A notebook beside my bed and other tips

Hello readers,

First a big thank you for the response to May last posting before 23 May, - over 320 hits on the EBMM Forums site.
Even if there are only a few comments, it'still good to know that my pieces are being read/enjoyed (evey Arts person needs an audience). Not exactly sure what is happening or why, but when good things happen you don't argue too much!

Had a really restless Tuesday night. The "Muse" as it were kept sending me lyrics and lines, so it was up and down the stairs to write them down since in the morning I can't recall them. My wife advises me to keep a notebook and pen beside the bed in case - good tip. Strangely the pieces are to fit into a musical set at the turn of the century, the piece posted today on the Ernie Ball Forum, Current Events, being one of them ("Seems I've Haven't...").

I got two pieces first, then the "book" (storyline) for the musical i.e. the storyline in to which all the songs appear. You'll see this in all the classic musicals - "book and lyrics by..." and up to now.

Makes sense but  - as I gathered from watching the SkyArts Songbook session with Don Black, also Opera on the BBC - in a musical  or Opera the song/lyrics and the music have to reflect the characters and the action on stage. A stand alone song has more freedom to be (not related to a plot or specific character as such)

For some reason thinking about the above I recall once hearing a BBC program by Benny Green, where he would present songs from musicals; one example being a musical concerning graft at City Hall, the money beng stashed in a tin box. The chorus lyrics went:

"In a little tin box, a little tin box,
That a little tin key unlocked..."

Wonder what was that musical and who wrote it?

NB: All contents © Louis J. Casson , Purple Squirrel Poems,

Cryptic Furnace Press 2010 All rights reserved.

Last Train to Silver Mountain... and other journeys.

Very surprised / puzzled this week by the number of reads on the Ernie Ball Forums  )Current Events , General discussion)  to my postings of poems lyrics #42 to #44 (including Flight Fom Egypt - a poem re Pentecost) and also on elegy poem for Ronnie James Dio (LastTrain To Silver Mountain)

Looks like the flame of Pentecost on the Egypt poem has really turned up! (Pentecost is 23rd May, this Sunday)

Re: Ronnie, my poems reflects the fact that Metal/Hard rock music is not peopled by the stupid or morons but has it's equal share of thoughful / intelligent persons. It's diffucult to make it in any business wouthout brains.

Throughout Ronnies work there's faith references keep coming up, albeit in passing. One song reflects, alludes to his Catholic roots: Jesus Mary and the Holy Ghost, I think he also did an album Sacred Heart (?) this combined with his other fantasy/swords references point I think to someone who thought about the essential question of "What after this?"

I referred to Seamus Heaney's quote that a poem is " a dream dreamt in the presence of reason", i.e in an altered state while still awake. In the case of the Silver Mountain poem; I just thought 'why not write one for Ronnie?' and then received the words, from the Muse as it were. The rhyming of the ends of lines took a little thought, but I'm happy that references to his work and the line "... answers only come when you pass by.." got included.

The line "... answers only come when you pass by.." happened but I only realised how apt it was / got he full meaning after writing it down. That's it with lines at times you feel it reads & sounds right, has a meaning beyond the literal words. As is not uncommon some other reader will see a different meaning in it, depends upon their life experiences, situation etc.
 

I'll close this Blog now, with respects to Ronnie; thoughts with Wendy too.
 
      

A loooong week..

Plumbers etc now finished ripping the bathroom apart and rebuilding it - good to go back to the present and not 1930's style washing!

Both songwriting books (melody lines and chords harmony ) now delivered to start looking through then using in my work. (beyond the I, IV, V chords lies another world to discover)

The muse this week did not turn up to enable to me to write new pieces, but it usually does so next week more to add to my store.

Spam bot inspires!

On the bus I got the draft of I'm Tired of Doing the Right Thing (luck I usually carry a pen and some paper with me at all times).

Two new blues poems lyrics

My latest this week Magnus The Bass and Just Mezzing with The Blues (less serious more fun pieces unlike No Tour Required posted this week on Ernie Ball forums, Current Events).

Mezzing adapted from a poem emailed to me via LinkedIn from Bob Hudson, I added some rhyme scan to it and extra lines to make it more flowing/lyrical in nature.

With Magnus, more free flow of consciousness. An aspect the musician  preaching/bragging of his abilities.

I get lots of lines/ideas from just remarks comments  from those around me and then they just get mixed in to the final pieces - goes to prove that poets should never live in ivory towers/garretts. You don't get input from life , hence your work, on your own!    

Editing New Collection

Following closing my entry on on authonomy.com (not suitable for placing poems on) I realised that my latest collection - Bigfoot Rhyme Has Flown The Coop - is not in hardcopy.

Therefore I'll need to consider:

* Editing (which are up to the standard?) spelling check etc assisted by Bernadette (useful to have someone not in the writing/poems business to tell you where you are not making sense etc)

* Who will print? Has been local printer in the past, but Amazon Kindle may be another way forward. I like the idea of thefulfillment (handling & shipping payment collection being done for you, plus ISBN)

* While with authonomy another issue cropped up. Namely: I now have a large back catalog of  past collections, printed but not all in digital (wordprocessor) form. Looking to the future it may be best to select and issue the following collections.
     
                 Love poems (always appreciated)
                 My selection of the rest of the poems.
                 "Bigfoot Rhyme.." (most recent collection, but not yet in print)
                 Blues & Song Lyrics collection.
                 "Whichever Way..." (future collection I'm adding to right now)

Doing - isssuing the above - will effectively add to "product" folks can purchase, while aso raising my profile more.

Question: is a poet/poetry "business"? Ultimately the reply is Yes; since even if arts people want to remain "just for arts sake" at some point the mechanics of business (PR, marketing, accounts etc etc) are needed to keep the artist (product) going, plus you cannot focus on the art or making it and handle all the other business side too.

Saw SkyArts1 last night - Roy Orbison live Melbourne 1973. Simply great!!

Iowa Poets, fresh first take can be best.

This morning I woke up. Yes even Blues poets, lyricists do this, but not in the cliched "woke up this morning way" I hope!

I had the first lines/verse of "Why can't We Stop The Game?" so I went downstairs to write. It all came out about 20 minutes. Later this morning I've typed it up - a few changes but still retains the drive and freshness of the intial lines.

Makes me recall that sometimes the first or second draft is the best since it's got that immediate freshness. Later reworks get a tiredness, (contrived?) aspect coming in. like gig practice where the best playing is at the beginning, then later it goes flat when the players are tired, run out of ideas.

"Everybody Wants My Money" is now complete I wonder when the next more poem piece will come along (as opposed to lyrics which come along more frequently)

Lovely sunny day right now (Spring!!)