Last night after my set I said that I had read songs but Klannex Northmead was reading poems. Julie and Cat said they thought songs were poetry but I stopped it there as I didn't want to turn his reading into something about me but the question is still valid.
Right after that Dylan Thomas rose up and said, Danny Boy, Danny Boy, that's the art of it, you know.
I said, Dyllie (his friends call him Dyllie), you're such an incredible poet, what do you care about Danny Boy.
He didn't answer and just took another swing from a bottle of gin.
So, what's the art of it. I like to make them rhyme and I like to keep a consistent beat. Songs like that, don'tcha know.
There's merit to stream of consciousness expression as it gives a purity of thought unconstrained by arbitrary needs for discipline ... or perhaps it's rambling chaos. All depends on the poet.
Cavafy's poetry is extraordinary in that the meter survives even when translated into English from Greek. That doesn't mean the poems would work as songs but perhaps they would. Perhaps no-one ever tried.
I admire Neil Sedaka's genius but specifically for his ability to craft melodic hooks. However, his lyrics were utter rubbish. He was brilliant at making songs that would captivate millions and yet had almost nothing to say (laughs).
And then you have the songwriting duo who composed the music and lyrics for "Les Miserables" which, in my view, is one of the most brilliant musicals ever. (WIKI: It has music by Claude-Michel Schönberg, original French lyrics by Alain Boublil and Jean-Marc Natel, with an English-language libretto by Herbert Kretzmer.)
Poetry, indeed! It's complex with interweaving melodies and verses, extraordinarily captivating melodies, and all of manner of wonderful things that make the songs marvelous.
So, is that poetry or what!
Of course I'm not going to answer the question. I just like to throw it out there. I write the way I do because this is how I choose to do it, not because of ignorance of the craft. Always look for more in what you write and what you see others writing. I would like to get better and perhaps I will. I ain't dead yet.
Oh Danny boy, the pipes, the pipes are calling
Right after that Dylan Thomas rose up and said, Danny Boy, Danny Boy, that's the art of it, you know.
I said, Dyllie (his friends call him Dyllie), you're such an incredible poet, what do you care about Danny Boy.
He didn't answer and just took another swing from a bottle of gin.
So, what's the art of it. I like to make them rhyme and I like to keep a consistent beat. Songs like that, don'tcha know.
There's merit to stream of consciousness expression as it gives a purity of thought unconstrained by arbitrary needs for discipline ... or perhaps it's rambling chaos. All depends on the poet.
Cavafy's poetry is extraordinary in that the meter survives even when translated into English from Greek. That doesn't mean the poems would work as songs but perhaps they would. Perhaps no-one ever tried.
I admire Neil Sedaka's genius but specifically for his ability to craft melodic hooks. However, his lyrics were utter rubbish. He was brilliant at making songs that would captivate millions and yet had almost nothing to say (laughs).
And then you have the songwriting duo who composed the music and lyrics for "Les Miserables" which, in my view, is one of the most brilliant musicals ever. (WIKI: It has music by Claude-Michel Schönberg, original French lyrics by Alain Boublil and Jean-Marc Natel, with an English-language libretto by Herbert Kretzmer.)
Poetry, indeed! It's complex with interweaving melodies and verses, extraordinarily captivating melodies, and all of manner of wonderful things that make the songs marvelous.
So, is that poetry or what!
Of course I'm not going to answer the question. I just like to throw it out there. I write the way I do because this is how I choose to do it, not because of ignorance of the craft. Always look for more in what you write and what you see others writing. I would like to get better and perhaps I will. I ain't dead yet.
From glen to glen, and down the mountain side
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