Anyone who tells you song lyrics are not poetry has been fooled, and badly, at some point in their life. The simple fact is that modern poetry, which today we primarily read on the page, began as an oral art a way of telling stories out loud – that is, in song. Even the most ancient verses have form, the Greeks singing in dactylic hexameter, the Babylonians in strange split verses, the ancient Germans and Celts singing in surprisingly complex and intertwined forms. Song and poetry really are one, and they lie at the root of civilization. Only recently have we seen a split between “poetry” and “songwriting,” but I believe that if you own even one record, you are an appreciator of poetry – whether you like it or not. Granted, some of this poetry is pretty terrible. But there have always been strains of popular poetry and song that maybe have not been the most well-written of lyrics. But should those songs be denied the title of poetry? I don’t think so. I has to be an all or nothing deal, I think.
With all that in mind – and it is an awful lot to keep in mind; I can ramble on and on about this – I bring you the first of what I think will be many Poetry Mixes – songs that feature lyrics that I hold especially close to my heart. I would also hold any of these mere songs up against any equal written poem. The thing to remember about these songs is, these are not necessarily my favorite songs by these artists, nor are they even necessarily my all-time favorite lyrics. This is because we’re essentially ignoring the music here. These are simply songs/poems that hew closely to what I like most in poetry, poems that appeal to me aesthetically.
Please send in comments to this post – I’d love to know what your favorite poemsongs are. For each song I include title, writer, performer, and a sample lyric.
The Poetry Mix, vol. 1
“In a Future Age” by Jeff Tweedy. Performed by Wilco.
Some trees will bend, and some will fall
But then again, so will us all
“Tomorrow Is a Long Time” by Bob Dylan. Performed by Rod Stewart.
There’s beauty in the silver, singin’ river,
There’s beauty in the sunrise in the sky,
But none of these and nothing else can touch the beauty
That I remember in my true love’s eyes.
“One Little Song” by Gillian Welch. Performed by Gillian Welch.
There’s gotta be a song left to sing
Cause everybody can’t of thought of everything
One little note that ain’t been used
One little word ain’t been abused a thousand times
In a thousand rhymes
“Post-War” by Matt Ward. Performed by M. Ward.
Don’t they love you in mysterious ways
You say yeah but this is now and that was then
Put a dollar into the machine and you’ll remember when
“Angel from Montgomery” by John Prine. Performed by Bonnie Raitt.
If dreams were thunder and lightning was desire
This old house would have burned down a long time ago
“Fox Confessor” by Neko Case. Performed by Neko Case.
Driving home I see those flooded fields
How can people not know what beauty this is?
“Red Right Ankle” by Colin Meloy. Performed by the Decemberists.
And how it whispered “Oh, adhere to me
For we are bound by symmetry
And whatever differences our lives have been
We together make a limb.”
“Salvador Sanchez/Pancho Villa” by Mark Kozelek. Performed by Sun Kil Moon.
Salvador Sanchez arrived and vanished
Only twenty-three with so much speed
Owning the highway
Mexico City bred so many
But none quite like him, sweet warrior
Pure magic matador
“Tennessee” by David Berman. Performed by Silver Jews.
Marry me and leave Kentucky
Come to Tennessee
‘Cause you’re the only ten I see
You’re the only ten I see
“Let Me See the Colts” by Bill Callahan. Performed by Smog.
Knocked on your door at dawn
With a spark in my heart
Dragged you from your bed
And said let me see the colts
“Sea and the Rhythm” by Sam Beam. Performed by Iron and Wine.
Our hands they seek the end of afternoon
My hands believe and move over you
“Two-Headed Boy, pt. 2″ by Jeff Magnum. Performed by Neutral Milk Hotel.
And when we break we’ll wait for our miracle.
God is a place where some holy spectacle lies.
And when we break we’ll wait for our miracle.
God is a place you will wait for the rest of your life.
“These Are the Fables” by Carl Newman. Performed by The New Pornographers.
Ten thousand dancing girls
Kicking cans ‘cross the sky
No reason why
Why ask to pay yourself
For the call of the wild
You found this child
So raise him
“Major Leagues” by Stephen Malkmus. Performed by Pavement.
They wear you down sometimes
Kids like wine,
Magic Christians chew the rind
Cause bad girls are always bad girls
Lets let’em in.
“Pamphleteer” by John K. Samson. Performed by The Weakerthans.
How I don’t know what I should do with my hands when I talk to you.
How you don’t know where you should look, so you look at my hands.
How movements rise and then dissolve, melted by our shallow breath.
How causes dance away from me.
I am your pamphleteer.
“Magnetized” by Laura Veirs. Performed by Laura Veirs.
With white spider stars coming down
And night blowing black from the ground
“California Stars” by Woody Guthrie. Performed by Wilco.
Underneath my California stars
They hang like grapes on vines that shine
And warm the lovers glass like friendly wine
So, I’d give this world
just to dream a dream with you
On our bed of California stars
This mix and all the others are in the Music Vault!
Lyrics by Maynard James Keenan performed by Tool
Lateralus
I embrace my desire to
I embrace my desire to
feel the rhythm,
to feel connected enough to step aside and weep like a widow
to feel inspired to fathom the power, to witness the beauty,
to bathe in the fountain,
to swing on the spiral
to swing on the spiral
to swing on the spiral of our divinity and still be a human.
And from the best lyricist (in my opinion)….. without further ado….
A poem on the underground wall – Simon and Garfunkel
Now from his pocket quick he flashes,
The crayon on the wall he slashes,
Deep upon the advertising,
A single-worded poem comprising
Four letters.
You should have used “One By One” instead of “California Stars.” Of course, you know how I feel about that song . . .
I’ll get back to you on other additions.
That was my biggest debate when putting together this album. I resolved it this way: in a song vs. song contest, “One by One” wins hands down. I agree with you that it’s one of the finest songs ever recorded. However the problem is I think the music has too much influence. They are too joined. I think in a poem vs. poem contest, “California Stars” wins. There’s this wonderful twisty idyllic dreamlike quality to it, and the words all play off each other so well. “One by One,” on the other hand, is a more classic poem, which is less what I’m about as a writer and appreciator of poetry. It’s my second favorite Guthrie poem after “California Stars” (which makes it one of my favorite poems ever) – but on the page, without the music, it loses a little something to “California Stars.” In my opinion that is.
I do like it enough to write a MONSTERS OF POETRY piece on it…
“One by One” will most certainly anchor the second edition of this mix.
I don’t know how on earth you were able to decide which Weakerthans song to pick. Or even which freaking lyric from Pamphleteer alone. I can barely even make a Weakerthans best of that fits on a single disc.
Faye: Good call on Paul Simon! He’s one of my absolute favorite songwriters. As an angsty preteen before I had Dylan on the brain I had Simon on the brain. He really revolutionized songwriting too by writing fairly classical poetic lyrics that were also deeply personal and setting the whole thing to modern music. Not many people had really done that yet. In fact I can’t believe I left him off the mix! Next time I suppose. My three favorite song/poems by him are “The Boxer,” “America,” and “They Only Living Boy in New York.”
Jenny: “Pamphleteer” was always the Weakerthans’ spark song for me – the song that converted me from casual listener to diehard fan. So I chose it. But like you said it’s possible to put just about any Weakerthans song on this mix and have it fit in quite nicely. JKS is one of the best songwriters around today. I picked that lyric because it made the most sense; my actual favorite line is “No surrender / no defeat / a specter’s haunting Albert Street.” Still gives me shivers after all these years.