The Circle of Musicality

A Few More Questions: Interview with Pagannini Jones

2007-01-18T22:46:00.000-08:00

Almost six months after out music interviews were interrupted on the former music circle, a few questions (from Shannon Vasquez) were left unanswered. Pagannini did not even know they had been asked! Here finally: questions by Shannon Vasquez, Answers from Pagannin JOnes:

1. how long did it take you to learn how to sight read/read notes well. i
ask b/c i played piano for a few years and i never go the hang of it. do you
think you are just naturally musically inclinced, and you picked up on it
easily because of that, or was there a bit of a struggle?

I find this a really hard question to answer. I learned to read music when I was at junior school - ie when i was maybe 8 or 9. I learned by learning to play the recorder off the blackboard. There are different ways to learn to read, but I have found the easiest way to teach people to read music is to tell them how it came into being from notation used for plainsong. The rest is just practice and counting, really. Forty-odd years on there is still some music I find harder to read than the rest. Particularly high notes can be a problem as I play them less often.

My personal experience suggests that people don't actually read music the same way that it is often taught. We are usually taught that (for example) this note on the paper is B and on the violin you play B like this. So people keep wanting to put in the middle step - find out what the note is called and then find out how the note called that is played. What fluent readers do is read the gaps between notes. In other words, this note is one step up from that one so I do this on my instrument. Sometimes I could not easily tell you what a note is called, but I can find it and play it. How do you learn to play the gaps between notes? I hate to say it, but its all down to practice. All those exercises we had to play had a purpose. Easy exercises had musical notes that moved in small steps. As we got better we were given music with bigger steps up or down, and so we learned how to recognise how they sounded and how to play then.

Am I musically inclined? Well, I found playing the recorder easy. But maybe that was because I played it all the time, so I was bound to get better quickly! I play the violin fluently and sightread music for violin easily. But I have tried and tried to play the piano and in truth, it's just not going to happen! I can play this hand and I can play this hand, but I just cannot put the two together...

2. it there any kind of specific "method" you were taught when learning the
violin? my sis plays, and she was taught by the "suzuki" method, are you
familiar with it? thoughts?

I am not really aware of being taught by any particular method but would simply say I am classically trained. So I was taught using books that referred to the way great 18th & 19th century ciolinists played and taught. The emphasis was on reading and playing rather than listening and playing so I am a good sight reader and a poor player by ear. In general that tends to be true of many musicians who are classically trained. As I understand it the Suzuki method aims to teach children to play more as we tend to learn language, so more emphasis is placed on hearing and playing. This means that children as young as 2 or 3 can play successfully even though they may well not read music. I guess the way I learned to play was closer to how we used to learn foreign languages in UK - the emphasis was on being able to read and write the language so we learned written language and how to pronounce what was written (even if it meant you had to learn to read a different alphabet or script) rather than how to communicate verbally with another person.

3. have you ever been to any live shows/concerts and, if so, which one(s),
and did it affect you/your music in any way?

Yes. Lots! I am lucky enough to be able to go to hear the Halle Orchestra play and have seen Jacqueline du Pres, Yehudi Menhuin and many others live. More recently I went to hear the pianist Alfred Brendal play. I learned a lot about expression, wit and humour, and phrasing from watching and listening to him. It has definately had an impact on my playing and on how I lead the orchestra whilst playing at the same time.
4. have you ever composed music on the piano/violin, and is that anything
you're interested in, in general?
I learned music composition at school but was only adequate at it. I passed the exams... When I was teaching primary school children to play I wrote a small amount of music in an adapted form of notation which made it easier for them to learn to read music. I also rearanged music for the school musicians to play - ranging from beginners who knew up to 3 notes to very able grade 2 and 3 players. It was great fun, but I don't see myself as a composer. Arranging something for our small group of players is more my interest, though I do very little of it. It takes such a long time to write down... I still have to go to work n stuff... Ho hum!

A Musical Interview: Paganini Jones

2006-11-21T21:01:00.000-08:00

Music Circle Interview: Pagannini Jones

September, 2006

Violinist Pags in concert

In the Ministry of Musicality, an online community of poet-musicians we have been interviewing our circle members to learn more about what they play and the music they love. So far we have interviewed Coco, Robbi, and Al. I thought we should go on with our interesting conversations, this time with Pags.

Okay, everyone can leave questions for her to answer!

Pags, here's a beginning:

1. How did music come into your life?

2. How has it developed?

3. What instruments do you play?

4. What music do you love to play?

5. How about listening?

6. Has the ministry of musicality influenced your listening, playing or
knowledge of music you might not have known about otherwise?

7. Where and with whom do you perform?

Róbbi Skæra:

1. Do you have any recordings ov you playing either as part ov an ensemble, or solo?

2. If you had to choose between musick and yuor favourite food, which would it be?

3. What's your opinion on thee electronics/DJ scene, whereby people with absolutely no musical talent, nor interest in neither poetry nor musick can successfully string together some predictable beats, unimaginative chord progressions and clichéd, aggressive words, and actually get paid as a professional musician and performer?

Pags:
What fun! I hope you all have a long attention span here

1. How did music come into your life?
Its probably more accurate to say I came into a life of music for it was all around me before I was born. Some of my earliest memories involve music
- my dad singing songs by making up words to fit nursery rhyme tunes, or singing the words of one nursery rhyme to the tune of another
- my mum playing the songs without words on the piano - lots of Schuman, some Brahms
- Hymns and chanted psalms at church (do any churches still do that now?)
- being in a Welsh church where the hymn books were annotated with musical notation even though they were only word books; a church where singing in good 4-part harmony was the norm
- Going to sunday school for the first time and singing about birds (Tell me the stories of Jesus, verse 2 or 3 I think)
- Music on the BBC Third programme (now BBC Radio three) on the radio all the time - no pop music at all. When my classmates at school were raving about Gary Glitter I had no idea at all who he was. I'd never heard of him.
- Going to listen to Fairy Engineering Brass Band
- folk dancing classes at school with music blaring from the school radio
- the teacher who decided he would teach a whole class of working class children how to play the recorder, and DID

2. How has it developed?
Very haphazardly! The recorder was a cheap instrument though it was expensive to my parents to buy, end eventually someone pinched it from me at school. Hymn singing was just there, two or three times every Sunday. Secondary school was a turning point I suspect. (Year 8, age 11-12)
There I joined the school choir, tried to learn to play the piano and then discovered the violin. I had a friend who used to vanish one lunchtime a week so eventually I wanted to find out what she was doing. She was learning the violin with one of the music teachers. I was offered a school instrument and spent the first lesson just practicing holding it. I didn't mind a bit because the alternative was playing out and as I tended to be bullied I preferred to stand with a violin sagging under my chin! It was another month or more before my parents found out I was having lessons, and then only because I was encouraged to take it home to practice.

At school I also sang in school operas - we did a couple of Gilbert and Sullivan's, played in the orchestra, and a memorable highlight was singing in a performance of the messiah. The sound of a powerful choir singing quietly still sends shivers down my spine.

After I left school I gave up childish things including music, only coming back to it 8 or 9 years later. My children were young and I needed to find a way to express me. (Many parents will resonate with that idea) and the chance for violin lessons came up. That led to my playing in amateur orchestras which in turn dramatically improved my sight reading and listening abilities. From then I have played in amateur orchestras.

