And now for something completely different....

a.k.a. the poetry in music project.

I think I have mentioned before my great love of poetry. I have books of it on my bookshelf, in boxes (the bookshelf is massively overstocked right now with stuff), and, if memory serves, there is a very very stuffed binder also packed away with copies of poems I have stumbled across and treasured. That binder started its life back in the 1980's and just kept growing and growing to its now mammoth proportions.

I was singing along with my MP3 player in the car the other day. One of my favorite songs was playing and I was thinking, "I love the story this song tells". My next thought was "I need to write these down and put it in my poetry file on my computer (yes, I have upgraded my filing skills since the 80's). Its not a new concept....my old folder does contain some song lyrics.

Now, while I wouldn't be scribbling down the lyrics to Def Lepard's "Rock of Ages" or anything by Black-Eyed Peas, some lyricists really do deserve a chance for you to take a moment and pay attention to what's being said. Robert Smith of the Cure, for example....the first thing I do whenever I buy a CD of theirs is pull out the liner notes and devour his lyrics because he literally does set poetry to music (not that I am suggesting you all run out and start buying the Cure albums because they are a bit of an acquired taste).

So, probably about once a week I plan to introduce another piece of poetry/music to you. I thought I'd start with the one that got me thinking this week. You can play the song and read along....is a melancholy tune, but so beautiful in how its phrased.



"Brothers On A Hotel Bed" by Death Cab for Cutie

You may tire of me as our December sun is setting because I'm not who I used to be
No longer easy on the eyes but these wrinkles masterfully disguise
The youthful boy below who turned your way and saw
Something he was not looking for: both a beginning and an end
But now he lives inside someone he does not recognize
When he catches his reflection on accident

On the back of a motor bike
With your arms outstretched trying to take flight
Leaving everything behind
But even at our swiftest speed we couldn't break from the concrete
In the city where we still reside.
And I have learned that even landlocked lovers yearn for the sea like navy men
Cause now we say goodnight from our own separate sides
Like brothers on a hotel bed

You may tire of me as our December sun is setting because I'm not who I used to be