By The Landlord
“Art is our chief means of breaking bread with the dead.” – W. H. Auden
“Sometimes good things fall apart so better things could fall together.” – Marilyn Monroe
Breaking news:
Life begins with a breach –
by sperm in ovum wall. On beach
in breaking wave, another close call,
new ground broken, not in landfall,
from zygote, oogamous,
bursting, wriggly fruitfulness,
from tiny T-rex, to chick, then turtle,
in squashy bog, sandy myrtle,
through yolk and sludge and slime,
beaks chip to light in cracking time.
So breaking isn’t all destruction,
sometimes just life’s reconstruction,
though not if you’re a dinosaur,
deafened by the crash and roar
of fear and debris in the year
that comet smashed our atmosphere.
So then, friends, this topic’s broken
out online. It’s no mere token –
It’s dark, but can also offer lighter
inspiration for a songwriter.
A snapping bone, or broken heart,
may bring pain, but a useful start.
Ice? Laws? Atom? Levee? Or a promise
opening up a lyrical premise?
Fragile items, crockery, glass?
Tougher places? Ceilings, class?
Communication or some door?
Literal bubbles, or metaphor.
When the bubble bursts
Perhaps some barrier to achievement
Might bring joy, or amusement.
In a band in which I sang
a cover number idea sprang –
In postpunk style, Roy Castle’s song,
Record Breakers, the Guinness one,
Dedication’s needed for the believer,
Smiles broke out with this crowd pleaser.
But record breaking’s other smashing –
in frenzied burning, crushing, crashing,
came in ’79s destructive sight–
The infamous Disco Demolition Night.
It all kicked off, what crazy times,
but music’s subject to many crimes.
Not all lead to prison blocks,
or scenes in quarries breaking rocks.
Modern life stress and dashed dreams,
lets some who pay, then let off steam
in ‘Wrecking Rooms’ where, for 10 minutes,
sledgehammers smash, well, within limits.
More celebratory smashing is shedding
plates and cups at a big Greek wedding.
But let’s end with records, and Mary’s strife
In It’s a Wonderful Life:
‘Buffalo Gals Won't You Come Out Tonight’
Is the shellac she smashes out of sight,
but in this parody, other songs that fit,
each as annoying, each a smash hit:
So then all, it’s time for your breaks.
Let’s see what happens, what makes
the lists. Hopefully soothed, and feeling zen,
resting cracked ribs - is guest Uncleben!
Place your numbers in comments below,
adding links as suggestions flow.
Deadline’s on Monday for them to appear,
making this topic a smashing idea.
So then, please suggest songs about breaking things before Monday at 11pm UK time, for playlists published next week.
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