my Facebook news feed was this funny, Cockney-accented song about feet. What do you fink of it?

Standard

Honey Chile, You Make My Day

Reet petite, my brown-eyed girl,
you’re just reet petite.

Why did the chicken cross the road?
To make your heart go

BOOM
BOOM
BOOM.

There’s a heaven in your smile;
you’re the coffee in my cup.

Ding-a-ling-a-ling,
ding-a-ling-a-ling-ding

go the bells—the ones
in my feet.

 

 

After Van Morrison’s “Jackie Wilson Said,” as requested by complynn. Thanks! This was another of those songs that I knew, and just didn’t know that I knew it. It made me smile.

Standard

Come with Me

If you want to view paradise
from inside a burrito,
come with me and you’ll be
in a world of sour cream
and salsa verde of my creation.
Paradise is simple, nothing to it.
Enter the burrito and change
the world. There is no life
so pure as living as you truly
wish to be. Paradise!
Look around! Chew it!
I can see into you—
it begins with a spin
through my imagination.

What happened here? Since I didn’t have a song request (you can leave those in the comments, please), I scrolled down through my Facebook news feed and stopped at the first song I came to, which was this. As you can see, the video found its way into the poem—because really, how could it not? (And if I get sued, the law is on my side regarding parody … right?)

Come with Me

Aside

All the Time

All the time, we missed the bus,
when we were in our prime.

I was taller then, and more
handsome. You fixed me

once more, and that was just
fine. You never told your mother.

Now I notice you and wonder,
is there any special way

we could shut the door
and miss that bus again?

 

 

 

 

After George Jones and Tammy Wynette’s “Did You Ever?” I know I’m on a country jag … I have a big decision to make, so initially I was thinking of “Did You Ever Have to Make Up Your Mind?” But I thought maybe that was a little too on the nose. So I put “Did You Ever” in the YouTube search window and got this funny, semi-dirty song. I love how he says, “Alllllll the time.” Enjoy, and please leave me a request if you have one.

Standard

After They Hatch

Never go out fishing
with a girl you met at Walmart.

Keep honey in a jar,
not cold beer in a sack.

Don’t go out to the bars
with your apples in a bag.

Never go out blind
if you don’t have the knack.

Spend your last dimes,
your red cents, on chickens.

You can count them
when you’re broke and bent.

 

 

 

After “Don’t Count Your Chickens Before They Hatch,” by Tommy Ray. I had a rough day today. I was going to do a sad song, but the phrase in this title popped into my head, so I went searching for a song we used to sing in elementary school music class that used that same saying. I didn’t find it, but I did find this—and for some reason, the part about the girl hanging out at Walmart cracked me up, and then life seemed better.

Have a request? Please let me know in the comments.

Standard

It’s a Simple Song

Sometimes, I sing out loud
on the telephone wire.
Sometimes, I clap my hands.

I had a place somewhere
among the bullfrogs once;
it was low there, and I sang

low. When I’m with the
little birds, I sing high. If you
need to know your place,

ask the porcupine. He knows
your name; he mutters it
to himself, just like mine.

 

 

After “A Place in the Choir” by Bill Staines. Another great request from my friend Jud! The song begins at 4:20, but the intro is pretty funny. His impression of a porcupine is not to be missed.

Also, if it’s still Tuesday p.m./wee hours of Wednesday, check out Open Link Night at dVerse Poets.

Standard

Somewhere Deep in the Woods

We were just having a party,
all of us in our costumes.
When the businessmen arrived,
we put clown-fox heads on their
real heads. I didn’t know my
grandfather was there, still alive,
or that I was, somehow, still
five years old. All of us made our
noises then. All of us called out,
into the woods. We told our
secrets, everything we were
hiding inside, under all that fur
and makeup. We told each other
what it is we say. When the sun
came up, I wanted to know if
we could ever be the same.
The birds sounded the same
as all birds ever, anywhere.

 

 

 

After “The Fox,” by Ylvis. What by whom? You owe it to yourself to check it out! This one wasn’t by request, but big thanks to my cousin Kristin for introducing me to this song. If there’s a song you’d like me to write about, please let me know in the comments. Thanks!

Standard