Poetry In Music

[Asphodelle13]

I've been thinking about what's inspired me in the past to write poetry. Many times it was music, and inspirational lyrics. One of the things I love most about music is the lyrics behind it, the story they can tell, and what you can absorb from them(like messages & emotions).

Many musicians are songwriters, and instead of lyrics I'd like to post poems from a couple gifted legendary musicians, Jim Morrison and Tupac Shakur(may they rest in peace). Both of them wrote poetry that were very different in structure and subject, but both men had a special way with words.

Since I first got into liking The Doors as a teen, I've always been fascinated by Jim Morrison. He had a love for literature(like Friedrich Nietzche), music, and mysticism. His life was like a quick chaotic blaze of fire in the history of rock and roll, and he'll always be known as a one of a kind visionary.



~=The American Night=~
by Jim Morrison


for leather accrues
The miracle of the streets
The scents & smog &
pollen of existence

Shiny blackness
so totally naked she was
Totally un-hung-up

We looked around
lights now on
To see our fellow travelers
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
I am troubled
Immeasurably
By your eyes

I am struck
By the feather
of your soft
Reply

The sound of glass
Speaks quick
Disdain

And conceals
What your eyes fight
To explain
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She looked so sad in sleep
Like a friendly hand
just out of reach
A candle stranded on
a beach
While the sun sinks low
an H-bomb in reverse
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Everything human
is leaving
her face

Soon she will disappear
into the calm
vegetable
morass

Stay!

My Wild Love!
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
I get my best ideas when the
telephone rings & rings. It's no fun
To feel like a fool - when your
baby's gone. A new ax to my head:
Possession. I create my own sword
of Damascus. I've done nothing w/ time.
A little tot prancing the boards playing
w/ Revolution. When out there the
World awaits & abounds w/ heavy gangs
of murderers & real madmen. Hanging
from windows as if to say: I'm bold -
do you love me? Just for tonight.
A One Night Stand. A dog howls & whines
at the glass door (why can't I
be in there?) A cat yowls. A car engine
revs & races against the grain - dry
rasping carbon protest. I put the book
down - & begin my own book.
Love for the fat girl.
When will SHE get here?
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
In the gloom
In the shady living room
where we lived & died
& laughed & cried
& the pride of our relationship
took hold that summer
What a trip
To hold your hand
& tell the cops
you're not 16
no runaway
The wino left a little in
the old blue desert
bottle
Cattle skulls
the cliche' of rats
who skim the trees
in search of fat
Hip children invade the grounds
& sleep in the wet grass
'til the dogs rush out
I'm going South!

[Asphodelle13]

Tupac Shakur will always be known as one of the most talented rappers of all time. Despite the controversy that surrounded him, his troubles with the law, and his rivalries with various rappers, he was a complex soul that was often misunderstood. He also got much acclaim as an actor(which he wanted to be even before a rapper), and had a passion for writing poetry. And in many of his poems he shows us his heartfelt side, like in the following two poems..


~=In The Event of my Demise=~
by Tupac Shakur


In the event of my demise
When my heart can beat no more
I hope I die for a principle
or a belief that I had lived for
I will die before my time
Because I feel the shadow's depth
So much I wanted to accomplish
Before I reached my Death
I have come to grips with the possiblity
and wiped the last tear from my eyes
I loved all who were positive
In the event of my demise!


~=Starry Night=~ (Dedicated in Memory of Vincent van Gogh)
by Tupac Shakur


a creative heart, obsessed with satisfying
This dormant and uncaring society
u have given them the stars at night
and u have given them Bountiful Bouquets of Sunflowers
But 4 u there is only contempt
and though u pour yourself into that fame
and present it so proudly
this world could not accept your masterpieces
from the heart

So on that starry night
u gave 2 us and
u took away from us
the one thing we never acknowledged
your life.
__________________________________________________ ________


So what lyrics(or poetry) inspires you? Feel free to post them!

[daydreamer]

such a great topic!

Being the huge Dave Matthews Band fan that I am, I'd have to say I am most impressed with Dave's ability to write such poetic lyrics in his songs. While there are many lyrics I could choose from, my favorite has to be from his song "You Never Know"

"Spinning on the wind
the leaf fell from the limb."

It just reminds me of autumn, one of my favorite seasons. :)

[-Tokyo-]

I love Eve6's music...they have interesting lyrics. They may not seem very poetic, but they definitely have a quirky way with words that makes me think. I feel like I can relate. They usually come right out and say what they mean, and sometimes that's nice.

