12. CAROL DENNEY: YOU THOUGHT THE BOOKS WOULD BURN
Carol Denney; Solid Frog Prod. (BMI) July 25, 2011
racing right down to the wire
a nation with its eyes on fire
playing little war games on a
million empty tv screens
you thought the books would burn
but they just melted into beeping toys
and people ripping copper out of
walls and lights and pipes they know
they know there’s something missing
yeah they know there’s something wrong
and you you thought the books would burn
but they just melted
you watched them go you watched it die
and twist and light afire and fly
you watched them cause you had to
you just couldn’t look away I know
you thought the books would burn
but they became a flock of stumbling birds
and now no one can recognize
the authors or the names
and all the names keep coming back to you
or is it you you thought you knew
you thought the books would burn
and now they’re footprints and they’re everywhere
they fell right through your empty hands
and blew apart and no one can
remember how it came to this
this drunken blind apocalypse
you thought the books would burn
but they exploded over everything
and phrases words and little shards
of thoughts are burned in people’s flesh
like bright tattoos it came to this
because we can’t control a thing
you thought the books would burn
but they exploded they exploded
yes, you thought the books would burn
but they exploded
I swear I swear I really took
each simple chance I thought I had
I swear I understood what I was
doing but it came apart
I thought the books would burn
but they just fluttered in the sun
the wind the rain I did the same
I thought it had to know my name but no
you thought the books would burn
but they remembered and forgave it all
as though they could at least be frames
for every scrawl across the page
you thought the books would burn
but they fell open at the perfect place
and no one can erase them now
you know that don’t you yes, you do
you thought the books would burn
and burn and burn and burn
and burn and burn
you thought the books would burn
but they remembered every name and face
and every single fingertip
that played across an open page
you thought the books would burn
but they fell open at the perfect place
and poured into the streets and ran
until no one could understand
you thought the books would burn
but all the pages turned to snow
you thought the books would burn
but all the pages turned to snow
you thought the books would burn
but they just melted
__________________________________________
 CAROL DENNEY:
Award-winning lyricist, published poet, guitarist, fiddler, and concertina* stylist, "Fiddlers for Peace" founder, curator of the "Deep Poetry Project", and editor of the Pepper Spray Times. 2004 honoree by the City of Berkeley for homeless advocacy, 2003 honoree for civil liberties activism through music, humor, and art by the Berkeley Commission on the Status of Women, winner of the East Bay Express' readers' poll "Best Solo Performer" for 2002, and selected as one of the San Francisco Bay Guardian's 2001 "Best of the Bay". Featured writer at the Centre for Political Song, Glasgow Caledonian University in Scotland, microradio pioneer with Free Radio Berkeley, etc. Failure to Disperse Acoustic Revolt and Road Show ensemble and solo performances. Spiritual advisor and graphic production for the Best of Blasphemy project in Canyon, California. Published commentator in local and national fora. Proud part of the Folk This! extended family. Winner of the 2009 Oldtime Spirit award from the Augusta Music Heritage Festival, voted best female artist at PirateCat Radio in SF in 2010. Nominated to the Revolutionary Poets' Brigade by former poet laureate of San Francisco Jack Hirschman in 2010. Inventor of the chairapillar. Crankie innovator. Organizer of the 2012 Olympic Sitting Competition. Cast member and contributing writer on the esteemed production of KPFA's TwitWit Radio produced by George Coates, live radio comedy on Sunday Nights from 6:30 pm to 7:00 pm. Author of "They're Building A Pipeline" song being used to fight the Dominion Resources pipeline through West Virginia, Virginia, and North Carolina.
http://caroldenney.com/ |
