“Country roads take me home,
to a place I belong.” (John Denver, 1974???)
To a cabin by a small lake,
where toads run and blue gill swim,
going there is never wrong.
“What are we doing in love?” (Kenny Rogers and Dottie West, 1981)
Going to meet my love,
my love who I’ve missed.
Soon my hand will be held snug in his glove.
“Sweet Dreams of You” (Patsy Cline, 1963).
No more a dream, this is my life.
So blessed am I to hold your hand our our small lake,
Never will there be a need to be blue.
Today, while driving to our cabin, I listened to the radio. The three songs listed above to the left of this post played consecutively as I travelled. When the iconic John Denver song played, I sang along at the top of my lungs. Still a fan of this departed musician, I knew the words by heart as his album, containing this song, was one of the first I owned as a pre-adolescent!
The other two songs were only vaguely familiar, although I did recognize the Kenny Rodgers and Dottie West Song and the voice of Patsy Cline. My mom was a big fan of Cline’s.
As I drove and enjoyed these songs, I thought it would be fun to try and make a poem out of them. However, it turned out to be much harder than I imagined. I’m not all that pleased with the outcome. But, it is hard to write and drive at the same time. As it happened, I had to take a break and took the chance to jot down my thoughts (just the song lines that made an impression on me).
I’ve gotten away from listening to country music, although last fall I went to a concert with my son to see Vince Gill when he was at Iowa State University’s Stephens Auditorium. It was the third time I saw Gill in concert, and at 62, he is still an affable and amazing performer.
Eventually, it got too hard to keep track of all the lines in the songs that would make great poetry. It struck me that songwriters (some) are really poets that set words to music!
Today is Poetry Friday. It’s not my best effort but the connection between word and song gave me pause. Thanks to Carol Varsalona at Beyond Literacy Link for hosting and for being a great support for my own writing. Carol writes thoughtful poetry and responds to others who post to Poetry Friday in the same way – with thought. Please check out her blog using the link above.
The Apples in My Orchard 
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