Another step was my children going to school. I discovered that the peripatetic music lessons provided by the schools service were to be discontinued so for some years I voluntarily taught violin, recorder, keyboard and piano to enthusiastic youngsters. Some times I learned a lesson one week to be able to teach it the next week. Some of the children survived to tell the tale and still play!! An odd way for me to develop musicality but some children passed exams - grade 4 was the highest I taught.

3. What instruments do you play?
These days - Violin and recorder. I have a viola and cello, piano, harmonium and keyboard that get played from time to time, but only for personal pleasure. I also had a go at guitar and ukelele but no longer have the instruments.

4. What music do you love to play?
I'm really not a solo player but I most enjoy playing in small groups rather than full symphony orchestras (though I do both). If I had to state absolute favourite music then it would have to be the double violin concertos - both Bach's and the slightly lesser known one by Vivaldi. (Oh that glorious second violin part in the Vivaldi!). I suspect peole think of me as a baroque player and I love Bach, vivaldi, Handel and so on. But I love playing Bartok and other modern composers too. And then there's the pastiche on Eine Kleine Nacht Music by professor Teddy Bor - great fun

I suppose I like playing any music for a small group that allows all the players to be musicians (no Strauss waltzes for me - have you ever spent an evening playing the cha cha bits of oom-cha-cha, oom-cha-cha?) And I like playing music that is linear rather than chordal: the way parts wind round each other or play in countepoint.

5. How about listening?
In truth I have great difficulty listening to music. I find I have to actively listen and that is very tiring. Often I hear music on the radio and the whole orchestra sounds out of tune and I find that intollerable. (I think its that in UK we tune to A at 440 bpm but eg in US A is pitched at 444 bpm). I am incapable of having music in the background. My husband like to have the radio on all night. If he leaves it on a music channel it wakes me up!

But I DO listen to music.
Recently I have discovered Russian orthodox chant. That is music I can become so absorbed with that time and self vanish. I listen to a lot of soloists too. Vaughan Williams' lark ascending - yum. the Paganini caprices, John tavener's the protecting Veil - WOW! amazing modern music. Organ music too. Saint Saen's Organ concerto - officianados are a bit sniffy about saint saens but I adore that piece. The beethoven quartets - can be hard listening but incredible writing for all the instruments...

6. Has the ministry of musicality influenced your listening, playing or
knowledge of music you might not have known about otherwise?
Oddly, I don't think it has so far, except that I have listened to Robbi's work and I ferreted about on the internet to find out more about rennaisnace flute music.

The above gives the impression that I'm a classical buff, but I go to the odd rock gig (local upcoming bands), enjoy 70s and 80s pop, hoover the house to Simply Red or Dido and listen to arabic music on a CD I brought back from Tunisia.

7. Where and with whom do you perform?
I perform with Hyde Festival orchestra around the Hyde area (near Manchester in UK) mostly in loca church halls, but we have played in Tameside Theater, Victoria Park and various residential homes too.

I have begun to perform with Salford Symphony Orchestra too. They hold concerts in Salford university.

Oh and sing children's songs and nursery rhymes to my granddaughter too.

And of course I still sing in church, but that's not performing

Kath says:

Fascinating, Pags.

I know next you will answer Robbi, and then--

8. do you play Baroque Violin
or Modern or both?

Could you play with a baroque flute for instance?
(Rick does have some with 440 joints.)

9. a) Do you still love Gilbert and Sullivan? b) do you perform with any groups doing that? c) Have you seen Pirates of Penzance with Kevin Kline and Linda Rondstadt? (I love that...there is a live Braodway theater Archive version, and then several years later a film. Linda's father loved Gilbert and Sullivan and sang it around the house...I remember hearing her say in a interview--that he would have been so proud of her playing Maybelle, but he died before that.)

10. Do you still sing other than church choir, etc?

Jersey Daniel Gibson:
waaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa! (My head exploded. It happens sometimes)

Cal Stilwell (CaLokie:

I wondered with Patty Page, "How much was that dog in the window?"
I "Cried" with Johnny Ray and Depp
Peggy Lee gave a "Fever"

I rocked around the clock with Bill Haley
and in a "Jailhouse" with Elvis
but didn't step on Carl Perkins "Blue Suede Shoes"

Me and Little Richard ducked behind the alley with "Long tall Salley"
I got my thrill on "Blueberry Hill" with Fats Domino"
I traveled in a "Yellow Submarine" with the Beatles

I got lost in a "Purple Haze" with Jimi Hendrix
I fell "to pieces" everytime I heard Patsy Cline sing
All I wanted with Aretha and Rodney was a little "Respect"

I could get no satisfaction with Mick Jagger
but along came Davis with trumpet jubilee putting me "Miles Ahead"
and Coltrane with soprano sax psalm, filling me with a "Love Supreme"

Pags answers Robbi:

1. Do you have any recordings ov you playing either as part ov an ensemble, or solo?
I WAS going to say no to this. Then I suddenly remembered - about 10 or so years ago a church group wrote and produced a christian musical. My brother and I played fiddle for it and the event was recorded at a small studio in Manchester. Somewhere I have a cassette tape of it, but as I don't own copyright I can'treally put it online, even though it was pretty good. Makes me sound like I can actually play!!

2. If you had to choose between musick and yuor favourite food, which would it be?
No contest. Music every time. There have been countless rushed or missed meals so I could get to a rehersal or go shopping for music in my lunch break.

3. What's your opinion on thee electronics/DJ scene, whereby people with absolutely no musical talent, nor interest in neither poetry nor musick can successfully string together some predictable beats, unimaginative chord progressions and clichéd, aggressive words, and actually get paid as a professional musician and performer?
Great question Robbi. Live and let live. But I think your question is flawed - if they are doing that then they have SOME interest in music, even if its not the same as mine or yours.

I feel about it much the same as I feel about writers. There are journalists who hate what they do but still get paid. I am told that about 50% volume of all novels bought come under the heading of romantic fiction. Of these a sizable proportion are Mills and Boon / Sillouette type throw-away romances. Barbara Cartland could churn the things out in 4 days I believe. The books are all written to a formula so strict that you could write a computer programme to do it. Indeed softwear is out here already that enables you to write with the minimum of creative ability. It's bread-and-butter writing. Pays the bills. I could do it, so could anyone on this site with a very little application. Some of us choose not to do so.

So what? That sort of writing (music or literature) has its moment and is gone. In 50 years will anyone remember most of the writers?

But writing to a formula has its place. Dickens did it and it worked. The Beetles started out with the three chord trick and a couple of minor chords but their talent shone through the lack of skill and so the ability grew. It was a good place to start and they moved on.

Pags, quoting CaLokie:

"I wondered with Patty Page, "How much was that dog in the window?"

£10 was what we paid to take him home. He was a dinky little handful of black fur with just a little white, and grew into a Welsh Collie. We called him Sebastian. When Seb was first taken out for a walk he stepped on a nettle. His pads were so tender that he whined for ages because it hurt him, so he had to be carried home. That was 13 years ago. Last Saturday he was put to sleep because he had a brain tumour that caused him to have several fits every day and it could not be controlled. We will bring him home for the final time some time next week, after he has been cremated. We are still awaiting the bill from the vets and the animal hospital so the final cost cannot yet be counted.

