Sunday, July 17, 2011

"Somewhere (from West Side Story)": Issa's Sunday Service, #110





This week's Sunday Service selection is something of anomaly, catching Tom Waits in an embryonic period when his style was still developing with what is, for me, mixed results.  The song is "Somewhere" (from West Side Story) and, on paper, this is a marriage made in Beat heaven.

Maybe it's me but the deep irony that is the juxtaposition of the cracked down and out Waits' persona and this classic Romeo and Juliet inspired tune just doesn't quite connect.  Am I wrong?

Since I've evoked Shakespeare, or rather Sondheim, Robbins, Laurents, Bernstein, and Waits have, here's a little something entitled "Romeo is Bleeding" from the Waits' album that also has "Somewhere," Blue Valentine.



Ok, we can't do this halfway.  Let's let 'em take it home:



Um, one step too far - West Side Story (the Horror Trailer):




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This week's featured poem comes from Lilliput Review #81, first published in August 1996.  A little fable, speaking of horror, with a very hard kernel of truth.  Just look around; Lyn Stefenhagens has.



What Every Woman Knows
  Eve knew.  Helen knew
  what every woman knows.

  Every garden grows
  some bay, some rue,
  a line of yew;
  one blemished rose,
  one shroud of crows.
     Lyn Stefenhagens







will I be the next one
you caw over?
crows

Issa
translated by David G. Lanoue




best,
Don



Send a single haiku for the Wednesday Haiku feature.  Here's how.

Go to the LitRock web site for a list of all 110 songs

10 comments:

  1. just last night reading Ovid's
    piece #5 in his AMORES

    and this Lyn Stephanhagen's piece hits the same nail-on-the-head

    (as does Issa's piece & so the Waits (et al) ...

    I do believe that the (maybe) ultimate subject/object
    is Diotima via & unseperable she & we are from her son, EROS


    between the Greek Culture & the Chinese Culture
    a very busy lifetime of eatingtheJuicy!

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  2. Ed,

    You just ratcheted up the level of conversation a whole bunch of notches ... if that's piece 5 from book 1 all I can say is may your siestas always turn out that way.

    (I have the Peter Green translation - hence the siestas - this is the John Svarlien.

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  3. "One shroud of crows" is a tremendous line. I've never seen West Side Story.

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  4. all of my "stuff" now sort uve making sense to me !

    throw in a little Dante

    especially into the "mix"

    that shade (of 'her' becoming (also real)

    well

    am gonna re-read Stone Girl and just see how much GREEK is in "her" ?

    (I also have that trans that you link to is where I also found it was looking for Diotima and that .... search ... lead new to Ovid's 1.5


    & et ceteras.

    between Seferis' Six Nights and this Ovid piece ... well,

    SHE INTRUDES



    K.

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  5. Very much worth a rental, Charles ... I think you'd dig it, plus the crow line is wonderful.

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  6. Ed!

    A little taste of Stone Girl for the masses, plus it can be bought

    right here.

    Dante, the Greeks, Stone-Girl, "She Intrudes," around the season changing corner!

    Don

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  7. This was the version that immediately popped to mind when I saw the post title. He recorded it for his girlfriend at the time (who is the one he has lovingly pinned to the car on the cover) - Love Tom - Soundheim never sounded so good.

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  8. Hey, Jhon, glad you liked this one ...

    ReplyDelete