AMR Music Month: “Po’ Man’s Blues”
Click to hear “Po’ Man’s Blues,” by Mark Fullmer
Context:
The musical inspiration for “Po. Man’s Blues” came mostly from The Beatles’ “Dizzy Miss Lizzy”, with a dash of Sammy Davis Jr’s version of “Have a Little Talk with Myself”. Personally, the most enjoyable part of recording the thing was laying down the bass line. I would’ve thrown in a few rockabilly screams but I really didn’t want to concern my landlord who was next door painting. The lyrics began with trying to figure out how to avoid a mess of tired similes and the concept just got worse from there:
I’ve got another tired simile
It’s like a barren tree
I’ve got another tired simile
It’s like a dried up sea
Oh why, oh why can’t somebody put me out of my misery
Why doesn’t nothing rhyme with orange,
The closest I’ve come is ‘Mormons’
Why doesn’t nothing rhyme with orange
The next closest word is porridge
Oh my, oh my it’s like tryin to rhyme the color purple
I need one more line for my stanza
It’s bout an alien extravaganza
I need one more line for my stanza
…
Oh why, oh why …
I’ve got too many frickin syllables
To make my poem chug along
I’ve got too many frickin syllables
What I need to say is just to long
Well my words are too big because I’ve got to much to say
Something’s got to give I guess I should write an essay
Oh my, oh my I’ve got too many fricking syllables
I’ve got the po man’s blues
My poetry is blue
I’ve got the po man’s blues
I’m done for through and through
Oh my oh my oh my I’ve got the po man’s blues
Posted on 19 February 2010 at 2:32 pm
AMR Music Month: "Po' Man's Blues" http://bit.ly/aNXTys