thisisit said:

yes i do think he's a poet. for me most song lyrics are poetry in some way. there's many different types.

speaking of poetry (it's funny you should mention it) my son wrote this earlier and read it out to me about ten minutes ago. he'll be 16 this year. it's called 'Eternal Cycle'.

Visions of chaos and disorder

Dreams of harmony and peace

Destruction incarnate, heavens resolve

Battle for the world and it's gold

Purified steel, harnessed crystal power

Claws of hatred, immense black sacred

Battle for the world and it's gold

The shadows scatter, compassion reigns

Cosmos loves, while Chaos feigns

Eternal cycle, in bittersweet slumber

Forgives but never forgets

just thought i'd share that

Thanks for sharing your sons poem - does he know it ?

DennisMark said:

PositivityForever said:

He is quite the poet. Read the lyrics to "When 2R In LOVE" AND MANY, MANY OTHER OF HIS SONGS.

So fierce U look 2night
The brightest star pales 2 your sex
Before we do anything, let me just talk 2 U


When 2 are in love
They'll whisper secrets only they 2 can hear
When 2 are in love


When 2 are in love (Love)
Their stomachs will pound every time the other comes near
When 2 are in love


When 2 are in love (Love)
Falling leaves will appear 2 them like slow motion rain
Slow motion, slow motion


When 2 are in love
The speed of their hips can be faster than a runaway train
(Drip-drop, drip-drop - water, water, water)


Come bathe with me ?let's drown each other in each other's emotions
Bathe with me ?let's cover each other with perfume and lotion
Bathe with me ?ooh, let me touch your body till your river's an ocean
Bathe with me ?let's kiss with one synonymous notion
Nothing's forbidden and nothing's taboo (Nothing's taboo)
When the 2 are in love (L.O.V.E. - L.O.V.)
Can U hear me?


When 2 are in love (When 2 are in love)
Their bodies shiver at the mere contemplation of penetration
(Let alone the act) Let alone the actual act (Act)


When 2 are in love
The thought of his tongue in the V of her love
In his mind (this thought) - it leads the pack (Pack)


Come bathe with me ?let's drown each other in each other's emotions
Bathe with me ?let's cover each other with perfume and lotion
Bathe with me ?ooh, let me touch your body till your river's an ocean
Bathe with me ?let's kiss with one synonymous notion
That nothing's forbidden and nothing's taboo (Nothing's taboo)
When the 2 are in love (Love)
In love
Can U hear me?


Hold me
Yeah, just like that
Don't move

This, to me is a perfect example of how he is not a poet.

These are perfectly fine lyrics, but if you read them without any knowledge that they were meant to be sung to beautiful music, they would sound flat--especially when you include the repeated stuff "in love (love)" "L.O.V.E - L.O.V" which only makes sense in a musical context, or the spoken stuff like "Can U Hear me?" or the oohs and ahs.

But that's not a criticism of the lyrics. This is a good song, it's just that the lyrics are meant to go with the music. They aren't meant to be a standalone poem.

this is a standalone poem. You might not like it, and it might not be sexy, but it doesn't need music to make it complete:

Two roads diverged in a yellow wood,
And sorry I could not travel both
And be one traveler, long I stood
And looked down one as far as I could
To where it bent in the undergrowth;
Then took the other, as just as fair,
And having perhaps the better claim,
Because it was grassy and wanted wear;
Though as for that the passing there
Had worn them really about the same,
And both that morning equally lay
In leaves no step had trodden black.
Oh, I kept the first for another day!
Yet knowing how way leads on to way,
I doubted if I should ever come back.
I shall be telling this with a sigh
Somewhere ages and ages hence:
Two roads diverged in a wood, and I-
I took the one less traveled by,
And that has made all the difference.

Many people also hung the "Poet" title on Jim Morrison (I disagree with that too). I guess the true test would be if Prince could release a collection of true poetry -- not lyrics lifted from songs -- and succeed at it. Even then many may say that people were into it simple because they like Prince the singer/musician/songwriter (much like the crticism of John Lennon's books).

David Byrne once said that lyrics are just a gimmick to get people to listen to the music -- before anyone freaks out, this is meant facetiously...

alphachannel said:

Many people also hung the "Poet" title on Jim Morrison (I disagree with that too). I guess the true test would be if Prince could release a collection of true poetry -- not lyrics lifted from songs -- and succeed at it. Even then many may say that people were into it simple because they like Prince the singer/musician/songwriter (much like the crticism of John Lennon's books).

David Byrne once said that lyrics are just a gimmick to get people to listen to the music -- before anyone freaks out, this is meant facetiously...

Yes, I think Morrison was more of a poet however. Maybe it is the subject matter, or that he did not tend to sing "ooh baby baby" type of material. Though both he & Prince occasionally recite poems within songs (Peace Frog, Dreaming About U) they are famous for their songs, not their poetry.

David Byrne may have overstated the place of lyrics, but he got that lyrics are part of the music. And he did an entire album (Speaking in Tongues) of lyrics that meant nothing but sounded really good.

