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Poems inspired by music
The_Silly_Sibyl
Jack Thomas
Forum Posts: 687
Jack Thomas
Fire of Insight
2
Joined 30th July 2015Forum Posts: 687
Post those you enjoy here. Or song lyrics with poetic qualities, if you like.
Here's a couple of poems by Langston Hughes, one of me favourite poets and a major figure in the Harlem Renaissance, whose work was inspired in part by the jazz music of his time:
The Weary Blues
Droning a drowsy syncopated tune,
Rocking back and forth to a mellow croon,
I heard a Negro play.
Down on Lenox Avenue the other night
By the pale dull pallor of an old gas light
He did a lazy sway...
He did a lazy sway...
To the tune o’ those Weary Blues.
With his ebony hands on each ivory key
He made that poor piano moan with melody.
O Blues!
Swaying to and fro on his rickety stool
He played that sad raggy tune like a musical fool.
Sweet Blues!
Coming from a black man’s soul.
O Blues!
In a deep song voice with a melancholy tone
I heard that Negro sing, that old piano moan -
“Ain’t got nobody in all this world,
Ain’t got nobody but ma self.
I’s gwine to quit ma frownin’
And put ma troubles on the shelf.”
Thump, thump, thump, went his foot on the floor.
He played a few chords then he sang some more -
“I got the Weary Blues
And I can’t be satisfied.
Got the Weary Blues
And can’t be satisfied -
I ain’t happy no mo’
And I wish that I had died.”
And far into the night he crooned that tune.
The stars went out and so did the moon.
The singer stopped playing and went to bed
While the Weary Blues echoed through his head.
He slept like a rock or a man that’s dead.
Misery
Play the blues for me.
Play the blues for me.
No other music
'Ll ease my misery.
Sing a soothin' song.
Said a soothin' song,
Cause the man I love's done
Done me wrong.
Can't you understand,
O, understand
A good woman's cryin'
For a no-good man?
Black gal like me,
Black gal like me
'S got to hear a blues
For her misery.
Here's a couple of poems by Langston Hughes, one of me favourite poets and a major figure in the Harlem Renaissance, whose work was inspired in part by the jazz music of his time:
The Weary Blues
Droning a drowsy syncopated tune,
Rocking back and forth to a mellow croon,
I heard a Negro play.
Down on Lenox Avenue the other night
By the pale dull pallor of an old gas light
He did a lazy sway...
He did a lazy sway...
To the tune o’ those Weary Blues.
With his ebony hands on each ivory key
He made that poor piano moan with melody.
O Blues!
Swaying to and fro on his rickety stool
He played that sad raggy tune like a musical fool.
Sweet Blues!
Coming from a black man’s soul.
O Blues!
In a deep song voice with a melancholy tone
I heard that Negro sing, that old piano moan -
“Ain’t got nobody in all this world,
Ain’t got nobody but ma self.
I’s gwine to quit ma frownin’
And put ma troubles on the shelf.”
Thump, thump, thump, went his foot on the floor.
He played a few chords then he sang some more -
“I got the Weary Blues
And I can’t be satisfied.
Got the Weary Blues
And can’t be satisfied -
I ain’t happy no mo’
And I wish that I had died.”
And far into the night he crooned that tune.
The stars went out and so did the moon.
The singer stopped playing and went to bed
While the Weary Blues echoed through his head.
He slept like a rock or a man that’s dead.
Misery
Play the blues for me.
Play the blues for me.
No other music
'Ll ease my misery.
Sing a soothin' song.
Said a soothin' song,
Cause the man I love's done
Done me wrong.
Can't you understand,
O, understand
A good woman's cryin'
For a no-good man?
Black gal like me,
Black gal like me
'S got to hear a blues
For her misery.
Kivie
Joined 20th Aug 2017
Forum Posts: 3
Strange Creature
Forum Posts: 3
Wow this was good or simply superb
#loveit
Give me a credit help me I want to share my poems plz help
#loveit
Give me a credit help me I want to share my poems plz help
RareEpiphany
Joined 24th Nov 2015
Forum Posts: 3
Lost Thinker
Forum Posts: 3
My favorites are lyrics in Donny Hathaway songs. This is one that he recorded and the lyrics were written in 1934 by Sam M. Lewis.