(PS Actually this is all true.)

Pags answers Kath:

8. do you play Baroque Violin
or Modern or both?
I have 3 violins - one is what might be called a modern baroque violin dating from the early 1800s. Sadly at the moment it is unplayable because of a split which developed some time ago and I havn't yet been able to afford to have the repair done. It is slightly smaller than a modern violin and plays best with lower tension, preferably gut or wound gut strings. I suspect what helped damage it was trying out thomastik high tension strings... Sadly I don't have a baroque bow. However, looking on ebay a modern copy would be reasonably affordable and I am seriously considering whether to get one.

The second violin I have is a 6-year old Gliga - a machine made, hand finished Rumanian violin which sounds better than its cost would suggest. It is the violin I currently play on using wound perlon strings for the mellow sound. (I don't like the over bright, often harsh sound that metal strings give). The problem (to some) is that it is a quiet violin and difficult to play well, but is capable of a wonderful sound. I gur=ess its still being played in really. Another 100 years should make it a pretty decent instrument!

The third violin is an electric one. Sadly I have no amp to play it through - a bit of a drawback really

Could you play with a baroque flute for instance?
So, on my oldest instrument I reckon I could with the right bow. The Gligga probably has the right sound and again would be a good substitute for the real thing.

(Rick does have some with 440 joints.).
That sounds excessive - Are you sure that's not a snake, or possibly a serpant?

9. a) Do you still love Gilbert and Sullivan?
I haven't watched anything live recently - there seems to be a lack of local performances locally. When the D'oly Carte used to tour I would catch 2 or 3 different ones in Manchester. I think it has rather gone out of fashion... But I love the silliness of the plots, the clever writing and the toe-tapping music. We have a medly that Hyde Festival Orchestra plays sometimes.

b) do you perform with any groups doing that?
I haven't performed in light opera or musicals since I left school really, though I played in the band for an amateur operatic society a good while ago. I'd love to get back into that! As i mentioned above, Gilbers and SAullivan havn't been performed much locally for the last 20 years or so.

c) Have you seen Pirates of Penzance with Kevin Kline and Linda Rondstadt?
No - i will have to look out for it!

10. Do you still sing other than church choir, etc?
Sadly, no. I would like to but there are only a limited number of evenings in the week and my family like me to be home for some of them! Actually, that I have becom very prone to chest infections and bronchitis following every cold I catch means that I have been unable to sing well very much at all in the last few years.

A couple of years ago I sang a solo as an interlude in one of the orchestra's concerts - "To the queen of hearts is the ace of sorrows" - a very old song made poular in 1960s(?) by Joan Baez. Its a lovely song, particularly sung with a sensitive accompanist.

I used the words of that song to create a haibun-like piece of writing. I envisaged it being performed by a narrator and singer, but it hasn't happened yet...

Kath:
Great answers Pags, I really enjoyed your violin details! Have you looked at Rick's historical flute website:

http://www.oldflutes.com

All the examples are from his flute collection and there is a lot of historical writing and documenting he has done there. You'll get more of an idea of his flutes there.... He has over 150 original flutes from Baroque to early 20th century, most are 19th century. Plus about 60 copies of original intruments from Renaissance to Baroque. When he gives a "Flute Presentation" he talks about the evolutions and revolutions in the history of the flute, and plays excerpts from pieces that each flute would have been played. The flutes played at the time the music was composed. He will be doing one for a local college in November and one for the Southern California Early Music Society. He ocassionally does it when we travel to a math conference --a math lecture AND a musical one. It is all fascinating.

My son grew up playing Baroque Violin. Right now he is in San Diego and he takes lessons from someone who also plays in the Academy of Ancient Music.

****I'd like to know more about the haibun piece you created. What is it like?

****Here in California there are performances of Gilbert and Sullivan,
I have not gone to them yet, as they are not right nearby, but there is a lot of interest. We have many G&S videos and dvd's that I got on Ebay because we wanted to see them all!

Al Santos:
ow, with you guys all playing these cool instruments, i feel cowed and awed to be in your presence!

i'm stunned beyond belief!

(makes the stuff lthat i do just seem like messing about )

"Punk" Pags discusses the 1812 overture and cows with Al and Jersey

Pags answers Jersey:
"waaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa! (My head exploded. It happens sometimes"

This is very interesting. What I need to know is, can you do it to order, repeatedly? If so we might be able to make use of you for the chamber version of the 1812 overture. It's a bit hard to get hold of cannons, but head explosions would be a perfect scaled down version, I feel.

Come on, the rest of you - bring on more questions. I'm twiddling my thumbs here!

Pags: regarding Kath's comments:

Have you looked at Rick's historical flute website:
http://www.oldflutes.com
I have indeed, though it was some time ago so I'll go and look again right now. The information of trills and appogiaturas is interesting. I was taught that what Rick described is how one should play older music, through perhaps to early classical but that later music should be played as is more commonly taught ie trilling from the main note and no turn at the end, a short (no time) appoggiatura rather than a measured time one.

When he gives a "Flute Presentation" he talks about the evolutions and revolutions in the history of the flute, and plays excerpts from pieces that each flute would have been played. The flutes played at the time the music was composed. He will be doing one for a local college in November and one for the Southern California Early Music Society.
What a pity that we are opposite sides of the pond It would be really interesting to hear and see this

****I'd like to know more about the haibun piece you created. What is it like?
Its most like a short story punctuated with verses from a song really... I've posted it below for you to see/read.

We have many G&S videos and dvd's that I got on Ebay because we wanted to see them all!
What WOULD we do without ebay?

Kath:
actually it just may happen that Rick would give a flute presentation on your side of the pond sometime.... the problem though, is transporting a selection of 20 flutes to use for demonstration...(the airlines nightmare right now)!

Pags:
If that happens any time, you MUST let me know, OK?

Kath:
Of course I will, you'll be the first to know. Actually I will let you know whenever we come in your direction. Rick spent a year in London 20 years ago though, he studied with flutist Stephen Preston.
And he's come for math lectures too, but all before ME. I've never been there. He wants to show me. Our usual stopovers have been Paris and Amsterdam. I hope we come there. Also I want a Robbi-Starla-Bryn-Pags-Kath and Rick musicality celebration-- and I want Alessandra to fly in to greet us from Italy... who else? I know I am asking for too much...but who knows!?!

Pags answers AL:
"Al Santos Wrote:
wow, with you guys all playing these cool instruments, i feel cowed and awed to be in your presence! i'm stunned beyond belief! (makes the stuff lthat i do just seem like messing about)"

Nah. Its all those instruments which demonstrates that what I do is just messing about. How could anyone master all of them in one lifetime? Like a duck, I'm just a musical dabbler I'm afraid.

Pags answers Kath

Have you looked at Rick's historical flute website:
http://www.oldflutes.com
I have indeed, though it was some time ago so I'll go and look again right now. The information of trills and appogiaturas is interesting. I was taught that what Rick described is how one should play older music, through perhaps to early classical but that later music should be played as is more commonly taught ie trilling from the main note and no turn at the end, a short (no time) appoggiatura rather than a measured time one.

