Transcript
Page 1: Songwriters as Poets

Songwriters as Poets

ENGL 2030—Fall 2013 | Lavery

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ImagineJohn Lennon (1940-1980)

Imagine there's no heavenIt's easy if you tryNo hell below usAbove us only skyImagine all the peopleLiving for today...

Imagine there's no countriesIt isn't hard to doNothing to kill or die forAnd no religion tooImagine all the peopleLiving life in peace...

ENGL 2030—Fall 2013 | Lavery

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Imagine [2]John Lennon

You may say I'm a dreamerBut I'm not the only oneI hope someday you'll join usAnd the world will live as one

ENGL 2030—Fall 2013 | Lavery

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Desolation RowBob Dylan (1941- )

They're selling postcards of the hangingThey're painting the passports brownThe beauty parlor is filled with sailorsThe circus is in townHere comes the blind commissionerThey've got him in a tranceOne hand is tied to the tight-rope walkerThe other is in his pantsAnd the riot squad they're restlessThey need somewhere to goAs Lady and I look out tonightFrom Desolation Row.

ENGL 2030—Fall 2013 | Lavery

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Desolation Row [2]Bob Dylan

Cinderella, she seems so easy"It takes one to know one," she smilesAnd puts her hands in her back pocketsBette Davis styleAnd in comes Romeo, he's moaning"You belong to Me I Believe"And someone says, "You're in the wrong place, my friendYou better leave"And the only sound that's leftAfter the ambulances goIs Cinderella sweeping upOn Desolation Row.

ENGL 2030—Fall 2013 | Lavery

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Desolation Row [3]Bob Dylan

Now the moon is almost hiddenThe stars are beginning to hideThe fortunetelling ladyHas even taken all her things insideAll except for Cain and AbelAnd the hunchback of Notre DameEverybody is making loveOr else expecting rainAnd the Good Samaritan, he's dressingHe's getting ready for the showHe's going to the carnival tonightOn Desolation Row.Now Ophelia, she's 'neath the windowFor her I feel so afraid

ENGL 2030—Fall 2013 | Lavery

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Desolation Row [4]Bob Dylan

On her twenty-second birthdayShe already is an old maidTo her, death is quite romanticShe wears an iron vestHer profession's her religionHer sin is her lifelessnessAnd though her eyes are fixed uponNoah's great rainbowShe spends her time peekingInto Desolation Row.

Einstein, disguised as Robin HoodWith his memories in a trunkPassed this way an hour agoWith his friend, a jealous monkHe looked so immaculately frightfulAs he bummed a cigarette

ENGL 2030—Fall 2013 | Lavery

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Desolation Row [5]Bob Dylan

Then he went off sniffing drainpipesAnd reciting the alphabetYou would not think to look at himBut he was famous long agoFor playing the electric violinOn Desolation Row.

Dr. Filth, he keeps his worldInside of a leather cupBut all his sexless patientsThey're trying to blow it upNow his nurse, some local loserShe's in charge of the cyanide holeAnd she also keeps the cards that read"Have Mercy on His Soul"

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Desolation Row [6]Bob Dylan

They all play on penny whistlesYou can hear them blowIf you lean your head out far enoughFrom Desolation Row.Across the street they've nailed the curtainsThey're getting ready for the feastThe Phantom of the OperaIn a perfect image of a priestThey're spoonfeeding CasanovaTo get him to feel more assuredThen they'll kill him with self-confidenceAfter poisoning him with wordsAnd the Phantom's shouting to skinny girls"Get outa here if you don't know"Casanova is just being punished for goingTo Desolation Row.

ENGL 2030—Fall 2013 | Lavery

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Desolation Row [7]Bob Dylan

At midnight all the agentsAnd the superhuman crewCome out and round up everyoneThat knows more than they doThen they bring them to the factoryWhere the heart-attack machineIs strapped across their shouldersAnd then the keroseneIs brought down from the castlesBy insurance men who goCheck to see that nobody is escapingTo Desolation Row.

ENGL 2030—Fall 2013 | Lavery

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Desolation Row [8]Bob Dylan

Praise be to Nero's NeptuneThe Titanic sails at dawnEverybody's shouting"Which side are you on ?"And Ezra Pound and T. S. EliotFighting in the captain's towerWhile calypso singers laugh at themAnd fishermen hold flowersBetween the windows of the seaWhere lovely mermaids flowAnd nobody has to think too muchAbout Desolation Row.

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Desolation Row [9]Bob Dylan

Yes, I received your letter yesterdayAbout the time the door knob brokeWhen you asked me how I was doingWas that some kind of joke ?All these people that you mentionYes, I know them, they're quite lameI had to rearrange their facesAnd give them all another nameRight now I can't read too goodDont send me no more letters noNot unless you mail themFrom Desolation Row.

