Snyder ‘n Van Vliet

by foolish_Paeter

Posted to WritersAndGenres on 2003-07-03 14:03:00

I just read Jam’s Snyder article, and it just got me thinking about naturalism & ecology & whatnot, and I realised that I didn’t really go into Don Van Vliet’s (Captain Beefheart; read the article already! 😀 ) ecological poetry/lyrics

Check these out (Big eyed beans from Venus — sorry, spontaneous reaction to the phrase “check these out”):

untitled, from Trout Mask Replica sleeve:

Manta Ray A Black and white
hand groped in blue light
under the moon scratched
a fingernail
tipped off full ran to one side
of Heaven’s Black top hat
God smiled, his Black and White wings
wet with tears of peace perfumed
with life’s perfection.

~-~

“You Should Know by the Kindness of uh Dog the Way uh Human Should Be”

You should know by the kindness of uh dog
The way a human should be
You should feel the wet wood heart of the tree
Wood sap pop like a frog’s eye
Open t’ the fly ‘n the blood of the river
When it ripples ‘n clicks like uh waterbell
‘n the elephant in his beautiful grey leather suit
Though he’s wrinkled he looks smart as hell
‘n the turtle’s eyes carry bags very well
‘n the snake’s in shape
He rattles like uh baby ‘wears his diamonds
Better than uh fine lady’s finger
‘n his fangs are no more dangerous
Than her slow aristocratic poison
And he plays his games on uh grass bed
‘n uh monkey never had uh guilty masturbation
‘n uh monkey wouldn’t shit on another’s creation
And the fatman cries throughout all creation
’cause he’s got uh cold
‘n the icebear dives thru blue zero for uh frozen fish
‘n the eskimo wears his hide ‘n chews his heart
‘n the beautiful grey whale oils some bitches lighter
Someday I’ll have money ‘n I can frame myself
What uh picture I’ll be choppin’ down uh tree

~-~

“Plastic Factory”

Phos’phrous chimney burnin’
Modern-men’s a-learnin’
Time and space a-turnin’
Motor’s engine churnin’
fac’trys no place for me boss man let me be

Wind and wave all blowin’
Mountain ‘n sky showin’
Bee ‘n flower growin’
Boy ‘n girl are glowin’
fac’trys no place for me boss man let me be

Minds inside are goin’
Muscle ‘n bone are showin”
One thing sure am knowin’
Get a fire goin’
factory’s no place for me boss man let me be
boss man let me be boss man leave me be

~-~

“Petrified Forest”

Human Bark
Beautyless hide from beauty
Bow your eyes ‘n heads to the duty of the dead’s
Suck the ground
Breathe life into the dead dinosaurs
Let the past demons rear up ‘n belch fire in the air of now
The rug’s wearing out that we walk on
Soon it will fray ‘n we’ll drop
Dead into yesterday
Must the breathing pay for those who breathe in ‘n don’t
Breathe out
There’d be no gain, brothers, if no one would play
‘n for your games count me n’ all that can see,
Breathe in ‘n out hungry today ‘n eat hearty tomorrow
Or eat away ‘n be eaten some day
No seed shall sow in salt water
If the dinosaur cries with blood in his eyes
In the dinosaur cries with blood in his eyes
‘n eats our babies for our lies
Belches fire in our skies
Maybe I’ll die but he’ll be rumbling through
Your petrified forest