When he gives a "Flute Presentation" he talks about the evolutions and revolutions in the history of the flute, and plays excerpts from pieces that each flute would have been played. The flutes played at the time the music was composed. He will be doing one for a local college in November and one for the Southern California Early Music Society.
What a pity that we are opposite sides of the pond It would be really interesting to hear and see this

****I'd like to know more about the haibun piece you created. What is it like?
Its most like a short story punctuated with verses from a song really... I've posted it below for you to see/read.

We have many G&S videos and dvd's that I got on Ebay because we wanted to see them all!
What WOULD we do without ebay?

Pags:
The Queen of Hearts, The Ace of Sorrows

She sits by the window at a small table, her spinning finished for the day. Shaking back her auburn hair she shuffles a deck of worn playing cards. As the light fades she takes a card and turns it over. She gazes at it a long time. It is the Queen of hearts, bringer of love. She smiles.

Glancing through the window she sees a young man in the courtyard below. His doublet is patched and frayed, his hose far too short. He waves, shouts something she can't quite hear. Nevertheless she smiles to him, then blushes. Turning back to the pack she shuffles it again, again draws out a card. Silently she begins to weep. The Ace of spades, bringer of sorrow and death lies before her on the table.

"To the Queen of hearts
is the Ace of sorrows
He's here today,
he's gone tomorrow.
Young men are plenty
but sweethearts few.
If my love leaves me,
what will I do?"

"Mama," her daughter asks, pointing though the casement, "What's that?" She looks to the cairn in the valley. "That?" she says, sweeping the tiny child into her arms, "They say there's where the young prince was buried with all his treasure."

Later, her daughter asleep at last, she lays cards out on the kitchen table. The knave of diamonds - the young prince's card and the ten of diamonds - bringer of modest wealth. Finally, she turns over the ace of spades, the card she drew from the seer's pack the night before cavaliers came for her husband.

She sighs, and is silent a long time. When she moves it is to light a candle fragranced with lavender, said to soothe sorrow and bring peace.

"Had I the store
in yonder mountain
With gold and silver
there for counting,
I could not count
for thought of thee,
my eyes so full
I could not see"

Once the house is quiet she slips from her bed. Taking a small key from the ribbon about her neck she opens the small mahogany casket wherein she keeps her most precious treasures.

A worn pack of cards lies beside a single sheet of folded paper covered in his beloved handwriting. She takes the paper, reads and re-reads it, smiling gently as she does so. Folding it carefully she replaces it, taking out the tiny, tissue wrapped parcel hidden beneath. Opening it she places the ring encrusted with garnets and diamonds on the ring finger of her left hand.

She thinks of the promise he made to her. "I will write to you when I have made my fortune in Virginia, so that you may join me there". She wonders how soon that will be. She will consult her cards.

She selects a card, turns it over. It is the Ace of Spades. Furious, she flings the cards from her, hot tears starting to her eyes. What would the cards know after all? Hasn't Victoria, the new queen said that such things are superstition and not to be countenanced by modern young ladies?

"I love my Father
I love my Mother
I love my sister
I love my brother
I love my friends
and family too,
but I'd leave them all
and go with you"

It is late at night yet she cannot sleep. Arthritis in her spine will not allow her to get comfortable. Turning the radio on she searches for classical music, and finding the Bach double violin concerto, leans back to listen to the melodies inextricably entwine.

As the music ends, she reaches for her old pack of cards, from habit shuffling them and whispering a secret wish. She draws forth a card. It is the Queen of Hearts, bringer of love. She smiles, remembering. In her mind's eye she sees a young man in doublet and hose. That could not have been, she thinks. Her mind plays strange fancies sometimes.

Shuffling again she draws forth a second card. It is the Ace of Spades, bringer of death. Again she smiles. She is old enough now to know that that death may come as a friend, that there are many worse things.

She hears footsteps on the stairs yet she is not afraid. She recognises that tread though she has not heard it for sixty or more years. A young man with red hair and blue eyes stands in her bedroom doorway. She runs to him, pain forgotten, takes his hand, looks up into his face and accepts his kisses. He strokes her long auburn curls.

"To the Queen of hearts
is the Ace of sorrows
He's here today,
he's gone tomorrow.
Young men are plenty
but sweethearts few.
If my love leaves me,
what will I do?"

It is morning. They come quietly, half knowing, a little afraid of what they will find. The lavender candle burns low. She is in bed, her white hair wispy on the pillows.

Playing cards are scattered about the counterpane and on the floor. On her bedside table are an old letter and a rather old fashioned gold ring set with garnets and diamonds. In her cold, stiffening fingers are two playing cards.

Standing by her bed, they are awed. Her face shows no trace of pain, but there is tremendous love. She is smiling. 'She does not look 94,' they say wonderingly.

One snuffs out the candle. A thin trail of smoke meanders upwards.

15th April 2001
(Note - the traditional song quoted is believed to be at least 500 years old but still delights audiences today. This story is expanded from my short introduction to the song.)

Kath asks:

What is the tune of the song...?

It is beautiful, this whole
scene... the mood---and the words you wrote.

You should perform it.
Or have someone do it!
You could at least record it, and make a cd.

Do you envision it actually acted out?
It is cinematic.

Pags answers Kath:

What is the tune of the song...?
you can find it, though a little different from how I sing it (that first B should really be a G and the rhythm is a bit strange and lumpy) , at
http://sniff.numachi.com/pages/tiQUNHEAR...HEART.html
I have attached the music: you'll need to click on the thumbnail to read it though

A fragment of Joan Baez's version is available on Amazon:
http://www.amazon.com/gp/music/clipserve...30-0745454
http://www.amazon.com/gp/music/clipserve...30-0745454

It is beautiful, this whole
scene... the mood---and the words you wrote.
Thank you

You should perform it.
Or have someone do it!
You could at least record it, and make a cd.
I would certainly like someone with ability to do so. It has never been performed, or recorded.

Do you envision it actually acted out?
It is cinematic.
I had never thought of it in that way but I guess it might make a 5-minute short!

NEW QUESTIONS, this interview ---soon to be continued!

Shannon Vasquez asks:

i have some questions! i'm sorry if these are lame, but they are what i thought of that haven't (i don't think) been asked

1. how long did it take you to learn how to sight read/read notes well. i ask b/c i played piano for a few years and i never go the hang of it. do you think you are just naturally musically inclinced, and you picked up on it easily because of that, or was there a bit of a struggle?

2. it there any kind of specific "method" you were taught when learning the violin? my sis plays, and she was taught by the "suzuki" method, are you familiar with it? thoughts?

3. have you ever been to any live shows/cocerts and, if so, which one(s), and did it affect you/your music in any way?

4. have you ever composed music on the piano/violin, and is that anything you're interested in, in general?

Complete Circle of Musicality Drinking Songs

2006-10-18T00:04:00.000-07:00
Without further ado, I am presenting here (as a work in progress) the Complete Drinking Song Anthology created by this circle of poets. Many of these songs were written by composers, performing musicians in a broad spectrum contemporary music, and lovers of song sand drink. A future print anthology is planned, and I am in process of editing and adding the final awards. Please comment, add awards at the end of the list in the comment section, and contact me if you are interested in our anthology.

