On Some Wordsmithing

 

Writers play with words. It’s what writers do.The type of writing doesn’t matter. Poetry, songs, short stories, novels, non-fiction, journalism. I suspect even technical writers who are producing the directions on how to put together that toy you bought for your kid for Christmas.

Sometimes, they come up with perfect descriptions as Christopher Moore does in his novel Noir:

“That’s when the first kiss happened. It was the kind of kiss that he wanted to wake up to and keep refreshing periodically until he got one long last one, salty with tears, in his casket.”

I’m sure there are countless other passages that one could point to that are, at least to the reader, perfect. But, it is the process a writer goes through after getting an idea that makes it perfect. The tinkering, the revision, the tossing into the trash part of the process that sometimes gets ignored.

Supposedly, Ezra Pound started with about eighteen lines of poetry before winnowing it down to the two lines that is “In a Station at the Metro” -- 

The apparition of these faces in the crowd:

Petals on a wet, black bough.

It’s what writers do. They find the right words to say what they mean and the right words that mean what they say. That’s the tricky part.

Sometimes it’s even the smallest of words. Reportedly, Pound still wanted to get rid of the “a” in the second line.

***

I ran across this in Poetry Magazine years ago. It still captures what a writer struggles with in the process of producing exactly the right wording.

The

The difference between

“the shining” and “shining.”

The difference between 

“fingers of clover” and 

“fingers of the clover.”

The difference between 

“a daisy” and “the daisy.”

The painter steps back from his canvas, 

returns to make 

one bit of sky greener.

The mechanic adjusts a bolt.

Now let’s see how this wheel spins.

A writer is an artist, words are the tool, but the writer is just like the mechanic, always adjusting to see what happens next.

***

Still, it all starts with an idea. One that, as Wislawa Szymborska says, the writer invites in and tries to find out more about it. 

An idea came to me for 

a rhyme? a poem? 

Well, fine -- I say -- stay awhile, we’ll talk.

Tell me a little more about yourself.

***

I taught high school writing for 35 years. I’ve had the pleasure of having a few students who get this, and some are trying to make a career out of it. My advice is to keep writing. Keep playing around with the words. Make love to the words. Accept what they give you. Find the secrets they are hiding.

***

Obviously, I think Moore, Kresh, and Szymborska are good wordsmiths. I could name dozens, maybe hundreds who do equally well. Poets, songwriters, fiction and nonfiction. It’s what they do. 

Let's Call It Folk On Not Folk Festival - Newport 2021

My wife and I had a great time over the weekend of this year’s Newport Let’s Call it Folk On Not Folk Festival event. 

The Newport organizers decided to hold the festivities over six days rather than the normal three days due to COVID protocols and reduced capacity.  

Yet, some people in social media seem to forget what the Newport experience is supposed to be.

I've been reading several posts complaining about the weekend vs the weekday lineups, not enough dancing, somber moods, scheduling snafus and miscommunications, that things could have been better, that it should always be six days now, the music was too loud, too soft, not real folk. An entire myriad of supposed slights. My suggestion to the powers that be is to let all this roll off their backs.

As I've said before, I had a great time this weekend. I don't have the discretionary money that some people have to spend on seven nights of hotels at the summer vacation rates of Newport. I'm not 30 anymore and I know six days is way too much no matter how much hydrating and  sun screening I do. 

I got to hear and see some damn good artists perform some damn good sets. Randy Newman is older than me, and got into an argument with a fog horn playing the wrong key when it should always be in the key of G, which, in the words of Pete Seeger, is the people's key. Billy Strings paid tribute to Doc Watson and proved why he is the best damn flat picker in the country and why you don’t have to play loud, you just have to play. Jason Isbel said he loved the importance of the song writing of Newman. Margo Price paid homage to Joan Baez, Joy Oladokun paid tribute to Odetta. That connection to the greats of Newports past in always important. Shakey Graves may me cry on Friday. Jay Sweet could hardly get through his speech about the Prine Scholarship. In short, there were more than enough Newport moments for me.

Usually I discover a new artist about whom there is little if any buzz or popularity, someone I didn’t know existed. There are a lot of artists I’ve never heard of.  Sometimes they are known and popular with other people. Groups like Dawes and Deer Tick were on a lot of New England radars before I ever heard of them. But there are others like Kaia Kater, Kyle Craft, Lankum, Cimarron, Christopher Paul Stelling. This year Joy Oladokun was that someone I never heard of, but, in typical Newport fashion, was immediately entranced. 

My wife and I were asked to busk this year. Yes, there were some hiccups as this is the first time they were trying it. I don’t know if they will continue or how. I have suggestions if they ask. The fact is that someone suggested us as buskers and they asked us. As Wattle & Daub we got to play two full sets on the steps of the Museum. We were thrilled. We remain grateful to Chris Funk of the Decemberists for his recommendation. 