ENGL 2030—Fall 2013 | Lavery

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Thunder RoadBruce Springsteen (1949- )

The screen door slams, Mary's dress wavesLike a vision she dances across the porch as the radio playsRoy Orbison singing for the lonelyHey, that's me and I want you onlyDon't turn me home again, I just can't face myself alone againDon't run back inside, darling, you know just what I'm here forSo you're scared and you're thinking that maybe we ain't that young anymoreShow a little faith, there's magic in the nightYou ain't a beauty but, hey, you're alrightOh, and that's alright with me

ENGL 2030—Fall 2013 | Lavery

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Thunder RoadBruce Springsteen [2]

You can hide 'neath your covers and study your painMake crosses from your lovers, throw roses in the rainWaste your summer praying in vainFor a savior to rise from these streetsWell now, I ain't no hero, that's understoodAll the redemption I can offer, girl, is beneath this dirty hoodWith a chance to make it good somehowHey, what else can we do now?Except roll down the window and let the wind blow back your hairWell, the night's busting open, these two lanes will take us anywhereWe got one last chance to make it realTo trade in these wings on some wheelsClimb in back, heaven's waiting on down the tracks

ENGL 2030—Fall 2013 | Lavery

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Thunder RoadBruce Springsteen [3]

Oh oh, come take my handWe're riding out tonight to case the promised landOh oh oh oh, Thunder RoadOh, Thunder Road, oh, Thunder RoadLying out there like a killer in the sunHey, I know it's late, we can make it if we runOh oh oh oh, Thunder RoadSit tight, take hold, Thunder Road

Well, I got this guitar and I learned how to make it talkAnd my car's out back if you're ready to take that long walkFrom your front porch to my front seatThe door's open but the ride ain't freeAnd I know you're lonely for words that I ain't spokenBut tonight we'll be free, all the promises'll be broken

ENGL 2030—Fall 2013 | Lavery

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Thunder RoadBruce Springsteen [4]

There were ghosts in the eyes of all the boys you sent awayThey haunt this dusty beach road in the skeleton frames of burned-out ChevroletsThey scream your name at night in the streetYour graduation gown lies in rags at their feetAnd in the lonely cool before dawnYou hear their engines rolling onBut when you get to the porch, they're gone on the windSo Mary, climb inIt's a town full of losers, I'm pulling out of here to win

ENGL 2030—Fall 2013 | Lavery

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Circle GameJoni Mitchell (1943- )

Yesterday a child came out to wonderCaught a dragonfly inside a jarFearful when the sky was full of thunderAnd tearful at the falling of a star

And the seasons they go round and roundAnd the painted ponies go up and downWe're captive on the carousel of timeWe can't return we can only lookBehind from where we cameAnd go round and round and roundIn the circle game

ENGL 2030—Fall 2013 | Lavery

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Circle Game [2]Joni Mitchell

Then the child moved ten times round the seasonsSkated over ten clear frozen streamsWords like when you're older must appease himAnd promises of someday make his dreams

And the seasons they go round and roundAnd the painted ponies go up and downWe're captive on the carousel of timeWe can't return we can only lookBehind from where we cameAnd go round and round and roundIn the circle game

ENGL 2030—Fall 2013 | Lavery

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Circle Game [3]Joni Mitchell

Sixteen springs and sixteen summers gone nowCartwheels turn to car wheels thru the townAnd they tell him take your time it won't be long nowTill you drag your feet to slow the circles down

And the seasons they go round and roundAnd the painted ponies go up and downWe're captive on the carousel of timeWe can't return we can only lookBehind from where we cameAnd go round and round and roundIn the circle game

ENGL 2030—Fall 2013 | Lavery

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Circle Game [4]Joni Mitchell

So the years spin by and now the boy is twentyThough his dreams have lost some grandeur coming trueThere'll be new dreams maybe better dreams and plentyBefore the last revolving year is through

And the seasons they go round and roundAnd the painted ponies go up and downWe're captive on the carousel of timeWe can't return we can only lookBehind from where we cameAnd go round and round and roundIn the circle gameAnd go round and round and roundIn the circle game

ENGL 2030—Fall 2013 | Lavery

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Leonard Cohen—Canadian (1934- )

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Everybody Knows

Everybody knows that the dice are loadedEverybody rolls with their fingers crossedEverybody knows the war is overEverybody knows the good guys lostEverybody knows the fight was fixedThe poor stay poor, the rich get richThat's how it goesEverybody knowsEverybody knows that the boat is leakingEverybody knows the captain liedEverybody got this broken feelingLike their father or their dog just died

Everybody’s talking to their pocketsEverybody’s wants a box of chocolatesAnd a long stem roseEverybody knows

ENGL 2030—Fall 2013 | Lavery

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Everybody Knows (2)

Everybody knows that you love me babyEverybody knows that you really doEverybody knows that you've been faithfulAh give or take a night or twoEverybody knows you've been discreetBut there were so many people you just had to meetWithout your clothesAnd everybody knows

Everybody knows, everybody knowsThat's how it goesEverybody knows

Everybody knows, everybody knowsThat's how it goesEverybody knows

ENGL 2030—Fall 2013 | Lavery

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Everybody Knows (3)