#1 Yairmate Orright
by Leanne Hanson

Owyergoinmateorright?
— Yairmate, orright
But waddabloodynight
Came home pissed an’ tha missus got shitty
Went to the pub and got another middy
My round next so I shouted ‘em a schooner
If I hadda known then I woulda left sooner
Next thing I know the sheila’s at the door
Holy bloody hell, did I cop whatfor
There in the pub with me mates on the floor
Laughing off their arses an’ me a poor
Bastard with a handbag cloutin’ round me ears
Tellin’ ya straight, I was nearly in tears
Followed her home and ate me grub
Went off to bed an’ here’s the rub
Dirty woman spent an hour in the tub
So, what was I to do? It’s safer in the pub
Yairmate. Pass the peanuts.

copyright 2006 Leanne Hanson
"The Award for best social commentary on (exra)marital difficulties resulting from drunkeness" was given by Pagannini Jones to #1 "Yairmate Orright".

#2 Scout 16 in a Pub
by James Zealy

Well, there I was
Dressed in Scout khaki
In an English pub at 16
Drinkin a pint
Amidst my partners
In this ambassador trip
At a time when
When we were learnin to be men
Whilst we tried new things
Like pitchin darts half cocked
Using the wall as a dart board
While the patrons ducked
Then havin to listen
To a scout leader
Explain why
I had to get up
In Hyde Park and explain
The virtues of being 16 in a pub
The pub was his idea
I did what he asked
Go figure

copyright 2006 by James Zealy
This song won two awards. Having been lost in a shipwreck off the coast of Australia, only replicas are here presented. "Scout in a Pub" was said to have been given the moderator's "Scout's Honor Award" and an award by Leanne Hanson as "The Best Drinking Song Involving Dangerous Projectiles" When recovered, the originals will be placed back on their pedestals in the area of this song.

#3 Looking Up at My Bar and Thinking
by Leanne Hanson

There's a bar with a top made from one single tree,
Stain veneered with the spills of the years,
With rings from the glasses of hundreds of folk
Who drank in the world with their beers.

All of man's greatest notions have passed through their lips,
And fallen on top of the bar,
Mixed up with the whisky philosophers drink,
'Til no-one can say what they are.

Though the bar's fallen silent, the mem'ries remain
And whisper their shouts to the past,
The air smells of company, wistful and wild
As the timber bar serves up its last.

Tracey Paradisio has given #3 "Looking Up at My Bar and Thinking" the "Help I've Fallen and I Can't Get Up Award".

THE DRINKING SONGS~BELOW~ARE BEING RESCUED FROM A SECOND SHIPWRECK, THIS ONE IN THE HIGH SEAS. KATH IN SCUBA GEAR RETRIEVED THEM HEROICALLY AND IS NOW AT THIS VERY MINUTE-- METICULOUSLY DRYING OUT THE REMAINS OF THEIR AWARDS ON A LINE BETWEEN PALM TREES, ON AN ODDLY FAMILIAR DESERT ISLAND. LUCKILY SHE HAS LOTS TO DRINK.
#4
My Corona

by Patrick Williams

My beer has a first name

it's C-O-R-O-N-A

My beer has a second name

it's E-X-T-R-A

Oh love to drink it every day

if you ask my why I'll say,

Corona Extra has a way with

getting me blitzed!!

(it takes about 12, though)

Tracey Paridisio's "Wish I Were a Wiener Award" belongs, hands down, (she said) to... #4 My Corona, an Christina Hymes gave it "The Best Song to Teach Your Kids Award".

#5

dregs

by Starla Borne

something beautiful

at the bottom of my glass

your reflection

or another pint

waiting for my cash

oh there was something beautiful

but I'm not sure it was me

lets dance baby

lets dance

lets be all that we can be

there is something beautiful

beer spills and bent dreams

breath out breath in

then you can pick silently

at my seams

Lynn Vartan names "dregs" as recipient of "The best song for hopeful drunks award".

#6

Passage

by Bryn James Tales

Lilting ‘gainst a drunken load,

Let the car undress the road;

Slip the robe of the darkness,

Slip the sober starkness

Of daylit cares by cotton wares

Incense of unreal power

Patterned carelessly in barrooms,

Like sadness overruled within a bridegroom.

Tonight shall wring a room

To bring a haven for your wishes:

Safety dressed in people,

Smiling retreats from ordeals

Of tender foreign kisses,

It tenders foreign kisses

and hisses

boutique misses

Whenever you hear crowds of cheer

somebody’s losing

quietly,

somebody’s losing

quietly

Passage has been given the "Award for Abstract Misery" by Robbi Skaera

#7 Helpless & Made

by Bryn James Tales

Dip down your cup,

down your cup

& swing it back up.

Grail up our voices,

there’s no air for choices.

Make crystalline dandelions

from summer shirts and wine.

Grail up our voices

there’s no room for choices.

Speed up the living-

surrender, start giving.

Girl, lift your head up and

smile at yourself.

Behind every curtain,

ecstasy’s certain.

Tell me we’re helpless &

made of the summer

"Helpless and Made" has been anonymously given "The Bryn James Tales Award for a Drinking Song Leading to Lucid Revelation"

#8 This Trolleyed World

by Bryn James Tales

And now while I can barely think,

I’ll steer you to cleave this world of drink

in a damned and dented,

buckled half-demented

shopping trolley.

The barkeeper offering whisky-

A golden slope for minds to ski-

The artists say ‘Hell no!

I’ll hang myself on pernod’.

But to appreciate first curves they say,

‘A fat glass of Courvoisier’

Mid the thick club air of human zoos

cerise legs slip on Malibu,

where drifts’ crafts deck vast bedlam,

and crews jet flasks of white rum,

and at the second sip of gin-

I spy- the afternoon gives in.

The flamboyant turn virgo on merlot,

But the ask of a major-river rinse

Follows tooth and precipice of absinthe

As chopper-trembling Wagner

Greets the patrons of strong lager.

Sheffield office break sambuca in

Teal city fountains sealed with toucans,

Yorkshire’s dales where the cold taps bitter

Leeds lofts curl canals like goldschlager glitter

And the urban heart pearls like pastis and ice.

A lifetime swilling advocaat,

A cardiac, a horse and cart

the conscience polarises wide and slow

like continental drifts, to Mexico.

to rise here up like Don Quixote

Where peyote’s patrolled by coyotes,

you take Tequila's legalised revealer…

‘You’re flush-drunk, you silly sod-ya!

On vingt-et-un and vodka,

Double-drunk and rouble-sunk

And headed for a bucket dunk!

Shut up, go home and wipe

Your foaming lips & sleep,

Go home and halt your roaming,

Sleep!'

#9

Vodka is the Answer

by Denton Harris

Being sober is my problem,

and it needs a resolution,

so my answer is vodka,

it is a clear solution.

#9 "Vodka is the Answer" won Lynn Vartan's "Gets the Job Done Award".

#10 Bobbi Was A Walkin'

by Christina Hymes

Bobby wuz a Walkin'

Bobby wuz a walkin'

Strummin' his Guitar

Humming a swigin tune

in evenin' this June.

He swayed frum sid ta sid

an stumbled two and three times

Still strummin an hummin

in dis der Evenin' in June

#11

The Man Of The Year

by Harry Bower

let's all drink a cheer

for the man of the year

who's such a sweet dear

except when he's here

but when he's away

I've heard people say

they long for the day

he comes back to stay

we raise him we praise him

we parade on his lawn

we need him we feed him

and are glad when he's gone

The "Every Family's Got One" Award was presented by Tracey Paradiso to... #11 "The Man Of The Year".

