Friday, May 28, 2010

Bejeweled, Bothered and Bewildered

Now it can be told,
And Behrle tells it cold,
In words unminced and bold:

     No American poet
          can be a cultural force
                without a guitar.

2 comments:

murchadha said...

Now I understand why Paul Muldoon would expend his talents in a rock band.

Doug Logan said...

Neil Young's lyrics seem to have gotten plainer and nicer over the years, so that now there are some really clear jewels.

You wouldn't want to take this chorus out of context:

Good to see you
Good to see you again
Good to see your face again
Good to see you.

The two short verses are hardly more complicated, but the song (entitled, of course, 'Good To See You') is a fine love song.

Evocative lyrics can be poetry, sometimes, but few bands leap the divide with really sharp blades in their teeth. Steely Dan would be one. If you read Fagan/Becker lyrics without the music you find poetry, sometimes very good poetry.

Here's a URL:

http://www.steelydan.com/lyrics.html