One of my favorites, from "Open Road Song" is:

"With every turn comes a new frame of mind
If I could frame my mind,
Where would it hang?
(Chorus)
I crack a window,
And feel the cool air cleanse my every pore,
As I pour my poor heart out
To a radio song
That's patient and willing to listen
My volume drowns it out
Yeah, but that's ok
'Cause I sound better than him
Anyway, any day,
Yeah, my voice is sweet as salt,
I search for comfort and I find it where
I've found it many times before,
Times before can be forgotten"

I just really like the part about framing your mind and all the pores, I like the way they play on words.

I love this song, "On The Roof Again":


In the throws of young love Leroy
Didn't think to think and in the blink of an eye
Tied the knot not knowing how to not know
He was the prodigal son this girl had brought him home
He moved out of his stepdad's apartment
He moved in with this cute Guatemalan
Things were copesetic 'til she caught him
Things were cool and collected 'till she found him erected with another

Shit went bad he's on the roof again
She flipped he flipped the bird
And then he went to the roof
Where his threats ring loud and clear
Gonna jump, Gonna jump
Gonna die this year

Got screwed by the horse that he rode in on
Riding high on his whims had only gotten him down
He moved back to his stepdad's apartment
Where he put himself back together 'till
She came back hes on the roof again
She flipped he flipped the bird
And then he went to the roof
Where his threats ring loud and clear
Gonna jump, Gonna jump
Gonna die this year

Gonna die this year

Your heinous highness
Broke her hymen
Hey man try to quit your crying
I know she broke your heart but try to come, try to come down
Try to try to try to
COME DOWN!!!!!

Gonna jump gonna jump gonna jump
Gonna die this year"

And some shorties:

"Waiting for the month of come what may"

"Why do you gotta keep the fan on high when its cold outside?
just wanna let you know I'm still a fan
get it?"

Yay!

[Anthropolemic]

The song "Nutshell" by Alice in Chains is a great poem put to music.

We chase misprinted lies
We chase this path of time
And yet I fight, and yet I fight
This battle all alone
No one to cry to, no place to call home

My gift of self is raped
My privacy is raked
And yet I find, and yet I find
Repeating in my head
If I can't be my own, I'd feel better dead.

[Bravehearter]

The simple and emotional lyrics of Neil Youngs 'My My, Hey Hey' always get me.

==========

My my, hey hey
Rock and roll is here to stay
It's better to burn out
than to fade away
My my, hey hey

Out of the blue
And into the black,
They give you this,
but you pay for that
And once you're gone,
you can never come back
When you're out of the blue
and into the black.

The king is gone
but he's not forgotten
This is the story
of a Johnny Rotten
It's better to burn out
than it is to rust
The king is gone
but he's not forgotten.

Hey hey, my my
Rock and roll can never die
There's more to the picture
than meets the eye.
Hey hey, my my

[StrayDog]

This is by Wolfgang.

A Hard Rock Filipino band that has hard hitting tunes and even harder hitting lyrics that deal with the Philippine situation of political intrigue, social drama, and personal angst.


This particular song is about the evil side of hero worship. In it, the speaker, a leader, is the hero who's horde has turned against him.


The Emperor Wurm

By Wolfgang

Lyrics By: Sebastian Artadi.

I was once one of you
til you put me here on this throne
I am just like you
so why now do you cast the stones?

do you believe me
am I that ugly in all of your eyes
you do not hear me
why aren't you listening to all my cries

if you were here were I sit
would you have done any less
all the things I did do
was made in your interest

but now you turn on me
as if I haven't head you all well
one slip that's it and I'm through
in my own words
you can all go to hell

so listen to me
I'll tell you firmly
what's on my mind

I stand before you as
bare as ever
I wear no diguise

now bow to the
emperor worm
the emperor worm you deserve

I'm sick of all that you say
all your fingers pointing my way
I'm like this cause of you
I've only done what you still now do
yet now that I'm here
but one against you all
like vultures you pick into me
the scapegoat that must take the fall

don't you beleive me
am I that ugly in
all of your eyes
you do not hear me
I'll make you listen to all of my cries

[StrayDog]

BUt if there's anything that takes the cake in poeticism and good tunes, it has got to be Led Zeppelin's Rain Song.


This is the springtime of my loving - the second season I am to know
You are the sunlight in my growing - so little warmth I've felt before.
It isn't hard to feel me glowing - I watched the fire that grew so low.

It is the summer of my smiles - flee from me Keepers of the Gloom.
Speak to me only with your eyes. It is to you I give this tune.
Ain't so hard to recognize - These things are clear to all from
time to time.

Talk Talk - I've felt the coldness of my winter
I never thought it would ever go. I cursed the gloom that set upon us...
But I know that I love you so

These are the seasons of emotion and like the winds they rise and fall
This is the wonder of devotion - I see the torch we all must hold.
This is the mystery of the quotient - Upon us all a little rain must fall.