Robert Ashley writes opera-type things but they don't sound like opera as we have been made to think of it
ozzie smith -- celestial excursions act 3
i saw with my own eyes on tv
mr oxxie smith wizard of oz
his last batting all star game
when he came on the field he always did a flip
the way he did things was a legend
he said the night before "this is the last one"
50,000 fans were screaming
both teams from both sides were on the field
hats and gloves and everything were flying in the air
thousands of ball players everywhere were in tears
tv zoomed in of course
he stood there at the plate and tipped his hat
--(don't know what is said here, sorry)--
he tipped his hat again two or three times
then he just stood there crying
10 minutes on a baseball
---
act 1 - is itlight yet, love letter pt.1
she asked me
to write a love letter
something she could hide
in a shoe box in the drawer
no names no promises
just something she could look at
to remind her what the day is for
lonely lady
middle of the afternoon
lonely lady
come in feeling blue
love letter on a paper napkin
folded
addressed to you
lonely lady
how precious
you are
i mean to me
how pricesless
you are
will always be
how special
you are
noone can see
but:
i'll keep it a secret
i'll keep it a secret
i'll keep it a secret
sincerely....
--- these are from Robert Ashley's work "Celestial Excursions" - it is an opera of sorts about old people who are going to die soon. I have only as of yet heard this and "Your Money My Life Goodbye" which is about 'financial scandals'. All the words are sang/spoken in the syllabic metre of the title. i.e. "Your-Mon-ey-My-Life-Good-Bye", this reminds me of two other things, firstly, Louis Zukofsky the great personal poet, who wrote a lot of his late poetry in lines of a fixed number of words, and secondly, the singing pattern of M E Smith of The Fall, lines like "I live in cancer death-wipe", there is a compression of what needs to be expressed, better hurry up, or be precise &tc it is mainly that tight mode of expression that I feel like noting right now-ish.
Something from Robert Ashley
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I remember figuring out what was said on the one line I don't here know but can't remember /well, baseball is mysterious to an english person
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