For all we know
We may never meet again
but before you go
make this moment sweet again
we won't say goodnight until the last minute
I'll hold out my hand
and my heart will be in it
For all we know
this may only be a dream
we come and we go like the ripples of a stream
so love me
love me tonight
tomorrow was made for some
tomorrow may never come
for all we know.
For all we know
We may never meet again
but before you go
make this moment sweet again
we won't say goodnight until the last minute
I'll hold out my hand
and my heart will be in it
For all we know
this may only be a dream
we come and we go like the ripples of a stream
so love me
love me tonight
tomorrow was made for some
tomorrow may never come
for all we know.
Hominis
Joined 26th Sep 2017
Forum Posts: 2
Strange Creature
Forum Posts: 2
Don't know if this counts really, but the lyrics Hozier writes for his songs are incredible:
Take Me To Church:
My lover's got humour
She's the giggle at a funeral
Knows everybody's disapproval
I should've worshipped her sooner
If the heavens ever did speak
She's the last true mouthpiece
Every Sunday's getting more bleak
A fresh poison each week
"We were born sick"
You heard them say it
My church offers no absolutes
She tells me "worship in the bedroom"
The only heaven I'll be sent to
Is when I'm alone with you
I was born sick, but I love it
Command me to be well
Amen, Amen, Amen
Take me to church
I'll worship like a dog at the shrine of your lies
I'll tell you my sins and you can sharpen your knife
Offer me that deathless death
Good God, let me give you my life
Take Me To Church:
My lover's got humour
She's the giggle at a funeral
Knows everybody's disapproval
I should've worshipped her sooner
If the heavens ever did speak
She's the last true mouthpiece
Every Sunday's getting more bleak
A fresh poison each week
"We were born sick"
You heard them say it
My church offers no absolutes
She tells me "worship in the bedroom"
The only heaven I'll be sent to
Is when I'm alone with you
I was born sick, but I love it
Command me to be well
Amen, Amen, Amen
Take me to church
I'll worship like a dog at the shrine of your lies
I'll tell you my sins and you can sharpen your knife
Offer me that deathless death
Good God, let me give you my life
tmoj
Forum Posts: 57
Twisted Dreamer
1
Joined 2nd Nov 2016Forum Posts: 57
Now the night
is coming to an end.
The sun will rise
and we will try again.
Stay alive, stay alive, for me.
You will die, but now your life is free,
Take pride
In what is sure to die
I will fear
the night again.
I hope I'm not
my only friend.
Stay alive, stay alive, for me
You will die, but now your life is free
Take pride
In what is sure to die
- Truce by Twenty One Pilots
is coming to an end.
The sun will rise
and we will try again.
Stay alive, stay alive, for me.
You will die, but now your life is free,
Take pride
In what is sure to die
I will fear
the night again.
I hope I'm not
my only friend.
Stay alive, stay alive, for me
You will die, but now your life is free
Take pride
In what is sure to die
- Truce by Twenty One Pilots
Anonymous
Eat Me, Drink Me - Marilyn Manson
In the wasteland on the way to the Red Queen
It's no wonder our stage clothes have dreams to be famous
The trees in the courtyard are painted in blood, so I've heard
She hangs the headless upside down to drain
Eat me, drink me
Eat me, drink me
This is only a game
This is only a game
I was invited to a beheading today
I thought I was a butterfly next to your flame
A rush of panic and the lock has been raped
This is only a game
This is only a game
But then our star rushes in, feeling like a child and looking like a woman
She's been forecast with an attempt to kill herself
But the ending didn't test well
I was invited to a beheading today
I thought I was a butterfly next to your flame
A rush of panic and the lock has been raped
This is only a game
This is only a game
But then our star rushes in, feeling like a child and looking like a woman
She's been forecast with an attempt to kill herself
But the ending didn't test well
Eat me, drink me
This is only a game
This is only a game
Eat me, drink me
This is only a game
This is only a game
And now I'm picking my skin and my scales
I see my horror mirrored in your sundown of a blank stare
I see my horror mirrored in your sundown of a blank stare
Then our star rushes in, feeling like a child and looking like a woman
She's been forecast with an attempt to kill herself
But the ending didn't test well
She's been forecast with an attempt to kill herself
But the ending didn't test well.