#12

folk festival

by Starla Borne

they played the fiddle

I danced all day

oh, honey coloured sunset

lets drink to summer

(these sweetened ales)

and days we'll never forget

#13
Don't Care To Ask Why

by Paganinni Jones

CHORUS:

I'm drinking, I'm drinking,

I'm drinking, I'm drunk

I'm drunk as a skunk,

I'll fight like a punk

I'm getting drunker

Each minute I drink

My tongue's like a skink

I think I can wink.

With full glass in hand

raise it up to the sky

drink toast after toast

and don't care to ask why.

Drink to your boss

Or drink to the pope

Drink to new prospects

Drink to old rope

Chorus - "I'm drinking, I'm drinking.." etc

Drink to new friendships

And marriage vows made

Drink after the funeral

With all those who stayed.

Don't fret for the future

Don't grieve for the past

Drink of old hopes

And that new ones may last

"I'm drinking, I'm drinking.." etc

Drink when life's good

Drink more when it's not

Drink cider, drink beer

Drink gin by the shot

Drink brandy, drink sherry

Drink whiskey in tea

Don't drink on your own;

Drink with this company!

"I'm drinking, I'm drinking.." etc.

Chorus to be repeated ad nauseum until the last of the singers slides under the table.

Tracey gave the the "Gets Seussy When Sauced" Award... to #13 Don't Care To Ask Why

#14 Not a Drip

by Julie Cook

Not a drip's passed my lips

since December twenty-sixth

(and even then, t'was only wine,

from a white zin' vine).

Sandless sex on the beach

is quite out of my reach

and though I have craved

a hard lemonade,

I’ve had none

but a virgin.

"Not a Drip" won the moderator's "No one Else could have written This Award" as well as the distinquished "How'a the Baby Doing Award".

#15
Ho-ho-ho-ho

by Steve Johnson

Sitting around

Drinking it down

Round and round

In bottles we drown

Ho-ho-ho-ho

Swallow it all

Make your call

Ho-ho-ho-ho

Tip you man

All you can

Ho-ho-ho-ho

And never will you want!

"Ho-ho-ho-ho" was given the moderator's seasoneal "Most Likely to be sung by Carolers Award".

#16 What Goes Down

by Steve Johnson

What goes up,

Must come down

What touches the lips

Will soon splash the ground

Sometimes I take

But really I borrow

What tastes good today

Will smell bad tomorrow

Drinking in mass

Smiling with friends

Breaking the glass

Puking offends.

"What Goes Down" has been given the moderators "Most Biologically Inevitable Award" and also "The Most Body Fluids Used In A Public Establishment Award" by Jersey Gibson.

#17 Gimme a Tit

by Chris Morris

When once upon a time it seemed

That my poor heart was broke

I went to the pub to suck on a stub

And met an old English bloke

He said “now what you need my son

Is a bottle of Irish stout

A buxum tart with a grateful heart

‘cos that’s what life’s about”

Oh gimme a tit, gimme a tit

Gimme a tit to chew

I’ll sit right here with a pint of beer

And a plateful of vindaloo

We drank a few and drank some more

Until my thirst was slaked

Then drank some more with a grateful whore

Who’s orgasm’s were all faked

She said “now sonny, I ain’t being funny

But what in the world is that?

You’ll need more than a pint sized whastisname

To get a look-in at my twat

Oh gimme a tit, gimme a tit

Gimme a tit to chew

I’ll sit right here with a pint of beer

And a plateful of vindaloo

Gimme a Tit was given "The Best meal to wash down with a drinking song Award" by Leanne Hanson, the "Tact Is For Losers Award" by Jersey Gibson, Most Inspirational Drinking Tune for All Old Reprobates awarded by Rusty Arquette, and also was diplomatically named by Laurie Blume as one of two poems to receive "The Most Likely to Inspire Fistycuffs Award".

#18

O, Bonnie Earl

by Jersey Gibson

Me lads and me mates sittin' at the bar,

have thee a story which I'll sing to ye.

'Bout a man, a legend, sir, one-of-a-kind,

so sit yer bum right there, and have a drink on me.

Ye can drink lagers down, tip back many a glass,

but you in no league for Bonnie, no, not even in his class.

For a'drinkin' is his life, he'll continue while you hurl,

for no man can drink as much as ole Bonnie Earl.

Bonnie isn't a big man, but to we lads, he stands tall,

can finish every round right quick, ne'er seen him fall.

Ye can drink all day and night, be brave and give a whirl,

'cuz there ain't a man alive who can outdrink ole Bonnie Earl.

Bonnie will sit with ye, with a pint and a grin o' sheen ,

and tell ye he outdrank thee entire Scottish drinkin' team.

So pull up a barstoll right there, and view our local pearl,

for no man can stomache as much as ole Bonnie Earl.

Pint after pint, when head meets thee floor,

he'll sit back with a smile, and a round, he'll ask for more.

Heavyweight champions bow before his form,

for he can outconsume against any man that was e'er borne.

'O, Bonnie Earl, Bonnie Earl,

have a drink on me.

Yer the spotlight of this ole pub,

all yer drinks are free!

"O, Bonnie Earl" was given the "Best song extolling beer that makes you want a wee dram of scotch Award" by Harry Bower, and the Moderator's "Could This Have Been Me, and There is Something I Don't Remember? Award"

#19

Swimmin' Back to Texas

by Rusty Arquette

I'm gonna' run down to the ocean

I'm gonna' pull off all a' my clothes

Tell them sharks ta' git outta' the way

'Cause here my sorry ass goes...

I'm swimmin' my way

back ta' Texas

'Cross the Gulf of Mexico

'Cause a razor totin' woman

Said she don't want me any mo'

no mo'

She don't like me drinkin' Ripple

Or that low down T-Bird wine

and if she sees me drunk again

She says she'll break my spine...

That's why I'm swimmin'

back ta' Texas

'Cross the Gulf of Mexico

'Cause that pistol wavin' woman

Don't want me 'round any mo'

no mo'

She don't like who I hang wit'

Or 'dem girls always comin' 'round

So she spent my cash, flushed my stash

and threw my clothes out on 'da ground...

So I'm swimmin'

back ta' Texas

'Cross the Gulf of Mexico

'Cause a half-crazed ol' woman

Said she can't stand me here no mo'

no mo'

I only wisht' I learnt ta' swim better

'Cause I can 'nary swim a lick a' tall

Mercy, please toss me a inna' tube mama

I hear Davy Jones startin' ta' call...

I'm learnin' ta' swim

back ta' Texas

'Cross the Gulf of Mexico

'Cause a razor totin' woman

Screamed she don't want me no mo'

no mo'

Bye-bye...

Rusty's "Swimmin'Back to Texas" was given "The Absolutely Most Singable Award" by Lynn Vartan --and she proved her point by singin' it with great style and accent after a good martini, in the moderator's presence (moderator-made-martini, by the way) and the "Total Lack Of Grammar In A Swinging 4th-Grade Kind Of Way Statuette in the Dyslexic's Awareness Convention in 4Q, 2006"

#20

The Drunkards Lament

by Rusty Arquette

I woke up in a drunken blur...

From a battle with a bottle a' gin...

Wonderin' where the hell I was,

and where the hell I'd been

Oh lord, where the hell I'd been

Last thing I remember, man...

