I received a CD from my friend Julian and on the CD was a particular track that I enjoyed – ‘Storm’ by Tim Minchin. Tim Minchin is an Australian singer/comedian, and a number of his songs promote science over religion. I think there is room for both viewpoints, and Storm is enjoyable and has some interesting points. Storm argues science over naturopathy, alternative medicine, and hippy culture, and is also derogatory about astrology. But it is the rhythms and the poetry of the yrics which makes Storm appeal to me.
Storm is a ‘nine minute beat poem’ where the beat, the tone and the words combine to create the setting.
Inner North London, top floor flat,
All white walls, white carpet, white cat,
Tim Minchin uses both words that rhyme and words that sound and feel like they should rhyme, but actually don’t, which allows the listener to ease himself into the story. The words give the listener a figurative comfy chair and a glass of red-wine as if:
to dinner we've come.
Imaginative combinations of words create fresh images within the listener’s head.
And when she says "I'm Sagittarian"
I confess a pigeonhole starts to form...
And is immediately filled with pigeon
When she says her name is Storm.
And every day references continue to create mood and understanding and sympathy towards the character as we think, yes, I’ve been in that (or similar) situation before.
And across the room
My wife widens her eyes,
Silently begs me, "Be Nice" –
A matrimonial warning
Not worth ignoring,
And try as hard as I like,
A small crack appears
In my diplomacy dike.
Using words in different combinations keeps the listener spell bound wondering what linguistical feats will follow, whilst enjoying the humour in the language and situation.
Storm to her credit, despite my derision
Keeps firing off clichés with startling precision,
Like a sniper using bollocks for ammunition.
And of cause I’m a sucker for Shakespeare.
There are more things in heaven and earth
Than exist in your philosophy.
Lend me your ear:
'To gild refined gold, to paint the lily,
To throw perfume on the violet... is just fucking silly.'
Or something like that.
From Hamlet and King John, but not only these passages felt like Billy the Bard, so I searched and searched and the only hidden Billy the Bard reference I could find was:
And if perchance I have offended,
Think but this and all is mended:
From A Midsummer’s Night Dream. But the sweetest parts of the poem is original Tim Minchin:
Twice as long to live this life of mine.
Twice as long to love this wife of mine.
Twice as many years of friends and wine...