In the wasteland on the way to the Red Queen
It's no wonder our stage clothes have dreams to be famous
The trees in the courtyard are painted in blood, so I've heard
She hangs the headless upside down to drain
Eat me, drink me
Eat me, drink me
This is only a game
This is only a game
I was invited to a beheading today
I thought I was a butterfly next to your flame
A rush of panic and the lock has been raped
This is only a game
This is only a game
But then our star rushes in, feeling like a child and looking like a woman
She's been forecast with an attempt to kill herself
But the ending didn't test well
I was invited to a beheading today
I thought I was a butterfly next to your flame
A rush of panic and the lock has been raped
This is only a game
This is only a game
But then our star rushes in, feeling like a child and looking like a woman
She's been forecast with an attempt to kill herself
But the ending didn't test well
Eat me, drink me
This is only a game
This is only a game
Eat me, drink me
This is only a game
This is only a game
And now I'm picking my skin and my scales
I see my horror mirrored in your sundown of a blank stare
I see my horror mirrored in your sundown of a blank stare
Then our star rushes in, feeling like a child and looking like a woman
She's been forecast with an attempt to kill herself
But the ending didn't test well
She's been forecast with an attempt to kill herself
But the ending didn't test well.
tmoj
Forum Posts: 57
Twisted Dreamer
1
Joined 2nd Nov 2016Forum Posts: 57
The Weepies - World Spins Madly On
Woke up and wished that I was dead
With an aching in my head
I lay motionless in bed
I thought of you and where you'd gone
and let the world spin madly on
Everything that I said I'd do
Like make the world brand new
And take the time for you
I just got lost and slept right through the dawn
And the world spins madly on
I let the day go by
I always say goodbye
I watch the stars from my window sill
The whole world is moving and I'm standing still
Woke up and wished that I was dead
With an aching in my head
I lay motionless in bed
The night is here and the day is gone
And the world spins madly on
I thought of you and where you'd gone
And the world spins madly on.
Woke up and wished that I was dead
With an aching in my head
I lay motionless in bed
I thought of you and where you'd gone
and let the world spin madly on
Everything that I said I'd do
Like make the world brand new
And take the time for you
I just got lost and slept right through the dawn
And the world spins madly on
I let the day go by
I always say goodbye
I watch the stars from my window sill
The whole world is moving and I'm standing still
Woke up and wished that I was dead
With an aching in my head
I lay motionless in bed
The night is here and the day is gone
And the world spins madly on
I thought of you and where you'd gone
And the world spins madly on.
Troubled_1
Joined 27th Dec 2017
Forum Posts: 16
Lost Thinker
Forum Posts: 16
All my hero's are dead
Once again I can't understand or don't want to come to grips with the incarnate incurred, insanely painful product.
All my hero's have failed to live to the overweight, tarnished, really good when they were still interested in the art,
Museum dinosaurs we all know could be starring in any VH1 reality fuck up.
Anger for the wrong reasons.
This shit is definitely the most beautiful hurtful and awe inspiring process we witness and become part of.
Vicariously through the peep holes we share like headphones in study hall.
For amazing people who changed the
world's division into recognition and got us through break ups,death,greif, recovery and everything in between.
A fucked fate awaits.
Saliva and teeth poised to deprive us the privilege of jamming out to the new album or track,
Red light and....
Cacophony of friends and family being Free for the thirty seconds of traffic control.
Fucking waste and respect,
Admired and despised.
Sunglasses and pale skin.
Solo albums and world tours vacant and alive in the heart of any and every one.
Needless needles!
Stems and lines.
Shotgun and pistol.
Seattle lofts filled with my hero's dead stench.
I lose hope in the future a little more every time I get a call or text from friends.....bro guess who fucking died today or tomorrow or yesterday....
With amazing talent and the shit one needs to encounter to bleed and deliver us the privilege of screaming or rhyming, singing, air guitar solos no one else sees.
Comes the rain of human condition and choice...
All my hero's are dead.
