Poetry? Poetry. Poetry?!?

Mark Kozelek is the man (lyricist, composer, guitarist, and vocalist) behind two of my all time favorite bands, the Red House Painters and Sun Kil Moon. Or rather, he is those bands, so saying they are both favorites is sort of redundant. He is often described as one of America's great living song writers (by people who listen to this sort of music) and last year republished this book, which while technically a collection of lyrics from his entire catalog, it is as much a book of poetry as my previous entry. While he is not Bob Dylan or Leonard Cohen (or Jewel), and I would argue that his songs are much more that (songs, as in a harmony [pun intended] of music and lyrics) than some of the work of those men, his lyrics are poetic, beautiful, funny, often devastingly sad. Rather than go on and on, and I could, I'll just leave you with one of them. Maybe its not you thing, but it is mine.


This is "Duk Koo Kim" by Mark Kozelek (which, incidentally, is one of my favorite songs ever)

looking out on my roof last night
woken up from a dream
i saw a typhoon coming in close
bringing the clouds down to the sea
making the world look gray and alone
taking all light from my view
keeping everyone in
and keeping me here with you

around you now, i can't sleep no more baby
around you still, don't want to leave yet

woken up from a dream last night
somewhere lost in war
i couldn't feel my feet or hands
i didn't feel right anymore
i knew there I'd die alone
with no one to reach to
but an angel came down
and brought me back to you

i'd rather leave this world forever baby
than let life go the way it's going

watching an old fight film last night
Ray Mancini vs. Duk Koo Kim
the boy from Seoul was hanging in good
but the pounding took to him
and there in the square he lay alone
without face without crown
and the angel who looked upon
never came down

you never know what day could pick you baby
out of the air, out of nowhere

come to me once more my love
show me love I've never known
sing to me once more my love
words from your younger years
sing to me once more my love
songs that i love to hear

birds gather 'round my window
fly with everything i love about the day
flowers, blue and gold and orange
rise with everything i love about the day

walk with me down these strange streets
how have we come to be here
so kind are all these people
how have we come to know them