Question

[quesarah]

The poetry meme got me thinking about my tendency (as a visual learner) to lock on to poems or song lyrics with a strong visual component. One line or couplet can lock an image in my mind, and off I go constructing a complete narrative around that image.

One of my faves is from a Liz Phair song called "It's Sweet." The song itself is a wistful ode to a naive man who's making more out of their affair than she is. She allows herself to enjoy the infatuation and he, recognizing her cynicism, tries to minimize it. The bridge is what makes the song for me; just one line, in a halting syncopated rhythm to set it apart from the rest of the lyric:

In the early light I catch you staring, and you make a joke about it

I see that scene, and because I see it my imagination is captured by the song.

Another one, from Wilco's Hidden Track on the Summerteeth album:

The ashtray says you've been up all night

Jeff Tweedy rocks my socks.

So, curious: do any of you have a line or couplet (not a verse, that's not what I'm referring to) that captures your imagination in this way? If so, share please.

Comments

[sionnain.livejournal.com]

I knew you were cool.

I love Wilco.I love SunVolt. I love Uncle Tupelo. I love Ryan Adams, Whiskeytown, and got engaged to an Old 97's song.

Alt-country rocks.

[biogeekgrrl.livejournal.com]

I love that stuff because it gets at the heart of where genres of music intersect and influence each other. You hear rock, R&B, country. And there's no pretense or artifice; it's all about the soul.

Like all the covers of Marley's "Redemption Song;" at first, it may seem odd that Joe Strummer and Johnny Cash both covered it, but both of them were artists who weren't afraid to live and create in that crossroads of music. They felt the power and the soul in different genres, and so could connect with the power and soul in "Redemption Song."