Thursday, February 6, 2014

Just Tired



image borrowed from bing


Just Tired

“I’ll get by with a little help from my friends.”
--John Lennon.

acoustic guitar, repeat chords, soft strumming.

Tired of winter, tired of ice I say,
Just can’t wait for a better day.

electric guitar, hot licks with reverb.

Tired of my job, tired of feeling
nothing, out of balance, reeling.

snare drum solo.

Tired of those arguments with my wife,
tired of struggling with my life.

cello bowing with long sobs.

Tired of all those aches & pain,
tired of having to walk with a cane.

saxophone & bright piano.

Getting tired of waiting for that big windfall,
facing uncertainty, back against the wall.

spanish guitar, flamenco licks with castanets.

Can’t open my eyes without a jolt of caffeine,
then the withdrawal, getting cranky & mean.

harmonica huffing train-like slides.

Tired of climbing all those damn stairs,
tired of sitting on all my broken chairs.

saxophone & clarinet duet.

Tired of being envious of the rich,
tired of searching for the witch.

cello & violin string riffs.

Just tired, man, way way down deep,
pissing all night, a stranger to sleep.

harmonica & blues guitar slide.

Tired of billionaires telling me, hey,
work harder to build a better day.

six-string guitar blues double slide.

I know I should be thankful while waiting
for my 70th year, should not be just hating

jazz brushing over a clarinet line.

those who have more, have accomplished more,
who keep sending our children off to war;

juice harp twang over trombone slide.

but those fat cats really make me mad,
cuz I do miss what I never really had.

base guitar throbs.

Hell, I’m just like you, just getting old,
tongue gets sharper, my words grow bold.

lovely piano line.

I guess it’s comforting to be a poet,
just patting up the row before I hoe it;

harp plucking over violin.

Cuz all my bitching doesn’t mean a thing,
no money in the mail, no bells to ring.

sitar chord over accordion line.

I am actually thankful for having a strong voice,
living in a land where I have more than one choice.

acoustic guitar, soft chords.

I tell you, folks, it’s great now to be retired,
it was tricky working 50 years without getting fired.

harmonica lullaby over a long sad train whistle. 


Glenn Buttkus

Posted over on dVerse Poets MTB

Would  you like to hear the author read this Lyrical poem to you?

20 comments:

Mary said...

Hi Glenn, I hear you..I'm tired of a few things as well, especially this winter..... I think one good thing about age is the development of a sharp tongue and bold words! And bold words that you can speak with a strong voice in a land where there is more than one choice!! I think 'at a certain age' one has earned to right to speak boldly and unashamedly!! I enjoyed your sound effects!

Mystic_Mom said...

Glenn I love this! Your last lines are killer. It is hard to work that long and not get fired. Glad you have the freedom to say what you need my friend. You rock!

The instrumental interludes worked well with this too. Gave me a sense of mood and tempo change.

Claudia said...

nice..i like that you end this with a long sad train whistle... lots of things to get tired about and i often have to remind myself that you can look at a glass half full or half empty... good when we can write those things that bother us off our souls... singing the blues...yep

Anonymous said...

Pretty cool Glenn, though your bill for all those musicians will be a whopper. >KB

Glenn Buttkus said...

So goes, KB, when the creativity is still imaginary, there are no parameters or dollar limits; and performance art should be served richly; lots of pop songs use full orchestras, right?

Scarlet said...

Well I am tired of winter and working too, smiles ~ Hey, I like the way you weaved the instruments into each couplet like your cinematic posts ~


but you know what, I never get tired of writing, smiles ~

brudberg said...

Great blues man.. Tired.. I'm the same...

Brian Miller said...

smiles..could be the blues you know...tired of being tired of....there is plenty of life that just crowds you in and weighs you down...hey i dont mind you call it as it is...that is refreshing actually...like your musician notes as well....

Anonymous said...

I really enjoyed this, Glenn! Man, you were tired and cranky, huh?! Fabulous...

Kathy Reed said...

I couldn't get Harry Connick Jr. out of my mind..could see him singing this at his piano....I don't know..or a blues song maybe - "Bille Holiday"????

Beachanny said...

Loved the record - classic blues. Course staying true to form, when you get all those licks down you'll want to repeat Line 1 lyrically but shift the melody to a minor 5th and then resolve on the third line. Hey it could put you in the green, Man. I liked that you found yourself in it and wrote what you had to say. Truly authentic work, sir!

avalon said...

what a rich cocktail of different sounds you promise us.

Raivenne said...

LOVED your blues here Glen. So well done and had me grinning at the end. I don't quite as many years in yet, but man I swear this was my thoughts today. Taps a toe and raises a mason jar to you in salute.

ruth said...

love your downhome blues, Glenn - enjoyed listening to you read your lyrics (& musical directions) & wished you'd actually sung it, played it... you have just the voice for it

HisFireFly said...

blue and tired
doggone tired
yawning now
your words expressed so well

Anonymous said...

eventually there's rest, an endless amount of it, so I guess I will just suck it up for winter...

this works as a song.

Ron Shields said...

Oh I do love the blues...and you are rockin' the blues with this one. Great to hear you read it.

Anonymous said...

Ah the freedom - as long as it does not lead to boredom. I enjoyed this Glenn, now I'm tired (as late)
Nicely penned.

Sarav said...

Glenn, it is tiring. Enjoyed your musical couplets, too. your ending made me smile. That is an accomplishment :-)

janetleigh said...

One of the best I've read in such a long time, Glenn. I can relate to almost every line of this piece and I feel older now than I did when I started it. You're a master wordsmith, evoker of vivid imagery and emotion. I have really enjoyed reading your newest work. The Desperate Hound won't be soon forgotten, as well. Great story telling here, Glenn.