Love this... [www.americansongwriter.com]

Todd's tribute is amazing yet it only touches on the greatness of Jagger...

Never heard of him. Why should we care?

What makes that a poem, other than the fact that the sentences are broken up into shorter lines? Answer: nothing, it's prose in disguise. Takes more than that to make a poem!

It's not a great poem like John Ashbery, Geoffrey Hill or Anne Carson write, but I quite agree with Todd Snider. Jagger tops Dylan as a lyricist (but of course not Ashbery, Hill or Carson).

Todd Snider writes:
"I think he is the most fearless public person of my lifetime
and when I hear the words he writes
I have to wonder if that fearlessness is the heart or core
of why the poetry seems to so easily
pour filterlessly from the heart without pomp or circumstance or mythology
into a song wide open to be what it wants (i.e. Sympathy For The Devil)

and I think had Mick Jagger not been so envied, attractive to women, androgynously handsome,
willing to dance. willing to frighten. his words would be poured over by stoners.
in short.
if he wasn’t the best stripper
he would get credit for being the best poet

but as it stands
the second best poet can’t dance, sing or strip for shit.
so he gets to be first best in our history books
but even he knows whats up

Bob Dylan told Keith Richards
“see Keith I could write a “Satisfaction” but you could never write a “Like A Rolling Stone”
and I agree
that Keith Richards probably isn’t going to sit down and pen anything
that moves people like “Like A Rolling Stone” does
I am not sure I agree that Bob Dylan has a riff in his catalogue
that could stand up next to “Satisfaction”
at least not to my taste
but one thing for sure
he didn’t say that to Mick Jagger
who wrote

“the sunshine bores the daylights out of me”
and
“you can’t always get what you want but if you try sometimes you get what you need”
and
“what can a poor boy do ‘cept for sing for a rock and roll band”
and
“people say I’m a loser, but I still get lucky on the side”
and
“laugh. I nearly died”
and
“I’m free to do what I want any old time”
and
“my best friend he shoots water rats and feeds them to his geese
and
“can’t I have my ups and downs? can’t you see I’m human?”
and
“she drove her pick up truck painted green and blue”
and
“god gave me everything I want. come on I’ll give it to you”
and
“I was born in a cross fire hurricane”
and
“there she was sitting in the corner. a little bleary. worse for the wear and tear”
and
“Our love is like our music / It’s here and then it’s gone”
and
“I see the girls go by, dressed in their summer clothes / I have to turn my head until my darkness goes”
and
“Like a newborn baby, it just happens every day”
and
“Please allow me to introduce myself, I’m a man of wealth and taste”
and
“Onstage the band has got problems / They’re a bag of nerves on first nights”
and
“now I’m just one of your cocks”"



And this passage is also spot on I think:


"it seems to me
that while Bob Dylan and Keith Richards
go way out of their way to make sure
everybody knows
how little they care
what everybody thinks
about them

Jagger just doesn’t"



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 2014-05-21 20:22 by GetYerAngie.

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GetYerAngie
It's not a great poem like John Ashbery, Geoffrey Hill or Anne Carson write, but I quite agree with Todd Snyder. Jagger tops Dylan as a lyricist (but of course not Ashbery, Hill or Carson).

I wasn't actually questioning the content, just the format--that ain't poetry--but OK, I'll question the content, too. It seems ludicrous to suggest that Jagger's lyrics, good as some of them are (and I can't say Snider picks the best), are overall in the same ballpark as Dylan's.

....I'll go ludicrous ....Gimmie Jagger's lyrics over Dylan's anyday



ROCKMAN

Well, it's a subjective thing, but we'll have to disagree on this one!

no problem......all sweet down here ...



ROCKMAN

I agree, Todd Snider doesn't pick the best - and doesn't pretend to I think. But I do not agree that Dylan's lyrics are in another ballpark. In general I think Dylan is overrated as a lyricist - to my knowledge he hasn't a lyric that can match Sympathy. As great as Dylan can be, there is all too often a taste of teaching to his lyrics. Take subterrenean homesick blues ("Don't follow leaders/ Watch the parkin meters" ) as an example and compare that to SFM - ("But what can a poor boy do/ except sing for a rock'n'roll band" ). Or one could mention the lesson Mr. Jones is taught in Ballad of a thin man (compare that to Mother's little helper).



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 2014-05-21 20:22 by GetYerAngie.

<Bob Dylan told Keith Richards
“see Keith I could write a “Satisfaction” but you could never write a “Like A Rolling Stone”>

It was Desolation Row

"Apples & oranges" comparing Dylan & Mick's lyrics [or Keith for that matter].

Dylan pens songs as vehicles for his clever words whilst Mick writes words to sing over songs.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 2014-05-21 13:31 by Spud.

I love what he wrote about Jagger. Todd Snider is a very hard-working songwriter, touring musician, one of the best alt-Americana roots guy going.

a poster to the board here has recorded and toured with Todd Snider. an acclaimed songwriter and performer himself, won't name him here but maybe he'll add to the thread here if he's reading...

Moonlight Mile is about as close to great poetry as a popular song can get.

I've always thought that MJ was undervalued/rated as a lyricist and songwriter generally, and that his excelling as a 'front man' was at least partially responsible for that.

