Spinning in Infinity

OK, OK, so this isn't strictly a poem, but I do think songwriters are some of the last and this century's best poets.Suede's Brett Anderson was even invited to read his lyrics at the Bristol Poetry Festival a couple of years ago, not that that proves anything!

Anyway, Paul Simon is one of my favourite songwriters. The words for America gives me goosebumps and this one always makes me smile, especially the bit about the "roly-poly little bat-faced girl" (hey, that's me!! Ha-Ha!)

You Can Call Me Al
A man walks down the street
He says why am I soft in the middle now
Why am I soft in the middle
The rest of my life is so hard
I need a photo-opportunity
I want a shot at redemption
Don't want to end up a cartoon
In a cartoon graveyard

Bonedigger Bonedigger
Dogs in the moonlight
Far away my well-lit door
Mr. Beerbelly Beerbelly
Get these mutts away from me
You know I don't find this stuff amusing anymore

If you'll be my bodyguard
I can be your long lost pal
I can call you Betty
And Betty when you call me
You can call me Al

A man walks down the street
He says why am I short of attention
Got a short little span of attention
And whoa my nights are so long
Where's my wife and family
What if I die here
Who'll be my role-model
Now that my role-model is
Gone Gone
He ducked back down the alley
With some roly-poly little bat-faced girl
All along along
There were incidents and accidents
There were hints and allegations

A man walks down the street
It's a street in a strange world
Maybe it's the Third World
Maybe it's his first time around
He doesn't speak the language
He holds no currency
He is a foreign man
He is surrounded by the sound
The sound
Cattle in the marketplace
Scatterlings and orphanages
He looks around, around
He sees angels in the architecture
Spinning in infinity
He says Amen! and Hallelujah!

Paul Simon

Comments

[Daphne]

This reminds me of the start of my friendship with a fellow Suede fan because I managed to drag Brett Anderson into a discussion on boarding school books! BA is working on an album with ex-Suede guitarist Bernard Butler. Their band is called The Tears (a nod at Philip Larkin). The album is out next Spring.

As for Kylie, she can currently be seen on a Channel V Asia promo, going: "Everybody's doing a brand new dance now ..."

[Lee]

Whatever happened to Brett Anderson? Actually you remind me of that splendid recital by Kylie Minogue at The Poetry Olympics at The Royal Albert Hall in London. She spoke, very matter of factly: "In my imagination" [pause] "There is no complication"...and at this point the audience recognised the verse (her song, I Should Be So Lucky) and she got an outstanding applause. It really was funny. :)