Continuing our live music autumn, we saw Peter Gabriel on Thursday night, performing the So album (and other material) on his Back to Front tour. I have been a fan of Gabriel’s since the 70s, and although the years have changed his appearance, the passion and intensity of his voice have not changed at all.
Hearing him perform some of my favorite ballads – most notably “Don’t Give Up”(with Kate Bush’s part amazingly sung by Jenny Abrahamson) and “Mercy Street” – moved me to the point of tears. Singing along with the third verse of “Solisbury Hill” (“today I don’t need a replacement/I’ll tell them what the smile on my face meant/my heart going boom, boom, boom”), I felt completely free of the stress of my work day, happy and in the moment as the band skipped around the stage like schoolchildren.
Many thanks (as always) to my husband, who bought the tickets for my big 5-0 birthday this summer. Everything is more fun when we are together. (However, we were both a little irritated with the mostly-boring crowd, many of whom spent more time trying to record songs on their phones and iPads - yes, iPads - than they did actually watching the show.) So, for today’s appreciation of poems, I give you the lyrics to “Mercy Street,” based on Anne Sexton’s poem “45 Mercy Street.”
“Mercy Street”
looking down on empty streets, all she can see
are the dreams all made solid
are the dreams all made real
all of the buildings, all of those cars
were once just a dream
in somebody’s head
she pictures the broken glass, she pictures the steam
she pictures a soul
with no leak at the seam
lets take the boat out
wait until darkness
let’s take the boat out
wait until darkness comes
nowhere in the corridors of pale green and grey
nowhere in the suburbs
in the cold light of day
there in the midst of it so alive and alone
words support like bone
dreaming of mercy st.
wear your inside out
dreaming of mercy
in your daddy’s arms again
dreaming of mercy st.
‘swear they moved that sign
dreaming of mercy
in your daddy’s arms
pulling out the papers from the drawers that slide smooth
tugging at the darkness, word upon word
confessing all the secret things in the warm velvet box
to the priest-he’s the doctor
he can handle the shocks
dreaming of the tenderness-the tremble in the hips
of kissing Mary’s lips
dreaming of mercy st.
wear your insides out
dreaming of mercy
in your daddy’s arms again
dreaming of mercy st.
‘swear they moved that sign
looking for mercy
in your daddy’s arms
mercy, mercy, looking for mercy
mercy, mercy, looking for mercy
Anne, with her father is out in the boat
riding the water
riding the waves on the sea
*
If you want to write:
1. Choose a favorite poem and try to rewrite it as a song lyric (with a repeating chorus, etc.). Or, choose a favorite song and rewrite it as a poem that does not have a chorus.
OR
2. Use “Let’s take the boat out/wait until darkness” or “words support like bone” as a line in a new poem.
Such a sad, powerful song and poem. Strange to come across this today, because last night I was doing a writing exercise and one of the things that came up was a phrase evoking a very similar feeling/experience.
This must be my cue. Time to go write.
I’ve always quite liked “Come Talk to Me” myself. And although it’s completely removed from all his other work, Passion is still one of my all-time favorite albums. What I ended up with from reading your post was this Golem thing; make of it what you will!
He opened with an acoustic version of “Come Talk to Me” – just his voice, piano, and Tony Levin on stand-up bass. Magic.
I love Peter Gabriel, too. Solsbury Hill was a little anthem of mine in college — thanks for the memories.
Pingback: tuesday’s poetry from prompt « naked.
Pingback: Friday Freeforall « Margo Roby: Wordgathering