And everybody knows that it's now or neverEverybody knows that it's me or youAnd everybody knows that you live foreverAh when you've done a line or twoEverybody knows the deal is rottenOld Black Joe's still pickin' cottonFor your ribbons and bowsAnd everybody knows

And everybody knows that the Plague is comingEverybody knows that it's moving fastEverybody knows that the naked man and womanAre just a shining artifact of the pastEverybody knows the scene is deadBut there's gonna be a meter on your bedThat will discloseWhat everybody knows

ENGL 2030—Fall 2013 | Lavery

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Everybody Knows (4)

And everybody knows that you're in troubleEverybody knows what you've been throughFrom the bloody cross on top of CalvaryTo the beach of MalibuEverybody knows it's coming apartTake one last look at this Sacred HeartBefore it blowsAnd everybody knows

Everybody knows, everybody knowsThat's how it goesEverybody knows

Oh everybody knows, everybody knowsThat's how it goesEverybody knows

Everybody knows

ENGL 2030—Fall 2013 | Lavery

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Tower Of Song

Well my friends are gone and my hair is grayI ache in the places where I used to playAnd I'm crazy for love but I'm not coming onI'm just paying my rent every day in the tower of song

I said to Hank Williams, "How lonely does it get?"Hank Williams hasn't answered yetBut I hear him coughing all night longOh, a hundred floors above me in the tower of song

I was born like this, I had no choiceI was born with the gift of a golden voiceAnd twenty-seven angels from the great beyondThey tied me to this table right here in the tower of song

So you can stick your little pins in that voodoo dollI'm very sorry, baby, doesn't look like me at allI'm standing by the window where the light is strongAh they don't let a woman kill you not in the tower of song

ENGL 2030—Fall 2013 | Lavery

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Tower Of Song (2)Now you can say that I've grown bitter but of this you may be sureThe rich have got their channels in the bedrooms of the poorAnd there's a mighty judgment coming, but I may be wrongYou see, you hear these funny voices in the tower of song

I see you standing on the other sideI don't know how the river got so wideI loved you baby, way back whenAnd all the bridges are burning that we might have crossedBut I feel so close to everything that we lostWe'll never, we'll never have to lose it again

Now I bid you farewell, I don't know when I'll be backThey're moving us tomorrow to that tower down the trackBut you'll be hearing from me baby, long after I'm goneI'll be speaking to you sweetly from a window in the tower of song

Yeah, my friends are gone and my head is grayI ache in the places where I used to playAnd I'm crazy for love but I'm not coming onI'm just paying my rent every day in the tower of song

ENGL 2030—Fall 2013 | Lavery

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I’m Your Man

If you want a loverI’ll do anything you ask me toAnd if you want another kind of loveI’ll wear a mask for youIf you want a partnerTake my handOr if you want to strike me down in angerHere I standI'm your man

If you want a boxerI will step into the ring for youAnd if you want a doctorI'll examine every inch of youIf you want a driverClimb insideOr if you want to take me for a rideYou know you canI'm your man

ENGL 2030—Fall 2013 | Lavery

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I’m Your Man (2)

Ah, the moons too brightThe chains too tightThe beast wont go to sleepI've been running through these promises to youThat I made and I could not keepAh but a man never got a woman backNot by begging on his kneesOr I'd crawl to you babyAnd I'd fall at your feetAnd I'd howl at your beautyLike a dog in heatAnd I'd claw at your heartAnd I'd tear at your sheetI'd say please, pleaseI'm your man

ENGL 2030—Fall 2013 | Lavery

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I’m Your Man (3)

And if you've got to sleepA moment on the roadI will steer for youAnd if you want to work the street aloneI'll disappear for youIf you want a father for your childOr only want to walk with me a whileAcross the sandI'm your man

ENGL 2030—Fall 2013 | Lavery

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Anthem

The birds they sangat the break of dayStart againI heard them sayDon't dwell on whathas passed awayor what is yet to be.Ah the wars they willbe fought againThe holy doveShe will be caught againbought and soldand bought againthe dove is never free.

Ring the bells that still can ringForget your perfect offeringThere is a crack in everythingThat's how the light gets in.

ENGL 2030—Fall 2013 | Lavery

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Anthem (2)

We asked for signsthe signs were sent:the birth betrayedthe marriage spentYeah the widowhoodof every government --signs for all to see.

I can't run no morewith that lawless crowdwhile the killers in high placessay their prayers out loud.But they've summoned, they've summoned upa thundercloudand they're going to hear from me.

Ring the bells that still can ring …

ENGL 2030—Fall 2013 | Lavery

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Anthem (3)

You can add up the partsbut you won't have the sumYou can strike up the march,there is no drumEvery heart, every heartto love will comebut like a refugee.

Ring the bells that still can ringForget your perfect offeringThere is a crack, a crack in everythingThat's how the light gets in.

Ring the bells that still can ringForget your perfect offeringThere is a crack, a crack in everythingThat's how the light gets in.That's how the light gets in.That's how the light gets in.

ENGL 2030—Fall 2013 | Lavery


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