To me Jagger's much better than Dylan.
Bob made some good stuff for shure but for every great sentence there's 2 pages of so/so. Jagger comes to the point.

its hard to think of one as better than the other ( Jagger/Dylan) as writers..

hard for me anyway.. Dylan's out of a different tradition, or his work is inclusive of a tradition that Jagger's writing doesn't really have, the folk tradition.

arguable for sure.

This is absolutely brilliant, in my humble opinion.
A stream-of-consciousness lyrical ode to the man, the myth, the legend.

"if he wasn’t the best stripper
he would get credit for being the best poet" - how can that statement be denied?
Licking Ronnie's face on live TV AND writing "the sunshine bores the daylights out of me" make Jagger a @#$%& LIVING LEGEND.

Thanks for posting this...I read it this morning and was blown away by the simplicity of the words and the magnitude of their meaning.

Well done, Todd Snider.

What a wonderful and rare piece. Todd Snider - thank you!

Dylan is a fantastic lyricist. So is Mick, who is underrated, though he doesn't work entirely alone, having Keith add bits, or write whole songs at times.

I find myself in situations, thinking of lyrics from both. "She walked up to me so gracefully, took my crown of thorns...." "I see the girls walk by, dressed in their summer clothes...." In general Stones lyrics are more accessible, while Bob's can be a little dense and open to wider interpretation, but both artist's hit home. "I started out on burgundy, but soon hit the harder stuff...." "All the dreams we held so close, seem to all go up in smoke...."

I don't think Todd meant that to be a poem anymore than anything else he writes. That's just how he writes things. When I ever get a rare email from him, that's how it's written.

Mick is happy to please his fans, he may be tough on those who he works with but to us the audience, we get his respect... Rehearsals, endless planning, he offers us the best Rolling Stones he can fashion. On his terms of course but from the heart, this is especially true in the past year and a half. While Jagger still performs he deserves all the tributes we can muster, these are good days for us all.

Quote
DoomandGloom
Mick is happy to please his fans, he may be tough on those who he works with but to us the audience, we get his respect... Rehearsals, endless planning, he offers us the best Rolling Stones he can fashion. On his terms of course but from the heart, this is especially true in the past year and a half. While Jagger still performs he deserves all the tributes we can muster, these are good days for us all.

well stated.

Todd Snider is and has been my favorite country artist. He wrote a song about Mick and Keith's relationship called Brenda.

I think the poem is crap and not actually a poem although I like the sentiment from whoever this guy is.

One thing that bugs me no end however is how Jagger is recognised as the supreme rock star, great lyricist, great singer, performer, good musician but he is constantly snubbed as one if the greatest songwriters of all time. By 1968 he had well and truly come into his own and no longer need Richards to pen great material. And I'll go further and say that post Let It Bleed Richstds has needed him rather than the reverse.

Ycagwyw, Sympathy, Brown Dugar, Shine a light, Laugh..died, OOC, Saint of me are just a glimpse of what this songwriting god has penned alone. I wish with all the other kudos thrown his way (justifiably on my opinion) that this one would work it's way into the list.

Rock on Jagger. You are the ultimate creative rock star genius.

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duke richardson
I love what he wrote about Jagger. Todd Snider is a very hard-working songwriter, touring musician, one of the best alt-Americana roots guy going.

a poster to the board here has recorded and toured with Todd Snider. an acclaimed songwriter and performer himself, won't name him here but maybe he'll add to the thread here if he's reading...

Thanks for not mentioning my name!

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Elmo Lewis

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duke richardson
I love what he wrote about Jagger. Todd Snider is a very hard-working songwriter, touring musician, one of the best alt-Americana roots guy going.

a poster to the board here has recorded and toured with Todd Snider. an acclaimed songwriter and performer himself, won't name him here but maybe he'll add to the thread here if he's reading...

Thanks for not mentioning my name!

Todd may be a great guy, but being described as an 'alt-Americana roots guy' is about the douchiest hipster thing going.

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24FPS

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Elmo Lewis

Quote
duke richardson
I love what he wrote about Jagger. Todd Snider is a very hard-working songwriter, touring musician, one of the best alt-Americana roots guy going.

a poster to the board here has recorded and toured with Todd Snider. an acclaimed songwriter and performer himself, won't name him here but maybe he'll add to the thread here if he's reading...

Thanks for not mentioning my name!

Todd may be a great guy, but being described as an 'alt-Americana roots guy' is about the douchiest hipster thing going.

seriously? it was off the top of my head ..I'll try to divine what might be approved for your oh so finely tuned sensibility next time

Quote
duke richardson

Quote
24FPS

Quote
Elmo Lewis

Quote
duke richardson
I love what he wrote about Jagger. Todd Snider is a very hard-working songwriter, touring musician, one of the best alt-Americana roots guy going.

a poster to the board here has recorded and toured with Todd Snider. an acclaimed songwriter and performer himself, won't name him here but maybe he'll add to the thread here if he's reading...

Thanks for not mentioning my name!

Todd may be a great guy, but being described as an 'alt-Americana roots guy' is about the douchiest hipster thing going.

seriously? it was off the top of my head ..I'll try to divine what might be approved for your oh so finely tuned sensibility next time

Don't worry about that duke...he's prolly the same kind of guy that doesn't get Undercover!