Northern Lights, Southern Cross
I was there when you asked
What kind of love have you got
and thought O you don't
want to go there, down under the trestles,
darkness on the edge.
want to go there, down under the trestles,
darkness on the edge.
Just a poor girl
in a rich man's house
the day the night man kicked us out
of California, I dreamed
you were the fortunate one.
I screamed
I screamed
it ain't me
with the star spangled eyes,
but it was, opal silver
not red white and blue---that
was our curtain over the cannon,
the wave that hid the room
where tears of rage
tears of a thief
soaked postcards of the hanging
soaked postcards of the hanging
with rain no one could stop,
panned a heart of gold no one
could bend, chromed it
to a wheel
on a broken glass frame
rolling toward the trades
outside on
the long
downhill run.
the long
downhill run.
~February 2014
Process Note: The title of this poem is the title of an old mixed tape of mine. If the words are familiar, it's because I have sampled freely here from lyrics of the following recordings :
Victim of Love /Hotel California, the Eagles
Darkness on the Edge of Town, Bruce Springsteen
Emotional Rescue, The Rolling Stones
Fortunate Son,/Who'll Stop The Rain, Credence Clearwater Revivial
Tears of Rage, The Band
Desolation Row, Bob Dylan
Heart of Gold/Long May You Run, Neil Young
Heart Like A Wheel, Linda Ronstadt
Southern Cross, Crosby Stills and Nash
All copyright (and gratitude)belongs to the original authors of the words I have borrowed
posted for real toads
Challenge: All Mixed Up
The tropically inclined mind of Corey Rowley (Herotomost) lures us into the tempting world of mixed tapes. He asked that we write about love in a cheesy, real, non-ethereal way--I did my best,but the only cheesy stuff I really feel is authentic here is my miniskirt, above, almost covered by the outsize security guard coat I loved back then for some reason.
Thanks, Corey--I had fun with this one.
Thanks, Corey--I had fun with this one.
A couple of the tunes, for optional rocking :
Photo: American Flag, Me, Eddie Sneath & A Sixpack of Bud, San Francisco, circa 1971,
copyright joyannjones, 2014
All Rights Reserved.
copyright joyannjones, 2014
All Rights Reserved.
I love the way you incorporated the lyrics, Hedge. Great stuff.
ReplyDeleteSo cool I recognized most of the lyrics - a classic mix for sure.
ReplyDeleteSo perfectly bitter-sweet as poems of lost loves and lost youths must always be.
ReplyDeleteWow, that took some work and a boat load (and approximately 80 feet of a water line) creativity Hedge!!! I love all of those songs, but Southern Cross is one I love to play on my guitar even though my voice will never be as smooth and lovely as C, nor my mustache. These words fit together like they were meant to be, and maybe they were. Wonderful to read this today, so glad you showed up!!!!! Happy Friday!
ReplyDeleteI love all of those songs. They take me back to when i felt just as much, but knew a lot less.
ReplyDeleteloving the CCR....got it jamming in my ears...so i may wait to post this at the end of the song...hehe...wow, nice mini too joy...smiles.... Just a poor girl
ReplyDeletein a rich man's house
the day the night man kicked us out...cool set of lyrical lines...i like the borrowed lines from the songs in this as well..postcards of the hanging...nice
have a great weekend.
smiles.
I ain't no senator's son, son...yeah that poor girl line is from Emotional Rescue and the postcards are Dylan. Thanks, bri--have a good weekend yourself. I hope the weather is kind to you.
DeleteA lot of fun. I confess that many of the lyrics echo, but I was never cool enough to know all the words and tunes--and the mini looks great. Agree with Kerry--it has the bittersweetness of those songs--love songs, lost love songs, left love songs, wiser love songs--I especially like the heart of gold chromed to a wheel--K.
ReplyDeleteI love the young Joy in front of that incredible house.......this poem would make a perfect song for a mixed tape.......all it needs is the melody. Loved it.
ReplyDeleteOMG, I love all these guys, especially CCR (still love John Fogerty, even if he has gone C&W) and the Eagles, although Springsteen and Crosby, Stills & Nash are OK, too (remember when they were Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young?).
ReplyDeleteStill struggling with mine. I made a tape for my husband before I ever moved out here to Alberta. We called it "the seduction tape" and of course it's long gone, but I can only remember a few of the songs.
Trying (very).
K
Wonderful Joy! I loved the photo of you and all the magic you shared. Your ending is exactly how it feels!
ReplyDeleteYes, you packed it all into this mix disc, this platter-rondo tribute the one and only dance! Somehow you snipped enough to make the passage recognizable and didn't linger too long, which we never do when there's always the next song, the next engagement under the tracks. A hoot, though it surely dates us all who can manage to hum along with every island's song. Ah well. Makes me feel tangled up in blue.
ReplyDeleteThanks, B. Not a very serious write, but they can't all be I guess. I'm still revving on some of the lyrics myself--'you say he's a liar/and he put out your fire/how come you still got his gun in your hand?' priceless afa nailing the time to the wall, not to mention one's failings. Fortunately, the playlist keeps moving on. Thanks for reading. Hope you are back in the nest and have escaped from the nightmare dreams of the snow spirit.
Deletegreat poetic mash-up. these musicians really have killer phrases; the kinds that last through decades. Not immediately recognizing the lyrics, I was thinking your poem could easily stretch into a thick novel. a fun departure from your usual, though the your voice is still clear, esp. in those last two stanza.
ReplyDeletecontd. stanzas. (sorry for the twice entry, I got cut off)
ReplyDeleteI love the odd-focus of your authentic photograph. The complex photo-apps available now would do much for this perspective and color. In fact, I am sure they are trying to replicate it as we speak. Again, I am enjoying the listen to these songs that hold place in my formative heart.
Thanks, jane--it was fun to write. The photo I did manipulate to refocus more on the flag and to disguise the face of someone who I no longer am in touch with and who might not wish his youthful self splashed over the internet. ;_) That said, it is an old old photo, though taken by a good camera and photographer at the time(part of my wedding pictures to first husband, who is the appropriately dark, obscured figure coming through the door) I'm so glad you're enjoying the tunes--we were lucky to get so much poetry in our music, I think.
DeleteBe still my heart! Each piece of music you reference simply the best. Doing the happy dance now!
ReplyDeleteThis is so well woven. :)
ReplyDeleteSan Fran victorian, looks like. You've adroitly mixed these lyrics, Hedge, and I am keeping this open to listen after more visits ~
ReplyDeleteYep--the Mission. Van Ness, long ago in a galaxy far away. Hope you enjoy the mix.Thanks, M.
ReplyDeleteI lived on 24th and Church in Noe Valley, and for a while my GF lived in the Mission, where my car was broken into, and a leather backpack I'd got in Morocco was stolen, along with my soccer cleats. Bleep. But used to get the most rocking carne asada at El Toro at 18th and Mission - better than any I've ever had in southern California (though I no longer eat mammals). Yes, enjoyed the tunes - thanks ~
DeleteLove this... i was singing the songs as I read through it. So creative!!!
ReplyDelete