They asked if we wanted to play on the Quad or on the steps of the Museum. The choice was easy. The Museum is where we spend most of our time. It holds what has become known as “For Pete’s Sake.” It’s the smallest stage with the biggest heart.

All in all it was a good weekend. Some are saying the weekday lineup is better. I don’t know. I wish we could have stayed for the Christopher Paul Stelling set, but like I said … discretionary spending is seemingly unlimited for others. I honestly don’t know what the beef is or why.

As much as Newport charges for hotels, services, etc. one must remember that when everything was cancelled last year, people lost money. Waiters and waitresses didn’t get tips. Venues like Jimmy’s Saloon no longer exist. The hotel we’ve stayed at the last two times is not a chain place. It’s family owned and operated. Having a year without income was particularly hard, and it was only because they had another income source that they were able to make it through the pandemic. This year was hard on a lot of people.In the grand scheme of things, these complaints about lineups, this whining, is meaningless. It’s just people whining and complaining. The musicians and workers whose lives depend on the money generated by the festival needed the weekend probably a lot more that those attending. 

The Newport Foundation helps music education. They do good work. That’s what is important. Whether I got to see somebody, whether somebody else did on Monday - Wednesday doesn’t matter. People are still hungry. War still exists, Climate is still changing. People still get shot. All the problems of the world and our country didn’t go away over the weekend and they sure as hell ain’t going away over the week day events. In the grand scheme of things, petty complaints don’t mean shit. I believe the people of the festival and its foundation know that. Everyone in the music business is relearning what to do, when, how, and what people want to hear. The people at the festival are no different and whatever mistakes they may have made this year, I am sure they will learn from it.

My wife's dad passed away before the festival. Because we were doing a small tour, I drove our gear out to Newport and attended Friday alone. She flew in on Friday night. We busked on Saturday and Sunday.

We want to thank Chris Funk for suggesting us as buskers. And we want to thank the people of the festival for having us. 

These are pictures of us busking on the steps of the museum stage. We had fun. We want to be inside that hallowed building again next year. Maybe even doing what we did this year. 

       

    

    

     

 

More Words in Search of a Place in the World

Today is Pete Seeger's date of birth. He would have been 102 this year.

He is still sorely missed. He believed the world will change if people participate. I believe that too. Pete got people to sing. That was his way. I like when people sing with me and my wife. It's our way and the audience's way of participating.

Pete wrote songs. I write some. My wife writes some. Sometimes we write them alone, sometimes together. 

The writing process is in some ways easy and in others frustrating. Sometimes the words and melody come easy and quick. Other times it is a single line that comes and then ruminates and hangs around in the brain, getting lost in the shuffle of life only to arise unexpectedly a year later to say, "Here I am again, I belong in a song." These are simply such words and thoughts that might make it out to the rest of the world someday. Sort of still searching for a full melody to carry them off. Happy Birthday, Pete.

When I die, spread my ashes wide

Let winds carry me wherever they may blow

Don’t put me in a box or on a shelf inside

Take me places I have never been but want to go

When I die, throw my ashes in the air

Let the winds take me wherever they go

I still want to hear your voice

I want to hear your song

Sing it loud, sing it strong

Sing it when you need

to right all things wrong.

Farmers work the land

Workers take a stand

Raising the food we eat

Making things we need

And barely getting by

The bankers own the farm

They own the houses too

And barely getting by

Means that come each month, 

the interest is still due

The bosses pay the workers

As little as they can

It really doesn’t matter

If you’re white or black or tan

If we could raise the food we eat

And make the things we need

There’d be no need for bosses 

And bankers would be on their knees

The bosses ride our asses 

When we should be riding theirs

And the interest the bankers want

Shouldn’t be our worry or our cares.

====

It’s gonna be a long summer

Marching in the street

Voting with our feet

It’s gonna be a long summer

===

When I die throw me the air

Let the winds take me

Wherever they blow

Or toss me in a river

And the water carry me

Wherever it flows

But it you choose to bury me

Let it be not so deep

So that I can rise again

And in your memory keep

Let us walk together

Hand in hand

Until the day comes 

When we no longer have to stand

And raise our voices loud

To right the wrongs we see around us.

===

How did we get so willing

To put up with all this killing

Ain’t it time

Ain’t it time

To learn to love our neighbors once again.

I’ve got this empty rifle here

I’ve got no ammunition

Nothing left to fight with

Except my wits and intuition

Can anybody tell me

Why this fightin’s keeping on

Ain't it time to lay our weapons down

Ain’t it time

It seems there are bodies everywhere

As we walk these streets alone

The blood that’s on our hands

The tears we’ve shed alone

Too many wounds have bled too long

Too many tears, tears of grief, tears of rage

Have led us all to this mournful song

Is this what we dreamt of

When we fought and won 

What we called our liberty

Is this what it now takes

Or are we no longer free

Are these weapons 

Another link in the chain of tyranny.

