To Hyde Park yesterday for Graceland Concert - Paul Simon, 25 years on. Paul Simon, more than Dylan, I think, has provided the anthem, the background music to my life. Those plaintive lyrics exactly reflected teenage angst - one of my favourite songs remains My Little Town..... In my little town, I never meant nothin, I was just my father's son. Saving my money, dreaming of glory, twitching like a finger on the trigger of a gun. That's me, that's me, I thought... And changed my name to Kathy at university because of America and Kathy's Song.
And I suspect his lyrics have influenced me as a writer, too. I think he strikes a chord, as a poet, that perfect connection of words and music and feeling. Songs get into the blood almost more than poetry. He's not afraid of metaphor or just chat in a lyric, or wit. So there's a way that I somehow wanted to strike a chord too, in my writing - a perfect assimilation of words and theme. Well, that's the hope.
No comments:
Post a Comment