Writing lyrics was easier before I started corresponding with Poets
Howdy Folks. Mr Wizard has been bringing me more songs. YET MORE SONGS.
I need hardly point out to you, Dear Reader, that having just released an album, with another unreleased and trapped in Kansas, another brand new single released the other day, another in the can awaiting mastering and the stuff banking up for AJ's project later this year, we are not short of music right now.
Still, Mr Wizard wants LYRICS NOW Dammit! Make with the Yuks kid.
However, since reading the work of Rick Lyons and corresponding with him about Words, I am keen to work harder. My Lyrics output has Slowed Right Down as I embark on the Universal Search for Truth/Wankerdom (thank you TISM).
I get postcards from Rick with better writing than I can easily muster.
We've had an internal dialogue about the value of words for years now.
But now I'm looking at all the work we do and...well...bugger.
To his credit, some years back Mr Wizard moved from 'they're the grunts between my nice clever chords' to 'is this song saying anything'
Profound shift eh? Cool.
To win the argument with Mr Wizard I used the Old Trick of quoting lines out of context. For example:
'kids out driving Saturday afternoon just pass me by, I'm just savouring familiar sights'
or 'sitting at the limit of an endless ocean'
and saying 'where does this poetry come from?'.
AHA! It's a trap! They're lyrics from profoundly good Australian song writers (Flame Trees/Stephen Prestich/Don Walker and Great Southern Land/Iva Davies).
Australia has some formidable poets both in and out of music, and for many people, Music may be the most regular interaction with Poetry that we have. Just ask any Aussie about Paul Kelly.
Sometimes you know you'll never catch your heroes but you want to run as fast. For my part, I think language has its own melody and that the choice of words, as Mark Twain once said, is the difference between Lightning and Lightning bug.
That means I have to work harder, and with Mr Wizards output level, faster :-).
Not sure about Better tho.
Imma go read some good writers and see how they say things well. Hmm.
