"MEADOWLARK"

MARY OLIVER 

 

Has anyone seen meadowlark?

I’ve been looking for probably 

forty years now

unsuccessfully. 

He used to live in the field 

 I crossed many a morning 

heading to the woods,

 truant again from school. 

There were no meadowlarks in the school. 

Which was a good enough reason for me 

not to want to be there. 

But now it’s more serious. 

There is no field, neither have the woods survived. 

So, where is meadowlark?

 If anyone has seen him, please would you let me know 

posthaste?

"STORAGE"

MARY OLIVER 

When I moved from one house to another
there were many things I had no room
for. What does one do? I rented a storage
space. And filled it. Years passed.
Occasionally I went there and looked in,
but nothing happened, not a single
twinge of the heart.
As I grew older the things I cared
about grew fewer, but were more
important. So one day I undid the lock
and called the trash man. He took
everything.
I felt like the little donkey when
his burden was finally lifted. Things!
Burn them, burn them! Make a beautiful
fire! More room in your heart for love,
for the trees! For the birds who own
nothing - the reason they can fly.

"COWBOY"

BILL CALLAHAM 

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GeZWA1_3ULs 

Well, I've been living like a cowboy
On the late, late movie

All I need is whisky, water, tortillas and beans
And buffalo meat, one time per week
And give me some loving
When I come to town

Riding in on a conversation the morning after
The late, late movie stays with me

Through the mountain past and the prairie grass
Crossing the border like a river
It's all one river
It's all one river crossing
So many times, I can't remember one river

Trying to fit it all in
Before the test pattern and the anthem
And off to bed you go, and off to sleep
And off to dream that trail you ride

 

"THE MACKENZIES"

BILL CALLAHAN 

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bc5mU2-sKcU 

My car broke down
In front of my house
I was turning it over and over
And an older man came runnin' out
He said "Don't you do that, son
You'll only make it worse

I'll call my buddy Koji
He can fix anything
And he owes me
And my just look at the time
It's almost beer-thirty
Ya must be thirsty
Come on inside with me
Join the family"
Inside it seemed a place had already been laid for me

We never met before
Despite livin' next door
See I'm the type of guy
Who sees a neighbor outside
And stays inside and hides
I'll run that errand another time

As Jack and I bonded over our love of Mel Tormé
And the early movies of Kid and Play
Brenda brought the drinks in on a tray
And said "For dinner you must stay"
It was such a comfy and cozy den
And I wished that Jack would call me "son" again

After dinner we talked some more
Brenda stretched and quickly said
"Let me show you to your bed"

There were photos on the wall
Of a boy maybe twenty-one or so
Leanin' against a brand new Camaro
I could tell by his eyes that he had died
Some time ago
And his room kept alive

I peaked outside through the blinds
At my house next door in the sun
Wife in the rec room
Kids'd be home from school soon
I thought I'd just shut my eyes for five

When I opened them again
Night had come
And brought two figures to the door
And they said "Son, it's okay."
"It's okay. Son. Son. We're okay. We're okay."

"HEAVEN UP THERE"

PALACE

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1cS_i-zDdxg 

Well the night is gone
And the shadows clear
When I hear my song
The grave beneath
See what you want
But the rising tide
I'm a force of god
A thousand lives
I take what I want
'Cause I'm the frightening sky
I'm a selfish man
Designed to die

But is it heaven up there?
But is it heaven up there?
But is it heaven up there?
Because it's hell down here

But even exist in space
To separate us from them
To know that your blood runs thin
Still live with the truth within
So scrape up the bruise I wear
And eradicate all my fears
But planning to walk these stairs
I don't know where my future is
I don't know where my future is

Is it heaven up there?
Is it heaven up there?
Is it heaven up there?
Is it heaven up there?

Say I've been blind
For the use of my time
I'm gonna be a better man
The ground that I stand
There's something out there
Just know that I've cared
Do this side by side
Motion with the tide

Ooh ooh ooh
Ooh ooh ooh
Ooh ooh ooh
Ooh ooh ooh

Is it heaven up there?
Is it heaven up there?
Is it heaven up there?
'Cause it's hell down here
Yes, it's hell down here

Is this heaven up there?
I know there's heaven up there
I know there's heaven up there
'Cause there's heaven up there

"LA VALSE À MILLE TEMPS"

JACQUES BREL 

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ovPwUihaVdE 

Au premier temps de la valse
Toute seule tu souris déjà
Au premier temps de la valse
Je suis seul mais je t'aperçois
Et Paris qui bat la mesure
Paris qui mesure notre émoi
Et Paris qui bat la mesure
Me murmure, murmure tout bas

Une valse à trois temps
Qui s'offre encore le temps
Qui s'offre encore le temps de s'offrir des détours du côté de l'amour
Comme c'est charmant, une valse à quatre temps
C'est beaucoup moins dansant
C'est beaucoup moins dansant mais tout aussi charmant qu'une valse à trois temps
Une valse à quatre temps, une valse à vingt ans
C'est beaucoup plus troublant
C'est beaucoup plus troublant mais beaucoup plus charmant qu'une valse à trois temps
Une valse à vingt ans, une valse à cent temps
Une valse à cent ans
Une valse ça s'entend à chaque carrefour
Dans Paris que l'amour rafraîchit au printemps, une valse à mille temps
Une valse à mille temps
Une valse a mis le temps de patienter vingt ans
Pour que tu aies vingt ans et pour que j'aie vingt ans, une valse à mille temps
Une valse à mille temps
Une valse à mille temps offre seule aux amants trois cent trente-trois fois le temps
De bâtir un roman au deuxième

