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speaking of Jackson Browne
| Open Poetry #8 |
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speaking of Jackson Browne |
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RAM Member
since 2000-03-24
Posts 153 |
the following was done as an exercise which had us writing new lyrics to a song we knew well: For Harvey Sometimes I see your friendly smile, this distance down through time, and I wonder what fate might have dealt if you had reached your prime. That smile, though not quite legal, was not your only crime - your conscience wasn't drafted so your body did some time. I never had to face that challenge - that's the only lottery I've ever won; and though I thought you were prepared to face the challenge, it seemed you were not ready for what it would become when handled by the keepers of the guns, who felt that what you did you had done to them. Although I lost some closer friends who chose the other way, and I honored the choice they made then, and I do so more today, still I question were they listening to what you tried to say, or were you just in search of an excuse to go away. You must have faced some other challenge than the one to solve the war or peace debate; it must have been a deep and intense inner challenge that never troubled those of us who felt our heads were straight. Did your desperate act assist or defeat fate? Did you lack the courage to await your end? I feel that there are causes which might be worth dying for, but I've always questioned taking life even in a time of war; and when the life you take is one which you have claimed is yours, you've changed some lives you would have touched and those you touched before. Now we are left to face the challenge of making all the different pieces fit into this puzzle which presents a double challenge of making sense of what you did, without defending it, and forgiving what we cannot quite forget. Our candle is your smile; can it be lit again? © RAM 10/6/94 |
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Corinne Member Ascendant
since 1999-10-28
Posts 5167state of confusion |
A very touching, poignant piece, Rick. Thanks for posting it. Corinne |
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Janet Marie Member Laureate
since 2000-01-22
Posts 18554 |
Ram, EXCELLENT rewrite... wonderful touching tribute... you wrote a tender verse there... did Jackson proud... he was a poet first...then a singer  later-old gator J/K lol Song For Adam Jackson Browne Saturate Before Using Though Adam was a friend of mine, I did not know him well He was alone into his distance He was deep into his well I could guess what he was laughing at, but I couldn't really tell Now the story's told that Adam jumped, but I've been thinking that he fell Together we went traveling, as we received the call His destination India, and I had none at all Well, I still remember laughing with our backs against the wall So free of fear, we never thought that one of us might fall I sit before my only candle, but it's so little light to find my way Now this story unfolds before my candle Which is shorter every hour as it reaches for the day But I feel just like a candle in the way I guess I'll get there, but I wouldn't say for sure When we parted we were laughing still, as our goodbyes were said And I never heard from him again as each our lives we led Except for once in someone else's letter that I read Until I heard the sudden word that a friend of mine was dead I sit before my only candle, like a pilgrim sits beside the way Now this journey appears before my candle As a song that's growing fainter the harder that I play That I fear before I am a fade away But I guess I'll get there, though I wouldn't say for sure Though Adam was a friend of mine, I did not know him long And when I stood myself beside him, I never though I was as strong Still it seems he stopped his singing in the middle of his song Well I'm not the one to say I know, but I'm hoping he was wrong I'm holding out my only candle, though it's so little light to find my way Now this story's been laid beneath my candle And it's shorter every hour as it reaches for the day Yes, I feel just like a candle in the way I hope I'll get there, but I've never prayed. |
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RAM Member
since 2000-03-24
Posts 153 |
Thanks, Core. Harvey was quite a guy, with quite a smile. I've wondered, from time to time, what would have come from his life if he had gotten it together instead of discarding it. Thanks, Janet. Glad you picked up on which JB song I based that on. I forgot to mention it in my post. Did the Song for Adam lyrics come from that website you posted the link for, Janet? Someone did a lot of work on that site. But, they could have maybe used a proof reader.  I see a few words they got wrong. LOLRick |
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Janet Marie Member Laureate
since 2000-01-22
Posts 18554 |
hi, yes the lyrics to every song are on that site and I too was impressed with it... one of the nicest tributes I've seen to JB... and by the way ... Speaking of Jackson Browne.... check out my post "Turn on the Music" something I'd been working on for awhile for "fun" and was unable to finish for whatever reasons but your and Corinne's posts helped inspire me to do so .. SO THANKS Tell C, for melater-dino-gators jm Now for me some words come easy But I know that they don't mean that much Compared with the things that are said when lovers touch You never knew what I loved in you I don't know what you loved in me Maybe the picture of somebody you were hoping I might be Awake again I can't pretend And I know I'm alone And close to the end Of the feeling we've known ... How long I've been sleeping How long have I been drifting alone through the night How long have I been running for that morning flight Through the whispered promises and the changing light In the bed where we both lie Late for the sky Jackson Browne |
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