Wattle & Daub Meet a Vet

Before the pandemic hit, as Wattle & Daub, Susan and I frequented The Coffeehouse at Chestnut and Pine, a coffee shop that hosted a weekly open stage on Thursday nights. We did a couple of songs one night, one of which was “Sandlot Boys” off our first album Struggles and Love.

After the last performer that evening we headed to our car. As we loaded our guitars in the car, a gentleman wearing a “Vietnam Veteran”cap stopped us. We thought at first that he was going to confront us about something. Instead, he said, “I’ve been coming to this open mic for a couple of months now and that was the first protest song I’ve heard here. Thanks.” That made for a pleasant ride home.

Over the next couple of weeks, we got a chance to chat more with the guy and learned that he got a guitar from “Guitars for Vets,” a nonprofit group based in Milwaukee, WI. We knew of the group because it was one of the organizations that received funding from the Newport Festival Foundation. We encouraged the man to bring the guitar to the open mic and show us what he’s learned.

Then the pandemic hit, and it’s been a year since any live music has been heard at that small venue in Burlington, WI. Fortunately, they decided to offer the opportunity to submit videos to be shown on the same Thursday nights. We’ve done several ourselves and were pleased to see that that vet who spoke those kind words decided to do the same. 

The good work of the Newport Festivals Foundation and Guitar for Vets is evident. This is Bruce’s latest effort. You can see him at around the 57:00 mark in the video.

https://facebook.com/TheCoffeeHouseAtChestnutPine/videos/368160077827141

In addition to providing the music for the Newport Folk and Jazz Festivals, the Foundation provides money and grants to numerous music programs around the country. With the pandemic, they've also assisted artists hit hard from the lack of performance opportunities. You can donate to them here.

You can donate to Guitars for Vets here.

That Volvo Commercial with Pete Seeger

 Last year Volvo started a new ad campaign for their XC90 SUV. In two variations of the ad, a young couple finds out that they are having twins. The ad shows the couple as harried and tired from taking care of twins and all the requisite running around like chickens with their heads cut off. In both ads, the safety features of Volvo. In the ad running frequently in the United States,  titled "The Parents," the couple is rushing out the door with the kids in the back seat and the auto-braking feature stops the vehicle before exiting a long blind driveway:

In the what I assume is a European version, the woman is driving on a long highway at night, obviously tired, presumably heading home from a late evening diaper run. In this ad the safety feature highlighted in the lane assist that pulls the car back safely into the proper side of the road:

Both ads end with the words, "The car that looks after you, like you look after others."

The first time I saw the commercial, I heard that distinctive voice of Pete Seeger. The song is "Hard Times in the Mill." an old labor song that Seeger recorded in 1956 for album American Industrial Ballads. Let me say straight off that I liked it right away. And every time I hear it, I smile, not because of the commercial, but because it's Pete Seeger's voice.

Some people don't like it. They think Pete wouldn't approve of his music being used for a commercial, let alone a commercial for what is a luxury vehicle. They speak knowingly of how a Pete of a half century ago didn't want to advertise for a cigarette commercial. They speak of Pete rolling in his grave. They speak of the car being sold to rich yuppies. Etc.

I don't care. I still smile when I hear that voice. Every. Damn. Time. As I wrote last year when John Prine died, Pete wanted us to sing together. Pete wanted us to participate together as humans. He once said, “There is something about participating; it is almost my religion. If the world is still here in 100 years, people will know the importance of participating, not just being spectators.”

And that participation is all the more possible because of the song. The song is about hard word, whether it's in the mill or in the job of being a parent. The worker in the song and the parents in the ad are the same in that regard.

Yes, the Volvo XC90 is pricey. The average lifespan of a Volvo is 20 years, a pretty good investment. The vehicle is also available as a hybrid model, something the environmentalist in Pete would probably admire. Also, Volvo has pledged that their entire fleet will be all electric by 2025, something of which Pete would also approve.

.

Two possible monetary scenarios exist. One is that Seeger's estate, that is, his family sold the rights. What is wrong with that? The other is that the original publisher, Smithsonian Folkways, sold the rights. Given that the Smithsonian constantly promotes his music and the music of other traditions, the money earned from this can help them preserve this and other music. Again, what is wrong with that?

The truth is no one really knows if Pete would have done this. We don't even know if he owned the rights. Any suggestion is just conjecture.

The song is about hard work. The parents depicted are doing hard word. It's a good car that is safe for its owners and the environment.