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The Day America Died

by Zettel 

Posted: 27 September 2004
Word Count: 1040


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This piece and/or subsequent comments may contain strong language.


One of the things you quickly learn as a philosopher is that things that fascinate you often fail to strike others as forcibly ( or at all!). Anxiously therefore, I have posted this in poetry (as well as song lyrics) because it raises some interesting (to me) questions about the distinction between poetry and song lyrics - especially cadence. For me at least, the more you look at good popular song lyrics (the original here was certainly good) the more respect one has for them.

Therefore, with respect for a great (and surely one of the longest) popular song. The parallels just seemed to work so well. It is surprising how much of the original can be left intact even with an altered theme.

I have tried hard to get the rhythm and especially the cadences right (though the familiar words have to be unlearned a bit) - that's where much of the work is. If anyone tries to sing this version - that would be great - I would like to know any line(s) you can't make play.

The Day America Died

A long long time ago
I can still remember that young leader with the golden smile
and I know if I had my way
that I'd go back to yesterday
and maybe we'd trust someone once again
but Nixon's lies made us shiver
with every vote that we'd deliver
his abuse of office
Forever robbed us of trust
I do remember good men cried
when they first heard JFK had died
and something touched us deep inside
the day America died.

So bye bye, true America died
then we buried our illusions
under cold earth they lie
them good 'ole boys were smilin' guns by their side
singin' what a good day 'cos he died.
what a good day 'cos he died.

Did he write the book of love
we know he had faith in God above
if the bible tells you so
we do believe in rock and roll
that music saves our mortal soul.
but can you teach me how to weep real slow?
Well I know we were in love with him
Cos since he died all the world's gone dim.
We lost our faith that day
man our trust just bled right away
Now I'm a stupid adult voting schmuck
conned by politicians who don't give a fuck
but we know we need more than luck
cos true America died.
I started singin'……………

bye bye, true America died
then we buried our illusions
under cold earth they lie
them good 'ole boys were smilin' guns by their side
singin' what a good day 'cos he died
what a good day 'cos he died

Now for decades we've been on our own
our disbelief and our doubting grown
but that's not how it used to be
George the jester sings for corporate greed
ignorance that would make John's heart bleed
angry cries that come from you and me.
Oh and while the law was looking down
the jester stole the leader's crown
The courtroom was adjourned
no verdict was returned
and while Georgie read his comic books
Don and Dick played at being crooks
And we are angry being rooked
Since true America died.
We were singin…..

Bye bye, true America died
then we buried our illusions
under cold earth they lie
them good 'ole boys were smilin' guns by their side
singin' what a good day 'cos he died
what a good day 'cos he died

Helter skelter in a desert shelter
we all dusted off our fall out shelters
Eight miles high the bombers flew
killing men they never knew.
Shock and Awe the evil branded name
with the jester hiding guilty from the game.
we have won the war he cried out loud
while weeping children formed a crowd
brave men and women fought hard
but they never had a chance
as invaders they were in the wrong.
these native sons won't sing our song
and JFK knew right from wrong
but then America died
We started singin'……….

bye bye, true America died
then we buried our illusions
under cold earth they lie
them good 'ole boys were smilin' guns by their side
singin' what a good day 'cos he died
what a good day 'cos he died

And there we are in the wrong place
a generation lost in space
and no heart left to start again.
So come on Jack be nimble Jack be quick
the jester is a venal prick
cos power is the devil's only friend
and as we watch him on the stage
our hands are clenched in fists of rage
no angel born in hell could break this Satan's spell
and as the flames climb high
in Baghdad's night to light the sacrificial rite
we see Satan laughing with delight
because America died
He is singin'…………

bye bye, true America died
then we buried our illusions
under cold earth they lie
them good 'ole boys were smilin' guns by their side
singin' what a good day 'cos he died.
what a good day 'cos he died.

I met a ghost who sang the blues
and I asked him for some happy news
but he just wept and turned away.
I went down to the sacred store
where we'd heard the real truth years before
but the ghost there said that old truth didn't play
and in the streets the children screamed.
the lovers cried but poets didnt dream
honest words were not spoken
the church bells all were broken.
And the three men I admire most
the Father Son and the Holy Ghost
they'd caught the last train for the coast
the day America died.
And they were singin'…….

So bye bye, true America died
then we buried our illusions
under cold earth they lie
them good 'ole boys were smilin' guns by their side
singin' what a good day 'cos he died.
what a good day 'cos he died.