Was a train-yard north a' town...

and a warm wind whistlin' 'round me,

as a bright light came bearin' down

Yes sir, a bright light was bearin'down

The hot pee ran all down my leg...

As my brain made the train come alive...

Then the Seaboard Coastline hit me,

and I began a very strange ride

Man, I started a very strange ride

I went screamin'down into purgatory...

Oh God,I was losin' my mind...

Through fire and flame...

I held onto that train...

Roarin' down, down, down

through purgatory...

I saw a lot of old friends sad faces...

linin' both sides a' the railroad track...

They were all there wavin' a greetin' ta' me,

but I was numb and afraid to wave back

Oh man, I was afraid to wave back

Then that ghastly train came to a steamin' stop...

and tossed me off like a rag doll on the rails...

As an army of ugly friggin' demons came laughin'

with sharp tiny yellow teeth and dark dirty nails

My god, with sharp teeth and dirty nails

They stood me up stark naked in a big long line...

with a zillion poor ugly souls; maybe a dozen more...

Then they made us sing a lot of off-key show tunes,

chug cheap muscatel and then beg them for more

Oh lord, they made us beg them for more

I went screamin'down into purgatory...

Oh God,I was losin' my mind...

Through turmoil and pain...

I held onto my brain...

Roarin' down, down, down

through purgatory...

The demons all argued that I was insane...

and cut me with straight razor smiles,

Then forced me to swim in an ocean of gall...

and dance down brimstone for a thousand miles

Oh man, down brimstone for a thousand miles

Then that deathshead train came a screamin'...

churnin' crimson steam from entrails and gore,

and chewed up the souls of the miserable lost...

as it dragged me past Hell's sulpher door

Oh god, screaming past Hell's sulpher door

I shrieked and paled with the revelation...

I was lost and my life no longer meant shebeet,

and as we raced past the skeletial prisoners...

I shivered in the heat 'cause I knew this was it

Oh lord, 'cause I knew this was it

I went screamin'down into purgatory...

Oh man,I was losin' my mind...

Though my life had been lost...

I held on at all cost...

Roarin' down, down, down

through purgatory...

I screamed the scream of the living lost...

spread eagled across the boiler of that train,

the stench of death filled my nostrils full...

as the minions of hell tore at my terrified brain

Oh damn, how they tore at my poor brain

Burning me, the locomotive pitched and shrieked...

pounding through a landscape of horror and doom,

'Til above me a glow came drifting into view...

a shaft of sunlight piercing the hellish gloom

Oh god, sunlight pieced the hellish gloom

Then reality slammed against me with a kick...

off the steel-toed boot of a large switchyard man,

who barked, "What the hell you doin' down there!"...

I grinned, "I don't know, but I'll try to explain, man"

"Oh just let me try to explain, man"

I went screamin'down into purgatory...

Oh man,I knew I was losin' my mind...

Though my life had been lost...

I held on at all cost...

Roarin' down, down, down

through purgatory...

I stood up on rubbery legs...

and dropped the empty bottle from my hand

Watchin' trains move around me...

I swore to give up drinkin' cheap gin

Oh please, no more cheap gin

Well, I woke again in a drunken blur...

from a battle with a bottle a' gin...

Wonderin' where the hell I was,

and where the hell I'd been

Oh christ, where the hell I'd been

'Cause last thing I remember, man...

was a train-yard north a' town...

and a warm wind whistlin' 'round me,

as a bright light came bearin' down

Yes sir, a bright light came bearin' down

"Most Unsingable Drinking Song Award" was generously presented by Pags to "The Drunkard's Lament". Jersey Daniel Gibson, who at the time was the "Patron Saint Of Drinking" nominated "The Drunkard's Lament for the "(mumble, mumble, mumble...) SHARON! Award". Chris Morris named #20 The Drunkard's Lament as "The best song to sing whilst pretending to be Johhny Cash". And finally and most succinctly, "The How Can I Possibly Remember All this When I am Drunk Award" was given by Laurie Blume to #20 "The Drunkard's Lament".

#21 it's about time, girls

by Maggie Hall

i'm thinkin' it's about time, girls

i'm thinkin' it's about time

to turn on the vacancy sign, girls

to turn on the vacancy sign.

i'm wanting another glass of wine, girls,

wanting another glass of wine

so pour me another glass of wine, girls,

cuz he's all whine and no dine.

"It's About time Girls" has been given "The Best use of repetition and pun to encourage readers to drink Award"

#22
in vino veritas
by Alessandra Gallo

what’s wrong with
coddling this new blue and white ring of mine
up and down my finger
as you pour some more prosecco into a
cheap, plastic glass and I picture his naked body
all around mine; what’s wrong with this
very
accurate notion I have formed
(right here, under the curled tip of my tongue)
of the taste of one hundred and twenty
kilometres of his skin
and of the many different flavours it might take
(after a walk amidst the pines, at night,
or on the beach, after a swim, or, better still,
down there where it folds slightly
between his thumb and index
maybe after he’s done with a
huge serving of watermelon)
what’s wrong with
me, burping

Alessandra's "in vino veritas" is the winner of the "I've Been Drunk, But Never So Poetically Award" and the "Most Elegant Burp Award" both generously created by Shannon Vasquez

This is #22 of 37 Collected Drinking Songs and their awards, created by the Circle of Musicality, a traveling group of muscician poets (troubadours), who originally bonded together at what was formerly the "Department of Modern Verse". They have joined together as a band of "Shakespeare's Monkeys" and persist in carriying on their antics wherever and whenever possible.

#23 I DRINK YOU IN
by Don Campbell

all smiles and curves

and I don't need a drink

I'm inebriated just by

looking at you and

hearing your voice

no aphrodisiac is

greater than this

then getting to hug

you and I'm gone

on the figurative floor

my what a wonderful

view from over here

I've got to keep my

composure near your

presents/presence

you feel just like

an old girlfriend

it's all I can do

but to stop myself

from kissing you

in front of everyone

think of the scandal

because I'm drunk

copyright 2006 by Don Campbell

"I Drink you In" was given "The Best Romantic Song Award" by Christina Hymes; and also was anonymously awarded "The Bryn James Tales Award for Poem Most Likely to Make One Gush Embarrassingly with Love"

#25
Orgasm in a bottle
by Arianna Fierch

Oh Smirnoff
Won't you come
Sleep with me tonight?

Raspberry goodness
Swirl down my parched throat
Give me the satisfaction I deserve
Quench the desire to close
My lips around you

Oh Smirnoff
Won't you come and
Be with me tonight?

The Alternative to Actual Sex Award was given my Laurie Blume to #25 Orgasm in a Bottle

#26
A Drink to Lovers
by Coco Haynie

Wedding Bells are chiming.
Bridesmaids, mothers and fathers are crying.
Love is in the air.
Crazy love like two kids would share.
today their future, like ivy, begins to grow.
And champagne, yes, it will freely flow.

#27
Tasty Trio
by Lynn Vartan

Vodka, wine and BEER-
Makes me want to CHEER!

Maybe some Chambord?
To create some nice ACCORD!

Vodka, wine and BEER-
the drinks I hold so DEAR!

#28
A Toast to the Toasted
by Tracey Paradiso

“Have another,”
says the little voice inside your head.
This despite your tongue-slur
and your limbs that feel like lead.

