This is a good exercise, I enjoyed doing it.  All you do is listen to songs and interpret them innocently but not in depth. 

Translations encourages you to play music and to write down the words you hear first, irrelevant of the original lyrics. Commonly, people do this all the time when singing along to songs.  Having no idea of the words but, just saying what they think it could be. 

I chose Van Morrison because the rhythms behind this song are driving and sustain lots of mad thinking.  Interestingly, the album also has a before and after vibe, with four songs expressing innocence and the last four expressing experience. 

I feel the album communicates the same romanticism of poets like Blake, Coleridge.. It has a dream like visionary quality.  Not like this version which, completely brutalises some of the most powerful music I’ve heard in along time. 

However, I would feel free to upset a song like this again with a first word that comes, first word I write down/say/sing/frotha bit while saying it, technique.  Interestingly, Kerouac said ‘First thought, best thought’  but, he did die while watching a cookery programme called the galloping gourmet on the dreaded machine.  He was a poorly, but beautiful beautiful man.

 

Looking to submit to this feature?  Email your poem together with a brief explanation of the inspiration behind it to lauren_bolger@hotmail.co.uk with the words [translations submission] in the subject line.

It doesnt have to be a favourte song, it can be just any song where the tune feels catchy but the words are unclear so you just write down what you think they sound like or it could be a favourite song and your just using the music to rewrite the words

---

 

If had cherry’s enter my bloodstream

Between the marzipan and whipped cream

Would I run to a voice from the back

Could I buy pens from the front doorstop

Would you find me? Could you kiss my eye lids

Lay me down on the back stand easy to be bored again

From the far side of the notion

If we put three wheels in motion

Standing is dangerous

Trying to do my very best yea.

There you go yea, there you go

Standing with a look of Everest

Talking to one of  a victim

You got my picture in the wall

Whisperings in the hall

Don’t point the finger at me

Don’t Pointing yea.

There you go, there you go

Standing in his little red dress

Talking a band man

I see he got issues

Little shoes

I see hes got clean clothes

There you go well, there you go

You got your picture on the wall

Your foot in the door

Don’t point the finger at me

There you go there you go

Standing in my side of the road

Trying to do my very best

Would you find me? could you kiss my eye lids?

Lay me down silence easy to be bored again

Again again again again to be bored again

There you go standing in my, my shadow rust

Yea there you go

Silence easy

To be born again Darling yea little red shoes

Hmm yea little red shoes

My cherry cherrys blind