Once again I can't understand or don't want to come to grips with the incarnate incurred, insanely painful product.
All my hero's have failed to live to the overweight, tarnished, really good when they were still interested in the art,
Museum dinosaurs we all know could be starring in any VH1 reality fuck up.
Anger for the wrong reasons.
This shit is definitely the most beautiful hurtful and awe inspiring process we witness and become part of.
Vicariously through the peep holes we share like headphones in study hall.
For amazing people who changed the
world's division into recognition and got us through break ups,death,greif, recovery and everything in between.
A fucked fate awaits.
Saliva and teeth poised to deprive us the privilege of jamming out to the new album or track,
Red light and....
Cacophony of friends and family being Free for the thirty seconds of traffic control.
Fucking waste and respect,
Admired and despised.
Sunglasses and pale skin.
Solo albums and world tours vacant and alive in the heart of any and every one.
Needless needles!
Stems and lines.
Shotgun and pistol.
Seattle lofts filled with my hero's dead stench.
I lose hope in the future a little more every time I get a call or text from friends.....bro guess who fucking died today or tomorrow or yesterday....
With amazing talent and the shit one needs to encounter to bleed and deliver us the privilege of screaming or rhyming, singing, air guitar solos no one else sees.
Comes the rain of human condition and choice...
All my hero's are dead.
JustOneMan
Joined 12th Jan 2018
Forum Posts: 4
Lost Thinker
Forum Posts: 4
I like this. Can I play backwards? For example, music inspired by poetry?
For example, in the movie 'Inception' - the premise being that all human beings are in a dream-state at any given time from which they are to "awaken", Hans Zimmer (whom I consider to be a genius) produces the following soundtrack:
1. "Half Remembered Dream" 1:12
2. "We Built Our Own World" 1:55
3. "Dream Is Collapsing" 2:28
4. "Radical Notion" 3:43
5. "Old Souls" 7:44
6. "528491" 2:23
7. "Mombasa" 4:54
8. "One Simple Idea" 2:28
9. "Dream Within a Dream" 5:04
10. "Waiting for a Train" 9:30
11. "Paradox" 3:25
12. "Time" 4:35
As we can see, almost all of the titles revolve around the topic of Sleep-states or "dreams". In the last track, we notice a consistent two-syllable "uttering" or motif. This motif (given the context) can be understood as the words "wake up' if a narrative is formed for the entire song. The method used is gradually expressing a subtle "wake up" as if whispered in the ear, which grows louder and louder, eventually reaching a loud brass-based "WAKE UP!" toward the end. This narrative illustrates the predicament of life - gradually waking up to ourselves.
I see I can not post links yet, but one can easily search Youtube for Inception: Time. It has almost 85 000 000 views.
I tend to see all romantic-inspired music this way - all the way back to Beethoven. He was a genius-turned-nutcase-turned-genius!
For example, in the movie 'Inception' - the premise being that all human beings are in a dream-state at any given time from which they are to "awaken", Hans Zimmer (whom I consider to be a genius) produces the following soundtrack:
1. "Half Remembered Dream" 1:12
2. "We Built Our Own World" 1:55
3. "Dream Is Collapsing" 2:28
4. "Radical Notion" 3:43
5. "Old Souls" 7:44
6. "528491" 2:23
7. "Mombasa" 4:54
8. "One Simple Idea" 2:28
9. "Dream Within a Dream" 5:04
10. "Waiting for a Train" 9:30
11. "Paradox" 3:25
12. "Time" 4:35
As we can see, almost all of the titles revolve around the topic of Sleep-states or "dreams". In the last track, we notice a consistent two-syllable "uttering" or motif. This motif (given the context) can be understood as the words "wake up' if a narrative is formed for the entire song. The method used is gradually expressing a subtle "wake up" as if whispered in the ear, which grows louder and louder, eventually reaching a loud brass-based "WAKE UP!" toward the end. This narrative illustrates the predicament of life - gradually waking up to ourselves.
I see I can not post links yet, but one can easily search Youtube for Inception: Time. It has almost 85 000 000 views.
I tend to see all romantic-inspired music this way - all the way back to Beethoven. He was a genius-turned-nutcase-turned-genius!