Loud clang of goodnight
And the sky’s dusty taste –
Explain romance to me
###
This poem was written for Carpe Diem Special #117, Tomas Tranströmer’s 3rd “a mother of stone”, another great prompt hosted by Chèvrefeuille at Carpe Diem Haiku Kai. All of the poems in the link-up can be read here. As for the song, a friend of mine once trod on Nick Cave’s foot; it was a complete accident, but he was so riled by the incident that he went on to write lots of angry songs. And this is one of the best.
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Well now — I have to give a thumbs-up to anything accompanied by Nick Cave 😉 But some day you should explain Nick Cave’s sore foot …. o.O
Believe it or not Johnny Cash did a good version of the song. Who’d’ve thought?
Doesn’t give me goose bumps like this version though. Great choice — great choice.
And now that my rambling is done — this is so powerful — the sound of the clang — the taste of the dusty sky — and the ending that’s almost a challenge — very well done.
Oh yes, I know Johnny Cash’s version too – all my family are big JC fans; it’s one of the things that everyone agrees on; plus he part-named me 😉 You’re right, though, his version is more sorrowful, lacks the demented fire of NC’s original. Whereas JC’s version of Hurt…
I hadn’t seen this performance until I started looking for a “prison” song, and just had to add it. Extraordinary.
And thanks, I quite like this one – it could be questioning the “romance” of prison or the prisons of romance 😛
Yes — it definitely seemed to question the prisons of romance — you start in one direction and end in a totally different one — which is a great jolt.
Have learned that I can NOT listen to the NC version of “Hurt” while driving. Give me lead foot. o.O
… and the sore foot is another story entirely, but I’m sure the trauma inspired many a song over the years. Ah the muses work in mysterious ways 😀
They do indeed ….!
Can romance be explained?
Nope. But that won’t stop people from trying. If they did stop trying there would be a gaping hole in the TV schedules and music charts, while Hollywood would be wiped off the map 😉