Reanimated Lavender Granola Switchblade Nun rides again.

Monday, January 28, 2013

Ladies & Gentlemen....Coal Black !

Those of you who were habitues of the late, great Coal Black's House Of Pain may remember these 8 little gems, which are now being released as part of Poison Apple's concept cd "LeSabre of Love: The Bitsy Henderson Story". ( And also, now that the House of Pain is inactive, I'm always afraid that WeirdPress will suddenly zap it into non-existence, and I want my favorite Coal stuff here at Word Garden, too, just in case. Paranoia strikes deep....)

"dr. phil"

during the week
that became a year
that i let fuckhead stay at my trailer,
he took to watching
dr. phil
afternoons.

one wednesday,
about 430,
i had just gotten up and was
polishing 
my stage boots
when fuckhead says,
we need to work on having
a healthy
relationship.

i threw one boot
at his ear
and the other
through the screen.
i'd prefer not to,
i said.
i'd prefer
not to.
_____

"god"

god sees when you do bad, mama said.
does not, i said.
does. god sees everything.
this was bad news and i didn't care for it.

then i don't like god, i said.
i'll give god a bloody nose.
can't, said mama.
your arms are too short.

jenny at school say
it's against the rules.
jenny say
i'm gonna tell.
but jenny ain't god.
guess how i know?
_______

"easy"

do ya think it's easy, babe
what the night has to do to get by?
do ya think it's easy
to get
so dark, so deep, so high?

when i look at you,
i know just why the moon goes so crazy
and so blue...
it's cos she's so helpless in love
with a star that's only passing through.

do ya think it's easy, babe
to love someone so dark, so deep, so true?
every wicked thing you do drives me crazy...
and it's never easy
never easy
lovin' you.
______

"northbound / southbound" 

early, i took the northbound bus,
and the whole world seemed quiet, holy and fine...
late, i took the southbound bus,
and i never saw such a devil-cursed line.
______

"coneflowers"

i left my leather boots
in the closet like buddhas,
and wore white heels to sally's summer wedding.
in the morning,
one lay in the wet grass,
and the other in the deep green leaves of the coneflower plants
at the foot of your wooden steps.
______

"she"

she
got a wild-ass dog that sleeps with her.
she
swears a blue streak.
she
don't speak no yankee.
she
rather drive than fly.
she
rocks a sweet pair of boots.
she
don't listen to no shit music.
she
the only one in the room, to me.
she.
____

"bring me all of your dreams, you dreamer" *

bring me all of your dreams,
you dreamer,
i will hold them tender in rough hands.

dream sweet, sweetheart,
my bed is old, but knows how to give,
and here your dreams will rest easy.

bring me all of your dreams,
you dreamer,
bring me the best one before you forget.

the windows are frosted,
but my quilts are warm...

lay your dreams and your body safe in my arms,
and then, my sweet baby,
dream on, dream on.

* as part of a prompt, the title and opening line are from the Langston Hughes poem "The Dream Keeper", which may be found HERE.
_______

...and my favorite Coal composition by far...

"stones"

i said i wadn't gonna throw no more stones at your window,
and mama say, if you gonna open you mouth,
tell the truth, girl, or hush.

i said i wadn't gonna throw no more stones at your window,
oh, but honey,
there were so many stones
and i missed you so much.
_______

"easy", "she" and "stones" are for Coal's favorite waitress down at The Egg Explodes diner.

    

 

15 comments:

  1. I was reading through going--"I hope she stuck 'coneflowers' in here,' and then there it was. Yay! Always a good way to start the day, with a cup of some coal black...I miss her, and am glad you gave her a nice shanty to sleep in at the back of Word Garden. Hopefully the broken glass, throbbing bass and exotic curse words won't be too noticeable back there.

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  2. i liked the one w/ jenny and god. :)

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  3. Coal is my kind of gal ... 'Easy' and T Bone Burnett need to meet!

    Do you watch the series Nashville? I didn't .. until I heard the music!! A mini-concert in each show. The producer is married to T Bone!

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  4. YAY! Coal Black! Fave lines: "there were so many stones and I missed you so much."

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  5. So much to love in Coal Black's repertoire. Dr Phil cracks me up, and these gorgeous lines resonate:

    i know just why the moon goes so crazy
    and so blue...
    it's cos she's so helpless in love
    with a star that's only passing through.

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  6. Great work, Coal! I love "bring me all of your dreams, you dreamer" so much. It's so sensual but so sweet.

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  7. "i threw one boot
    at his ear
    and the other
    through the screen.
    i'd prefer not to,
    i said.
    i'd prefer
    not to." I've done that. But I have bad aim, so don't worry; no one ever gets hurt or hears me scream.

    great ending on #2

    #3 rocks my world

    What a great piece to end with; I love this:
    "i said i wadn't gonna throw no more stones at your window,
    oh, but honey,
    there were so many stones
    and i missed you so much"

    The silly things we say we're gonna do or not do ...

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  8. I LOVE She & Him! And this song. Groovy. :)

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  9. i don't really like poetry unless there's a fuckhead mentioned. that's what makes it for me.

    brad pitt called me up...said 'yo z, i gonna rhyme for ya down at the grindhouse.' i said 'not unless you say fuckhead, fuckhead.'

    he did.

    he was followed by samuel l. jackson, whose set was notable in that he *didn't* say it.

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  10. Like Hedge, I was hoping to find my favorite. "She" rocks!

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  11. I love "She" the best. More than the others? Now I'm not sure...

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  12. So much fun.

    I completely understand your paranoia...I share it!!

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  13. "i said.
    i'd prefer
    not to."

    I love the way you don't overreact. Heh. Love these poems!

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  14. "easy" "she" "stones" and "bring me all of your dreams, you dreamer" are my favorites, too! so so so so so glad you brought some of Coal's amazing poetry over to the garden!

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  15. Congratulations, Ms Coal, this is seriously awesome.
    Luv, K

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