MacJams.com - Song: The Cigarette and The Actress by Del

The Cigarette and The Actress
by Del

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Attribution-NoDerivs-NonCommercial

Guest views: 2523
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Song comments: 15
Tokens: 0
Plays: 200
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Downloads: 99
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Submitted on: Nov 18, 2004 - 12:08:09 AM
Last Updated: Feb 14 2005 - 02:53:32 PM

Description A poem about the end of an affair. Spoken, trying to avoid the sense of bitterness, although not the exhaustion of its aftermath. Music in collaboration with TobinMueller: stand-up bass by Ron Carter; organ by Tobin. Although this poem is about an actual actress, how many of us know people who are just this sort of actress (even if they don't have their Equity card yet)? Artwork is "Mimmi" by Steven Haag-Stahlberg.

Lyrics the cigarette...

your hands work as if on stage
a sudden graft of someone else’s elegance
elbows relaxed and eyebrows arched
within the practiced context of props
and their finely scripted securities

patterns change, of speech and gesture
as eyes squint through curling smoke
someone else’s eyes
and the deftly lit cigarette fills your mouth
someone else’s mouth

cool words vent with the mouth’s exhaust
no longer the oracle that sang to me like a kiss
cool words and heated smoke screening
your face, and I wonder
how many people there are inside you burning

like a sparkler flashing on the fourth of july
the end of your smoldering hand traces
the space, the growing space that encircles you,
smoke defining in the busy night air
the conversation’s end

looking offstage as if for a prompt
you try to say what is already in one eye
and take a drag, tasting the sound

then finally the words, arrogant as a thrower’s knives
“I can’t handle this yet, you know? Not yet. Not me.”
and it all seems so reasonable
as you nod, agreeing with yourself

and each promise made is lanced like a balloon
and each sweet vow is swallowed
as the scrolls of our moments,
poems all (i had believed),
are rolled and stuffed and turned to ash
then casually flicked into the oncoming traffic
in the time it takes for another match to flare

2004 © Tobin James Mueller

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TobinMueller said 1513 days ago

Nice marriage of music and text
I like the way the music flows underneath, hip and distant
and almost like walking... and stopping... with a few hits
here and there to accentuate the text. A nice visual. Your
voice is pretty low key, tho, considering the frustration of
such a fulcrum moment... even tho "The Actress" is
playing it that way. I'd have used more emotions, less
subtle, but I get what you're going for. Thanks for the
great work and appreciation. The edits you made to the
text are, again, improvements!

	Del said 1392 days ago
	Nice marriage of music and text I was just trying to tighten up the text. Your language still is slightly foreign on my tongue, since I speak more street and less poet. I try and translate for myself, you might say.

	ChrisSly said 1513 days ago
	I'm pretty sure I dated her... I love these spoken word/music works. Such a great voice, and such a clean capture. And a really terrific poem. Keep 'em coming!

	_nderscore said 1513 days ago
	beginning to end i didn't think i would like it, but i couldn't stop listening. three simple things-voice, bass & organ. it's like they were all expressively telling the story & if you took out just one of them, it would all fall apart. great work

	daphna said 1508 days ago
	great poetry/music like _nderscore, I couldn't stop listening. I really like this spoken word style. Thanks for an enjoyable and captivating listening experience.

	said 1485 days ago
	Poetry floating on a bed of music Yes.

	Suzanne said 1470 days ago
	excellent poetry the backing music is so cool, like the restraint of the speaker. too bad you couldn't just shove the cigarette into that girl's two faces. (oh, sorry, that just sort of blurted out.) i heard the cars flashing by after the track was over. was she under the tires as well?

	TennesseeVic said 1460 days ago
	Do you wear a black turtleneck? It's a bit like beat poetry, not? At least in atmosphere? Very enjoyable.

	SpasmodicMan said 1439 days ago
	Shatner can't hold a candle to you So cool. Beatnik time. Man, too bad we can't keep that ethos going. This track absolutely creeps me out... it is SO TRUE! How I have lived this long without killing a half dozen ex-girlfriends, I don't know. You gotta come out with a poetry album. Shatner can't hold a candle to you...

	BlackLily said 1392 days ago
	after listening to you I finally come closer to grasping what you meant in the comment from The song that saved the world. heh very nice

	balata said 1239 days ago
	Voice man!! Love the voice, the fusion with the bass is excellent. Your timing is superb. Oh and the poem iteself is very descriptive, very literary, not many here have been. There is form, correctness, and story....

	Del said 1512 days ago
	beginning to end Thanks. This whole collaboration thing has helped me gain the confidence to keep going. Having the help of really talented and experienced members... it makes all the difference to me. Especially Tobin. I will keep trying!

	Del said 1392 days ago
	excellent poetry You make me laugh. I know exactly what you mean. Thanks for taking it so personally.

	Del said 1392 days ago
	Do you wear a black turtleneck? Got the T-neck, but wouldn't be caught dead with the little round glasses...

	Del said 1396 days ago
	Shatner can't hold a candle to you Amen. Maybe I should take Shatner's lead and do a comic thing next? (... I am losing hair, too. Hmm, too many parallels.)

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