Temps de la valse
On est deux, tu es dans mes bras
Au deuxième temps de la valse
Nous comptons tous les deux une-deux-trois
Et Paris qui bat la mesure
Paris qui mesure notre émoi
Et Paris qui bat la mesure
Nous fredonne, fredonne déjà

Une valse à trois temps
Qui s'offre encore le temps
Qui s'offre encore le temps de s'offrir des détours du côté de l'amour
Comme c'est charmant, une valse à quatre temps
C'est beaucoup moins dansant
C'est beaucoup moins dansant mais tout aussi charmant qu'une valse à trois temps
Une valse à quatre temps, une valse à vingt ans
C'est beaucoup plus troublant
C'est beaucoup plus troublant mais beaucoup plus charmant qu'une valse à trois temps
Une valse à vingt ans, une valse à cent temps
Une valse à cent ans
Une valse ça s'entend à chaque carrefour dans Paris que l'amour
Rafraîchit au printemps, une valse à mille temps
Une valse à mille temps
Une valse a mis le temps de patienter vingt ans pour que tu aies vingt ans
Et pour que j'aie vingt ans, une valse à mille temps
Une valse à mille temps
Une valse à mille temps offre seule aux amants trois cent trente-trois fois le temps
De bâtir un roman au troisième

Temps de la valse
Nous valsons enfin tous les trois
Au troisième temps de la valse
Il y a toi y a l'amour et y a moi
Et Paris qui bat la mesure
Paris qui mesure notre émoi
Et Paris qui bat la mesure
Laisse enfin éclater sa joie

Une valse à trois temps
Qui s'offre encore le temps
Qui s'offre encore le temps de s'offrir des détours du côté de l'amour
Comme c'est charmant une valse à quatre temps
C'est beaucoup moins dansant
C'est beaucoup moins dansant mais tout aussi charmant qu'une valse à trois temps
Une valse à quatre temps, une valse à vingt ans
C'est beaucoup plus troublant
C'est beaucoup plus troublant mais beaucoup plus charmant qu'une valse à trois temps
Une valse à vingt ans, une valse à cent temps
Une valse à cent ans
Une valse ça s'entend à chaque carrefour dans Paris que l'amour
Rafraîchit au printemps, une valse à mille temps
Une valse à mille temps
Une valse a mis le temps de patienter vingt ans pour que tu aies vingt ans
Et pour que j'aie vingt ans, une valse à mille temps
Une valse à mille temps
Une valse à mille temps offre seule aux amants trois cent trente-trois fois le temps
De bâtir un roman, la-la-la-la
Da-da-da
La-la-la-la, la-la!

"MY OWN VERSION OF YOU"

BOB DYLAN 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CERo3DpxCrA 

All through the summers, into January
I've been visiting mosques and monasteries
Looking for the necessary body parts
Limbs and livers and brains and hearts
I'll bring someone to life, is what I wanna do
I wanna create my own version of you

Well, it must be the winter of my discontent
I wish you'd've taken me with you wherever you went
They talk all night and they talk all day
But not for a minute, do I believe anything they say
I'm gon' bring someone to life, someone I've never seen
You know what I mean, you know exactly what I mean

I'll take the scar-faced Pacino and the Godfather vandal
Mix it up and attack, and get a robot commander
If I do it up right and put the head on straight
I'll be saved by the creature that I create
I'll get blood from a cactus, gunpowder from ice
I don't gamble with cards and I don't shoot no dice
Can you look in my face with your sightless eyes?
Can you cross your heart and hope to die?
I'll bring someone to life, someone for real
Someone who feels the way that I feel

I study Sanskrit and Arabic to improve my mind
I wanna do things for the benefit of all mankind
I say to the willow tree, "Don't wait for me"
I'm saying to hell with all things that used to be
Well, I get into trouble, then I hit the wall
No place to turn, no place at all
I'll pick a number between a-one and two
And I ask myself, "What would Julius Caesar do?"
I will bring someone to life in more ways than one
Don't matter how long it takes, it'll be done when it's done

I'm gonna make you play the piano like Leon Russell
Like Liberace, like St. John the Apostle
I'll play every number that I can play
I'll see you maybe on Judgment Day
After midnight, if you still wanna meet
I'll be at the Black Horse Tavern on Armageddon Street
Two doors down, not that far a walk
I'll hear your footsteps, you won't have to knock
I'll bring someone to life, balance the scales
I'm not gonna get involved any insignificant details

You can bring it to St. Peter, you can bring it to Jerome
You can bring it all the way over, bring it all the way home
Bring it to the corner where the children play
You can bring it to me on a silver tray
I'll bring someone to life, spare no expense
Do it with decency and common sense

Can you tell me what it means, to be or not to be?
You won't get away with fooling me
Can you help me walk that good land mile?
Can you give me the blessings of your smile?
I'll bring someone to life, use all of my powers
Do it in the dark in the wee, small hours

I can see the history of the whole human race
It's all right there, it's carved into your face
Should I break it all down? Should I fall on my knees?
Is there light at the end of the tunnel, can you tell me please?
Stand over there by the cypress tree
Where the Trojan women and children are sold into slavery
Long before the first Crusade
Way back 'fore England or America were made
Step right into the burnin' hell
Where some of the best-known enemies of mankind dwell
Mr. Freud with his dreams, Mr. Marx with his ax
See the raw hide lash rip the skin from their backs

Got the right spirit, you can feel it you can hear it
You've got what they call the immortal spirit
You can feel it all night, you can feel it in the morn
It creeps in your body, the day you were born
One strike of lightning is all that I need
And a blast of electricity that runs at top speed
Shimmy your ribs, I'll stick in the knife
Gonna jump-start my creation to life
I wanna bring someone to life, turn back the years
Do it with laughter and do it with tears