that night i dreamed
i dreamed i was a musician
some strange old slightly special musician
although i didnt feel special
out of favour with the times
banished from the courts
struggling through some heavin’ land
setting up in dark suspicious places
we played to the riff raff n the hoi polloi
we played to the professors and their ladies
we appeared before the kings of baltic states
we were in ballrooms and beer rooms
and we made our sound in a house of ill reproof
but a voice said
a voice in another place
a time not before or after but hyper-during
while you read this line
in that other time
things may be faster or slower depending
this voice
it told me what i should do
and it said
you must play
the fetters must be smashed
you must make your music harder and softer
the intervals must seem like chasms if you want em to
you must concentrate on every line never rushing ahead or behind
you must see each story unfold as you sing it
you must enjoy it everytime
lose yourself
forget yourself
immerse yourself
refresh yourself
can you rock like a king? the voice asked
can you rock like a snake or a lark?
can you rock like a bitch/bastard buttkickin’ whatnot?
can you be tender like the inside of a loveletter
can you be you you you you
i took my axe
someone said
hey you
when you goin’ on?
i shrugged n indicated my mates
they all shrugged n indicated me
ok i said
we strode on and the people clapped n whistled
some of em rushed down the front
some called out individual names
i ran on n plugged in
the sound of a huge mechanical bird taking flight
began to start up
my cohorts hammered at their axes
the audience moaned in surprise
as we started to achieve liftoff momentum
my instrument was a pulse
a beacon in a maelstrom of sturm und drang
the shiver of thin pieces of metal
their vibrations shortened and lengthened
a heartbeat thudded in the centre
the voice begins to tell me what to do
rock to east it says
now rock to the west
the voice goes on shouting instructions above the melee
and….

im standing there on that stage
the place now empty
a few tired people cleaning up the mess
no sounds echo round n round
someone taps me on the shoulder
c’mon man…we’re leaving now