Poet Miller Williams and Daughter, Singer/Songwriter Lucinda Williams — Google Image
I have six Lucinda Williams albums, which is a lot for my eclectic music tastes. Her music is so introspective with words that come from “down where the spirit meets the bone” — a line from her dad’s poem, “Compassion” and also the title of her latest album, “Down Where the Spirit Meets the Bone.” The album begins with her adaptation of “Compassion.”
Compassion
Have compassion for everyone you meet,
even if they don’t want it.
What appears bad manners,
an ill temper or cynicism
is always a sign
of things no ears have heard,
no eyes have seen.
You do not know what wars
are going on
down there where the spirit
meets the bone.”
— Miller Williams
This two-disc album is, for me, her best. Like most of her music, it’s best listen to during quiet times — over and over, and over, over and over.
In a September 12, 2014 Billboard article, Lucinda was quoted:
“My dad was always adamant about the differentiation between poetry and songs,” Williams says. “In the past I’d send him a couple of things that I said, ‘Maybe this might be a poem,’ and he said, ‘Honey, I think this wants to be a song.’ I really want to look at some of his other poems and see if I can do that again.”
All I have to say is, what is it about those academic literary types that makes them the supreme judge of what is poetry? Listen to her songs, they are beautiful no matter what you may call them.
Leonard Cohen once said, “Poetry is just the evidence of life. If your life is burning well, poetry is just the ash.” I hope Lucinda keeps spreading the ashes for a long time.
kenne