Prince has written poems, certainly, and is often poetic, I just think he is at his core a songwriter, and song lyrics function a little differently than poems

NDRU said:

alphachannel said:

Many people also hung the "Poet" title on Jim Morrison (I disagree with that too). I guess the true test would be if Prince could release a collection of true poetry -- not lyrics lifted from songs -- and succeed at it. Even then many may say that people were into it simple because they like Prince the singer/musician/songwriter (much like the crticism of John Lennon's books).

David Byrne once said that lyrics are just a gimmick to get people to listen to the music -- before anyone freaks out, this is meant facetiously...

Yes, I think Morrison was more of a poet however. Maybe it is the subject matter, or that he did not tend to sing "ooh baby baby" type of material. Though both he & Prince occasionally recite poems within songs (Peace Frog, Dreaming About U) they are famous for their songs, not their poetry.

David Byrne may have overstated the place of lyrics, but he got that lyrics are part of the music. And he did an entire album (Speaking in Tongues) of lyrics that meant nothing but sounded really good.

Prince has written poems, certainly, and is often poetic, I just think he is at his core a songwriter, and song lyrics function a little differently than poems

Good points -- all of them. I guess the key takeaway is that his lyrics for the most part should only be critiqued within the context of the song because (as far as we know) the lyrics were never meant to be presented or judged in isolation; it would be like judging Prince as a guitarist only listening to one of the guitar tracks from "Sister" for instance.

Maybe for this discussion we should only consider things such as the end of "Hello (Extended Version)", the Hallway Speech from the unreleased "Computer Blue" or the second half of "Temptation"...

NDRU said:

alphachannel said:

Many people also hung the "Poet" title on Jim Morrison (I disagree with that too).

Yes, I think Morrison was more of a poet however. Maybe it is the subject matter, or that he did not tend to sing "ooh baby baby" type of material. Though both he & Prince occasionally recite poems within songs (Peace Frog, Dreaming About U) they are famous for their songs, not their poetry.

This debate usually centres around him.

Morrison came from a Navy family and was priviliged, he had access to superior education and with it came actual pretentions to being a Poet. I don't think he was in any way the buffoon some like to say he was, but for instance, a song like Riders on the Storm really suffers from some clunky lines about "his brain was squirming like a toad" and suchlike, whereas Horse Latitudes is fairly impressive considering he wrote it in High School. I like these two, simple lines from Soul Kitchen...

The cars crawl past all stuffed with eyes,
Street lights share their hollow glow

[Edited 6/17/11 5:53am]

DennisMark said:

thisisit said:

yes i do think he's a poet. for me most song lyrics are poetry in some way. there's many different types.

speaking of poetry (it's funny you should mention it) my son wrote this earlier and read it out to me about ten minutes ago. he'll be 16 this year. it's called 'Eternal Cycle'.

Visions of chaos and disorder

Dreams of harmony and peace

Destruction incarnate, heavens resolve

Battle for the world and it's gold

Purified steel, harnessed crystal power

Claws of hatred, immense black sacred

Battle for the world and it's gold

The shadows scatter, compassion reigns

Cosmos loves, while Chaos feigns

Eternal cycle, in bittersweet slumber

Forgives but never forgets

just thought i'd share that

Thanks for sharing your sons poem - does he know it ?

of course. why?

btw his initials are JW. i forgot to put that with the poem when i shared it.

thisisit said:

DennisMark said:

Thanks for sharing your sons poem - does he know it ?

of course. why?

btw his initials are JW. i forgot to put that with the poem when i shared it.

cool - it's brave of him to share his work !

DennisMark said:

cool - it's brave of him to share his work !

i agree. his poem kinda sums up whats been going on around here lately. i'm starting to wonder if he's more of a prophet than a poet lol - he's also a musician, here's 2 of his tracks:

SABOTEUR

http://soundcloud.com/jfunk13/saboteur

HEARTS

http://soundcloud.com/jfunk13/hearts

there are kids out there who admire and respect prince and continue to learn from him to this very day.

I think he's a very poor lyricist.

A poet? Not in your wildest dreams!

he veers from the inane, such as poom poom, to lyrics that make my jaw drop. "said he'll never keep diaries, to learn from his mistakes, instead he'll just repeat all the good things that he's done" from moonbeam levels and "so low, the kerb looks like a skyscraper" from solo are just a couple that spring to mind.

i wouldn't class him as a poet. his idea of poetry is mumbling some nonsense in faux shakespearian a la the intros of come. a song like sometimes it snows in april has great lyrics, but i'd consider it more narrative than poetic. the ladder being another example.

prince is a poet & he know it!!.. he's such a lovey, his words are open to interpretation, arty farty fluffy & all

DoffieParker said:

prince is a poet & he know it!!.. he's such a lovey, his words are open to interpretation, arty farty fluffy & all

Please post an example of the poetry from Prince you like alot !