What if you had a great voice but didn’t have anything great to say? Or maybe you had something great to say, but didn’t have a great voice. Hey, It happens …

Then there are some who have not only a great voice but something great to say.

Today is Irish poet, Paul Muldoon’s birthday. You can visit his website

http://www.paulmuldoon.net/recordings.php4

and listen to some of his recordings that he has been kind enough to put online. You will really like his voice. I like his poem “At Least They Were Not Speaking French,” (though since my ancestors were both Irish and French, it probably has a different signficance to me than he means). He describes the deaths of two uncles against this nonsense refrain “fol-de-rol fol-de-rol fol-de-rol-di-do.”

Among his many accomplishments, Paul Muldoon is a professor at Princeton, chair of the university’s Lewis Center for the Arts, and poetry editor for the New Yorker magazine. In 2003, he won the Pulitzer for Moy Sand and Gravel.

More Irish Poet’s Audio Links:

Seamus Heany on The Poetry Archive - you will need realplayer for this page

Dylan Thomas Do Not Go Gentle Into that Good Night. If Dylan Thomas’ voice doesn’t blow you away, nothing will!

Tags: audio, birthday

Sam Walter Foss was a New England librarian and poet. He was born on June 19, 1858 in New Hampshire, went to college in Rhode Island and served as librarian for the Somerville Public Library in Massachusetts beginning in 1898. His most famous poem was The House by The Side of the Road.

There are some really good articles online about him, such as Minor Poet with a Major Message, with some examples of his poetry.

J. Dennis Robinson’s article, Sam Walter Foss was NH Poet Laureate for the Common Man, says that Sam rocked! I agree. I like many a dialectic poem and this article includes a passage from one Foss wrote:

“In another poem, Foss plays the part of a storeowner who tries to join the local church, because he knows that is the best way to attract customers. Unwilling to have him as a member, the church elders stall the merchant by telling him to go off and talk to God. But the merchant returns a few weeks later and tells the shocked elders that he has, indeed, talked to God about joining their church. What did the Lord say? – they ask. The shopkeeper repeats the conversation:

“I’m trying to git in,” sez I, “to the church of Elder Ford,
An they won’t let me in at all.” “Don’t worry,” sez the Lord.
“You’re not the only one,” sez He, “they’ve laid upon the shelf.
I’ve tried ten years without success to git in there myself,”

That’s painfully funny, and it also reminds me of another poem my grandfather told me once that I’ll have to go hunt up. But to stay on point for now - it’s true Foss’ books are out of print, but some of them are now available on google books. That’s where I found this poem:
Read the rest of this entry »

Tags: 19th century, American

Ever hear of Moondog, the blind poet and musician who chose to live homeless in New York City for about 20 years?

If you’d like to learn more about him, get Moondog, The Viking of 6th Avenue: The Authorized Biography, which comes with a CD that according to one reviewer is worth the price of the book in and of itself.

Or, take the short course at Moondog Madness.

This particular composition, “AlI Is Loneliness” was recorded by Big Brother and The Holding Company with Janis Joplin in 1967, leading to some real Moondog recordings, television appearances and getting some work writing music for TV and radio.

Tags: American, Music, video

If you had to pick your FAVORITE Edith Piaf song, would it be hard? For me, it would. I love so many of her songs. But I have a way of deciding which one must be my favorite for any singer — if I put all their songs on a playlist, which one would I put first most of time (allowing, of course, for moodiness). Most of the time, with Piaf, I would undoubtedly begin with L’Accordeoniste. You’ll see why, If you watch the Sparrow’s flawless performance. This video has English subtitles so if you don’t know French, it’s all good.

La fille de joie est belle
Au coin de la rue là-bas
Elle a une clientèle
Qui lui remplit son bas
Quand son boulot s’achève
Elle s’en va à son tour
Chercher un peu de rêve
Dans un bal du faubourg
Son homme est un artiste
C’est un drôle de petit gars
Un accordéoniste
Qui sait jouer la java
more

Also, check out the La Vie En Rose page:

http://www.reelyredd.com/songs/lavie.htm

with several versions, including La Baker and Dietrich, in French and several, including Dino and Satchmo, in English.

Tags: Music, piaf