Tuesday, March 10, 2009

Play a Train Song (Todd Snider)


Some of you are aware that I've been contributing to Star Maker Machine, a collaborative weekly-themed music blog, since this past October - its fun, it's challenging... and it's an honor to be in such esteemed company...

A few weeks ago the subject was Trains, of which I'd made a mix CD a few years ago (thus possessing me to contribute 6 submissions containing 9 songs, a record for me) - when the following poem appeared in yesterday's Writer's Almanac... today's OV post was a no-brainer (who am I to argue with The Universe?... :-)

P.S. SMM
here and here...



I am seduced by trains.
When one moans in the night like some dragon gone lame,
I rise and put on my grandfather's suit.
I pack a small bag, step out onto the porch,
and wait in the darkness.
I rest my broad-brimmed hat on my knee.
To a passerby I'm a curious sight—
a solitary man sitting in the night.
There's something unsettling about a traveler
who doesn't know where he's headed.
You can't predict his next move.
In a week you may receive a postcard from Haiti. Madagascar.
You might turn on your answering machine and hear his voice
amid the tumult of a Bangkok avenue.
All afternoon you feel the weight of the things you've never done.
Don't think about it too much.
Everything starts to sound like a train.

QUOTE: "The only way of catching a train I ever discovered is to miss the train before." ~ G.K. Chesterton

4 comments:

  1. For a really neat take on Todd's Train Song, watch him perform it live in Kansas City, MO. What happens in the intro is both funny and eerie.

    YT:Play A Train Song

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  2. Hey, TMC ~

    Thanks for stopping in to comment - I actually referenced that YouTube video in my SMM post about Todd's Play a Train Song...

    http://sixsongs.blogspot.com/2009/02/trains-play-train-song.html

    I get goosebumps every time I watch it - Uncle Skip lives... :-)

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  3. Thanks for highlighting Todd here. He's the genius of a generation. But I'm biased, I just saw him 4 times in two weeks. New album will be released June 9th!

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  4. Hey, Cathy ~

    Of course - it's always a pleasure to sing Todd's praises!

    I am beyond envious of the fact you're able to see him so often - we've got to get him back to South Florida. Think I'll drop a note to his agency right now with the name of a potential venue - fingers crossed... :-)

    Thanks, as always for stopping in - kisses to the new grandbaby... <3

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