“Why, thanks, I will,”
you say to all and to no one specific.
Though by morn you’ll feel like shit
for now you feel terrific.

Any ‘ol percentage,
any alcohol.
Any kind of brand or year
in glasses broad and tall.

Night becomes frag
mented as a fun ky fog descends,
wisps of kiss and fuck and puke
and smoke and tears and friends.

Morning comes with guilt and stench
and memories elusive.
Phone calls made to fill in blanks
by now you are quite used to it.

Cheers to us and all
the numbed out souls lushing though life.
If suffering is requisite
at least we’ve picked our strife.

#29
Gloating Song
by Paganini Jones

I simply don't get hangovers
I really don't have time
not even when I drink cider
or bottles of good red wine

I never did get hangovers.
I'm told it's a hereditary trait -
a thing to annoy other drinkers -
a delightful quirk of fate.

You can drink me under the table
you can drink me onto the floor
but when I get up in the morning
I'll still be ready for more.

I'm delighted I don't get hangovers
and it's absolutely true
when I see your grey face in the morning
I almost feel sorry for you.

But I simply don't get hangovers
I really don't have time
not even when I drink cider
or bottles of good red wine!

#30
Beer Goggles
by Al Santos

Ain’t it great when you get ready
To have a drink and make things steady
Getting dressed for a night in town
With the amber nectar that flows straight down
Suddenly the clock ticks around
And from outside you hear the sound
Of a nice new car that’s pulling up
Glad one of the guys ain't going to sup
Means all the more for the rest of us
As we jump in the car, zip past the bus
Carting the others out to the pub
Have we got time for a sub?
Cause boozing when empty ain’t that smart
Like last time riding that shopping cart
Down the high street, all too fast
But it don’t matter cause pain don’t last
But anyway it seems that I digress
From the laugh we had in ‘The Officers Mess’
The nearest pub to us in town
And please don’t even start to frown
We go there drinking every week
And as for Bob, he’s never meek
As when he puts his beer goggles on
And every girl ‘is THE one’
He’s gonna pull in the bar tonight
But I don’t think so, he’s a fright
When he’s had a drink, or sometimes ten
And thinks a lady’s coming to his den
He makes the effort, acts all smooth
But we all know he’s gonna lose
Cause that gorilla standing over there
Watching over his lady fair
Has seen old Bob trying his best
And has just picked up that snooker rest
With every intent of smashing it good
Down on Bob’s head despite his hood
Which will offer him no protection
And won’t help him with deflection
As he strides at us irate
And our Bob still can’t see his fate
But just in time he starts to sway
And moves just slightly out the way
The snooker rest moves through its arc
And comes to stop in time to part
The pretty girls mouth in smile
Oooo... that will hurt a while
As we decide to make a break
The beer bus turns up just to take
Us home again all safe and sound
And even Bob has bought a round
Which brings my tale to an end
And if I’ve shown you one thing, friend
It’s beer and women just aren’t right
Unless your goggles are on tight!

#31
Georgia Rain
by Emeya Warren

early morning pouring
homeless man
at the bus stop snoring
wakes to me

and when I glance his way
he bursts out singing
about the rainy days
in Georgia
stumblin’ astray

oh his aching mind’s
got to drink what’s bitter
before he dies

a tone that alters my sight
the notes climb
up his soggy throat
bounce off into the sky
dive into the booze bottle
drunk on cut-price rye

suddenly he edges
toward the curb tipsily
rolls his pants
down to his knees
still singing –
pissing relief as he drinks

oh his aching mind’s
got to drink what’s bitter
before he dies

I flee to the next stop
lose my senses to the wind
and when I board the bus
the old man occupies
a front-row seat

pant legs hug his ankles
as he raises his bottle to me
laughing oh-so-merrily
in holey old briefs

off at the next corner
I hunch my shoulders
against the downpour
buy whatever’s cheap –
what they’ll sell to minors -
and loiter my own street

oh my aching mind's
got to drink what’s bitter
before I die

gotta burst out singing Georgia
and taste the homeless life

#32
Come
by Emily Rose

Come
on warm me like
brandy
Spill me like wine
tickle me in places
only champagne
has had the nerve
to go
then drip real
slow
heady
over the top
of the glaaasssss
like the finest beer
Come
on warm me like
brandy

The Actual Sex Award was given by Laurie Blume to #32 "Come"

#33
Drinking Someone Else's Beer
Christina Hymes

I drank a bottle of wine
it was plumb and fine
i got bored with it
and began to suck a bit
on some beer instead
and ran my fingers through her hair on her head
and Billy Bob turned me
wanted some too, so I said to he
"why don't you leave me alone? I'm drinkin Kathleens Beer.

#34
After Lord Byron
Paganini Jones

Come into the beer garden, Maud,
For the day-long drudgery has flown,
Come into the beer garden, Maud,
I am clutching my pint all alone;
My woodbines are burned right down to the stub
And the women out here are all crones.

Oh my fellow sots, the brief night goes
Too slowy with solitary wine.
The peanuts and chips – I have finished all those
Where is that woman of mine?
Come into the beer garden Maude
Is my simple desire such a crime?

I said to the barmaid, 'There is but one
With whom I desire to play
When will she come so that I can have fun?
I am weary of girls who are gay.”
The barmaid said, "You are drunk. Bugger off!"
Maud, come, let me have my way.

Come into the beer garden, Maud,
Last orders will soon be called,
Come into the beer garden, Maud,
I am getting increasingly bored
My woodbines are burned right down to the stub
And all night I havn't once scored

The Best entry wot I wrote Award as given by Pagannini Jones to #34 "After Lord Byron"

#35
I Met a Transexual
Christina Hymes

I met a transexual,
and found him very attractive,
he was very active,
primping himself more than me
Picking himself like he had fleas
Damn i just sneezed-

I sat on his lap and stroked his hair,
damn wish i gould put my hands down there, you know where, where the 9 inch toy is, damn that's big dontcha think.
I've had too much to drink.

#36
Liquid Appeal
by Laurie Blume

Fill my worn down glass again
The world slips to a better place
For all the talk of overdone
The mellowness takes place
Within my chalice of discontent
Loving fermentation of the grape

Feed upon the liquid escape
Of cool enticing dreams and
The pleasure of your company

As if the burning pain can bear
Another night alone and cold
Bring your sweetness to my lips
Upon my tongue a blessed taste
Drought of senses quietly endured
Quenching my need to fill the hollowness

Feed upon the liquid escape
Of cool enticing dreams and
The pleasure of your company

#37
Wet or Dry
by Christina Hymes

I asked wet or dry
you said " what the fuck,
I just want a Martini."

Wet or dry,
"Damn, i told you. Just give me a Martini"

"No, no, would you like to see me in my bikini"

"um.. no..yes"

"So would you like me Wet or dry?"

The Sexiest Commentary on Drinking Award was given by Laurie Blume to #37 Wet or Dry

all poems copyright belong to the poets above, 2006

Welcome to the Circle of Musicality!

2006-09-29T21:40:00.000-07:00
Continuing on indominitably, our Music Circle (looking back to the Department of Modern Verse) presents our work in progress. As moderator of this group, "I am not done yet"! I am archiving here the wonderful "Drinking Songs" and will post more saved sections of our previous interviews and collaborations. Soon, we'll continue with our musician interviews.