They were singin'
bye bye, true America died
then we buried our illusions
under cold earth they lie
them good 'ole boys were smilin' guns by their side
singin' what a good day 'cos he died.
what a good day 'cos he died.

Zettel 2004






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Comments by other Members



Ticonderoga at 15:11 on 01 October 2004  Report this post
Absence of comments on this utterly mystifying - unless evry one else is too young to remember............but, we did have Madonna's murderous rendition fairly recently, so people should know it.
Your point is interesting, because if you speak this, most of it comes out leaden or broken-backed, but if you sing it (quietly) to yourself, you find that the author(s) has matched ideas words and music rather brilliantly. Rock on!

Best,

Mike

Nell at 15:46 on 01 October 2004  Report this post
Zettle, I'm frustrated, because for the life of me I can't remember the melody for the verses, only the chorus. I will have to find it somewhere before I comment, because although I've read this twice I long to sing it. But yes, Jack was a golden boy, in spite of his transgressions - a bit like Diana in that respect. Will return.

Nell.

Zettel at 21:13 on 01 October 2004  Report this post
Thanks Ti and Nell.

I guess I wrongly assumed that this would be more widely known. I posted it on poems because of the point you make Ti. When recently there was one of those 'days' when people picked favourite songs which they thought stood up as poems, it was interesting which did and didn't work. Some of Dylan's stuff not surprisingly, worked very well but curiously when you think of songs of his you like a lot, not all of them work simply for speech. It is the rhythmic and cadence differences which made me think about these aspects both of songs and poems. Many if the 'songs' including mine in the songwriting group, look and 'feel' like poems. Yet one or two have the qaulity Ti mentions here, that as you read them they 'feel' like they 'want' you to sing them.

Sorry of this is a hobby horse not of general interest. As for my adaptation, I wanted some way to express frustration at the present political situation in the US and the parrellels just seemd to work.

Nell you'll need the record cos the meoldy and rhythms are pretty complex for a pop song.

As for Kennedy: it has become fashionable to rubbish him as just another politician: part of our wholesale (usually justified) cynicism about all politicians. Saint he wasn't but neither was he just another politician. That's why 'something died' -hope? idealism? Belief that we can and should do something to make things better? JFK, Bobby K and Martin Luther King's assassinations were a triple trauma to the US body politic from which I don't think they have ever recovered. And that affects us all.

Enough - sorry to go on preachily

Regards

Z

Ticonderoga at 14:39 on 02 October 2004  Report this post
stop apologising! ;) Mike

Nell at 16:44 on 02 October 2004  Report this post
Zettel - my daughter sang it to me - you're right about the complexity of the melody - bits of it came back but I find myself unable to sing a whole verse, so can't help about the lines, although my daughter sang it with barely a falter. As for Dylan, Cat Stevens, Paul Simon et al, they wrote much that works as poetry without the music - something I mentioned in the forum of the Poetry Seminar a while back. It's an interesting subject. I agree with Mike though that this works best as lyrics rather than poetry.

Nell.

Zettel at 00:06 on 03 October 2004  Report this post
Nell

Commitment beyond the call.....

Thanks

Z

Zettel at 23:50 on 03 October 2004  Report this post
Nell

Forgot to say that this was partly a writing exercise. As such I am absolutely delighted that your daughter was able to sing the piece in my adaptation without falter - for my limited aspiration that is so to speak music to my ears! I found it incredibly hard to do but learnt a lot. I guess my ideal would be for someone to give me a melody or piece of music and ask for lyrics (apparently Elton John decided years ago that he just couldn't do lyrics hence the immensely productive relationship with Bernie Taupin.

In terms of poetry there are so many overlapping categories: e.g

Poems that only read well
Poems that read and perform well
Poems that work well with musical accompaniment (e.g. Under Milk Wood with Stan (? forgoten his surname) jazz suite behind it (magic)
Song lyrics that work as poems without music (and those like this one that don't)
I am sure there are more but I have the vague hope that exploring them might improve my poetry which is at best patchy.

Regards and thank your daughter for me!

Zettel
Poems that

<Added>

oops - don't know where the rogue 'Poems that' came from.

Z

Nell at 07:46 on 04 October 2004  Report this post
Zettel, I've had some good and unexpected things come from exercises, and when one takes an existing piece as you've done with this, it frees one from some of the struggle of composing from scratch - gives one a start. Like the apprentice artists of old working on part of the master's painting perhaps. I believe that the important thing is to work at poetry or writing - the more effort one invests, the more returns will be forthcoming. (Hopefully!)

Nell.

Zettel at 01:05 on 05 October 2004  Report this post
Nell

Thanks

Z


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