A Non-Poet's Question

[Rumple Foreskin]

Greetings,

I'm not a poet. That's a fact I regret, if for no other reason than the very strong probability my prose would improve if I possessed even the slightest touch of poetic sensibility. As for the poetry I read; my taste was formed early by Edna Millay and has remained steadfast ever since.

That said, sometimes I come across a few lines that move me. The ones below are song lyrics by Randy Newman. I'm curious what those of you who are poets think of them. The title is, "I Think It's Going to Rain Today."

Broken windows and empty hallways
A pale dead moon in the sky streaked with gray
Human kindness is overflowing
And I think it's going to rain today

Scarecrows dressed in the latest styles
With frozen smiles to chase love away
Human kindness is overflowing
And I think it?s going to rain today

Lonely, lonely
Tin can at my feet
Think I'll kick it down the street
That's the way to treat a friend

Bright before me the signs implore me
To help the needy and show them the way
Human kindness is overflowing
And I think it's going to rain today

Rumple Foreskin

 

[WickedEve]

I think it's good poetry. I can see why you like it.

 

[Angeline]

Greetings,

I'm not a poet. That's a fact I regret, if for no other reason than the very strong probability my prose would improve if I possessed even the slightest touch of poetic sensibility. As for the poetry I read; my taste was formed early by Edna Millay and has remained steadfast ever since.

That said, sometimes I come across a few lines that move me. The ones below are song lyrics by Randy Newman. I'm curious what those of you who are poets think of them. The title is, "I Think It's Going to Rain Today."


Rumple Foreskin

Hi RF. I like that song a lot--it's simple and moving. And I think it works just fine as a poem as well, probably for the same reasons.

 

[My Erotic Tale]

Hey Rump~

how ya been?
yep, that's a wonderful write!
Hope to see ya around this part of the lit world more often.

 

[annaswirls]

Just reading this here makes me weep. It is one of my favorite songs. Did you see the movie with Bette Middler and Angeline (okay, it isnt really angeline, but it really looks like her and I typed it without thinking, damn I think the movie even takes place at the Jersey Shore.) Its a best friends tear jerker like steel magnolias and terms of endearment damn, they sing this song on the way to.... oh god I cannot even say it.

This is a beautiful poem, new images, scarecrows dressed in the latest styles,

and this is as much of a poem as poems are.

thank you for posting this, I never saw all of the lyrics before
human kindness overflowing


sniff sniff


Does anyone know the name of the movie? I have to see it again, they meet as kids, Bette is outrageous, becomes a star, Angeline is a lawyer, one of the good kinds, married supposedly happy etc

Broken windows and empty hallways
A pale dead moon in the sky streaked with gray
Human kindness is overflowing
And I think it's going to rain today

Scarecrows dressed in the latest styles
With frozen smiles to chase love away
Human kindness is overflowing
And I think it?s going to rain today

Lonely, lonely
Tin can at my feet
Think I'll kick it down the street
That's the way to treat a friend

Bright before me the signs implore me
To help the needy and show them the way
Human kindness is overflowing

And I think it's going to rain today

 

[LadyJeanne]

Just reading this here makes me weep. It is one of my favorite songs. Did you see the movie with Bette Middler and Angeline (okay, it isnt really angeline, but it really looks like her and I typed it without thinking, damn I think the movie even takes place at the Jersey Shore.) Its a best friends tear jerker like steel magnolias and terms of endearment damn, they sing this song on the way to.... oh god I cannot even say it.

This is a beautiful poem, new images, scarecrows dressed in the latest styles,

and this is as much of a poem as poems are.

thank you for posting this, I never saw all of the lyrics before
human kindness overflowing


sniff sniff


Does anyone know the name of the movie? I have to see it again, they meet as kids, Bette is outrageous, becomes a star, Angeline is a lawyer, one of the good kinds, married supposedly happy etc

I believe the movie is "Beaches" with Bette and Barbara Hershey...that's where Bette's "Wind Beneath My Winds" song comes from.

 

[Angeline]

Just reading this here makes me weep. It is one of my favorite songs. Did you see the movie with Bette Middler and Angeline (okay, it isnt really angeline, but it really looks like her and I typed it without thinking, damn I think the movie even takes place at the Jersey Shore.) Its a best friends tear jerker like steel magnolias and terms of endearment damn, they sing this song on the way to.... oh god I cannot even say it.

This is a beautiful poem, new images, scarecrows dressed in the latest styles,

and this is as much of a poem as poems are.

thank you for posting this, I never saw all of the lyrics before
human kindness overflowing


sniff sniff


Does anyone know the name of the movie? I have to see it again, they meet as kids, Bette is outrageous, becomes a star, Angeline is a lawyer, one of the good kinds, married supposedly happy etc




And I think it's going to rain today

omg you've outed me. I'm Barbara Hershey.

I sound more like Bette Middler. Except I can't sing.

 

[Rumple Foreskin]

Hey Rump~

how ya been?
yep, that's a wonderful write!
Hope to see ya around this part of the lit world more often.

I'm like Monty Python's Spanish Inquisition, nobody expects me.

Thanks for the kind welcome, ET. I'm glad you folks who know what you're talking about when it comes to poetry share the opinion of this old prose pusher about those lyrics.

One part that leaves me especially envious is Newman's use of the word "today." IMHO, it transforms a cliche into a poignant expression of sorrow. "I think it's going to rain, today." (I'm not sure whether that comma is in the authorized written version but it's there in the song.)

Rumple Foreskin

 

[The Mutt]

I am always amazed at how Randy Newman can be so simply eloquent. He can make me cry more easily than any other songwriter I know.

Texas Girl at the Funeral of Her Father
Randy Newman

Here I am lost in the wind
'Round in circles sailing
Like a ship that never comes in
Standing by myself

Sing a sad song for a good man
Sing a sad song for me
Sing a sad song for the sailor
A thousand miles from the sea

Here I am alone on the plain
Sun's going down
It's starting to rain
Papa, we'll go sailing.