Evidently we haven't written any lyrics in a while. All three of us have been REALLY rather busy but we might make a second run at this sometime in the summer so keep your eyes peeled for that I guess.
Monday 8 June 2009
Wednesday 14 January 2009
Dean Atta - "Falling Short"
"I rise, I have risen, and yet I feel like
I'm falling
Falling from grace
Falling short of my potential
Falling out of favor with those who expected, predicted were counting on so much for me and my future.
If this is the future, take me back to the past when I had hopes, dreams and ambitions and not just debts, regrets and not-quite-yets; when a blank page offered up infinite possibilities - not just a potential paycheck and an escape from a job where I get no respect. And yet, I rise to positions of responsibility and accountability; I rise to capitalist desires - not at school waiting for playtime but at work waiting for payday. Day dreaming of a play date where butterflies would lift off from a pit of acid; rise and make noise in the form of words strung together as a puppeteer connects to a puppet.
I rise to the occasion; I have been cocooned too long, my flight is imminent. I boil over in a storm, though torrential rain may descend upon me; the same water that sustains my being and form. I rise about and beyond; standing on the wings of the butterflies and treading the raindrops like a stairway to Heaven, and so although they fall - I rise - like the towers that scrape the skies, though oxygen is thin up here I stand tall while others crawl and gasp for breath. I breathe the air of the gods, filled with stardust and plain emissions; I don't need an engine for my ascension.
I rise from sleep and depression and found all other psychological conditions remained - and within a system of liars the trust seems like insanity, so how do I defy gravity? I rise free from my former inhibitions to realize the only opinions that matter to me are that of God and my mother. See a clear destination and a strong foundation won’t stop precipitation; but when you understand the cycle, you don’t fear it any more than a river fears evaporation. The sea has been in the sky so why can’t I?
I rise, I fall, and through it all, I learn to linger a little higher."
Copyright © Dean Atta 2008
Dean Atta is a poet, writer, actor and workshop facilitator I first had the privilege of seeing live at The Roundhouse, where he delivered a fairly astounding performance in an open mic session.
Since then I've been impressed by more of his work, particularly the poem above, and so have no hesitation in declaring this talented brother the first young British poet to get the We Write The Lyrics stamp of approval. Not that he needs it. Dean leads a series of poetry and spoken word workshops at the Lyric Theatre in Hammersmith, which he's asked me to let y'all know about. Peep the info below.
- DeeKay
Interested in becoming a vocalist, lyricist, poet or spoken word artist? Take part in this popular course run by Spoken Word Artist Dean Atta.
Get involved in slams, create tracks and take part in performances that will blow your mates away. Previous participants have gone on to create and perform their own spoken word performances here at the Lyric.
Who: 14 - 19 yrs old
When: 2 Feb - 30 Mar. Mon 6.30pm - 9pm
Where: Lyric Hammersmith, Lyric Square, King St, London W6 0QL
Cost: £8 per term (booking essential)
Book: Online www. lyric. co. uk or call 0871 22 117 29
Tuesday 13 January 2009
Tahani Salah - "Hate"
A different perspective on the Israel/Palestine conflict other than the one shown to us by the "free and fair" media in the west...
- Anarki
Monday 12 January 2009
Floetry - "Fantasize"
Natalie Stewart describes Floetry's style as "poetic delivery with musical intent" which I feel is pretty accurate. Their debut album "Floetic" (2002) is a amazing blend of soul and spoken word. Here's a performance of theirs from Def Poetry Jam.
- DeeKay
Gemineye - "Poetic Bloodlines"
"I want you to make intelligence a law, because ignorance is a crime..."
- Invicted Shaheen
Thursday 8 January 2009
Tupac Shakur - "The Rose That Grew From Concrete"
"Did you hear about the rose that grew from a crack in the concrete?
Proving nature's law is wrong it learned to walk without having feet.
Funny it seems, but by keeping it's dreams, it learned to breathe fresh air.
Long live the rose that grew from concrete when no one else even cared."
- DeeKay
Proving nature's law is wrong it learned to walk without having feet.
Funny it seems, but by keeping it's dreams, it learned to breathe fresh air.
Long live the rose that grew from concrete when no one else even cared."
- DeeKay
Wednesday 7 January 2009
Edgar Albert Guest - "The Bachelor's Soliloquy"
"To wed, or not to wed; that is the question;
Whether 'tis nobler in the mind to suffer
The bills and house rent of a wedded fortune,
Or to say "nit" when she proposes,
And by declining cut her. To wed; to smoke
No more; And have a wife at home to mend
The holes in socks and shirts
And underwear and so forth. 'Tis a consummation
Devoutly to be wished. To wed for life;
To wed; perchance to fight; ay, there's the rub;
For in that married life what fights may come,
When we have honeymooning ceased
Must give us pause; there's the respect
That makes the joy of single life.
For who would bear her mother's scornful tongue,
Canned goods for tea, the dying furnace fire;
The pangs of sleepless nights when baby cries;
The pain of barking shins upon a chair and
Closing waists that button down the back,
When he himself might all these troubles shirk
With a bare refusal? Who would bundles bear,
And grunt and sweat under a shopping load?
Who would samples match; buy rats for hair,
Cart cheese and crackers home to serve at night
For lunch to feed your friends; play pedro
After tea; sing rag time songs, amusing
Friendly neighbors. Buy garden tools
To lend unto the same. Stay home at nights
In smoking coat and slippers and slink to bed
At ten o'clock to save the light bills?
Thus duty does make cowards of us all,
And thus the native hue of matrimony
Is sicklied o'er with the pale cast of chores;
And thus the gloss of marriage fades away,
And loses its attraction."
The poem is a play on Shakespeare and uses archaic language but it's hilarious!
- Anarki
Whether 'tis nobler in the mind to suffer
The bills and house rent of a wedded fortune,
Or to say "nit" when she proposes,
And by declining cut her. To wed; to smoke
No more; And have a wife at home to mend
The holes in socks and shirts
And underwear and so forth. 'Tis a consummation
Devoutly to be wished. To wed for life;
To wed; perchance to fight; ay, there's the rub;
For in that married life what fights may come,
When we have honeymooning ceased
Must give us pause; there's the respect
That makes the joy of single life.
For who would bear her mother's scornful tongue,
Canned goods for tea, the dying furnace fire;
The pangs of sleepless nights when baby cries;
The pain of barking shins upon a chair and
Closing waists that button down the back,
When he himself might all these troubles shirk
With a bare refusal? Who would bundles bear,
And grunt and sweat under a shopping load?
Who would samples match; buy rats for hair,
Cart cheese and crackers home to serve at night
For lunch to feed your friends; play pedro
After tea; sing rag time songs, amusing
Friendly neighbors. Buy garden tools
To lend unto the same. Stay home at nights
In smoking coat and slippers and slink to bed
At ten o'clock to save the light bills?
Thus duty does make cowards of us all,
And thus the native hue of matrimony
Is sicklied o'er with the pale cast of chores;
And thus the gloss of marriage fades away,
And loses its attraction."
The poem is a play on Shakespeare and uses archaic language but it's hilarious!
- Anarki
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