Showing posts with label singles and b-sides haiku. Show all posts
Showing posts with label singles and b-sides haiku. Show all posts

Wednesday, February 15, 2012

Wednesday haiku - "I Call Your Name"

I made an oversight when composing the haiku for songs from Past Masters, Volume One, the compilation of early Beatles singles and b-sides that also includes the four tracks off the Long Tall Sally EP. I mistakenly thought all four were covers, and skipped over them because I didn't want to get bogged down in haiku for non-original songs. As it turns out, one was an original - "I Call Your Name," written by John before The Beatles formed.

Between the twelve-string,
the cowbell, and the ska bridge,
"Name" unfolds with flair.

(The rest of my Beatles haiku can be found here.)

Tuesday, July 5, 2011

Singles and B-sides haiku

Below, you'll find the haiku I've written for The Beatles' non-album singles and B-sides. It's everything from the Past Masters collections with the exception of these songs: "Love Me Do" (which I had already done), the German-language renditions of "I Want to Hold Your Hand" and "She Loves You" (skipped for obvious reasons, I think), the covers from the Long Tall Sally EP and Larry Williams' "Bad Boy" (I didn't feel like getting bogged down with covers), "Get Back" (which I had already done), the charity version of "Across the Universe" (it's superior to the one on Let It Be, but it's not blessed with canon status), and "Let It Be" (which I had already done). For all of the other songs, I wrote a haiku, and they collectively represent the last ones I composed or will compose; in other words, I'm done. Tomorrow, I will bring them all together in one post and finally close the book on this project.

Enjoy.

1) "From Me to You"
2) "Thank You Girl"
3) "She Loves You"
4) "I'll Get You"
5) "I Want to Hold Your Hand"
6) "This Boy"
7) "I Call Your Name"
8) "I Feel Fine"
9) "She's a Woman"
10) "Yes It Is"
11) "I'm Down"
12) "Day Tripper"
13) "We Can Work It Out"
14) "Paperback Writer"
15) "Rain"
16) "Lady Madonna"
17) "The Inner Light"
18) "Hey Jude"
19) "Revolution"
20) "Don't Let Me Down"
21) "The Ballad of John and Yoko"
22) "Old Brown Shoe"
23) "You Know My Name (Look Up the Number)"

Wednesday, April 13, 2011

Wednesday haiku - "You Know My Name (Look Up the Number)"

A campy pastiche,
"Name" might deserve this title:
the Fabs' strangest song.

Tuesday, April 12, 2011

Tuesday haiku - "Old Brown Shoe"

Like "Hello, Goodbye",
George's "Old" deals with contrasts:
right/wrong, early/late.

Sunday, April 10, 2011

Sunday haiku - "The Ballad of John and Yoko"

A droll travelogue,
"John" tracks the newly hitched pair
all across Europe.

Saturday, April 9, 2011

Saturday haiku - "Don't Let Me Down"

In tones of anguish,
John makes a plea for Yoko
to always love him.

Friday, April 8, 2011

Friday haiku - "Revolution"

John wrote two versions,
and on this more forceful one,
he spurns violence.

Thursday, April 7, 2011

Thursday haiku - "Hey Jude"

"Jude" is Julian,
John's young son whom Paul cared for
and sought to comfort.

Wednesday, April 6, 2011

Wednesday haiku - "The Inner Light"

When he wrote "Inner",
George drew from the Tao Te Ching,
an old Chinese text.

Sunday, April 3, 2011

Sunday haiku - "Lady Madonna"

On this romping tune,
Paul sings like Fats Domino
and salutes mothers.

Saturday, April 2, 2011

Saturday haiku - "Rain"

Held up by many
as the Fabs' finest B-side,
"Rain" is trippy rock.

Friday, April 1, 2011

Friday haiku - "Paperback Writer"

To promote his book -
a long and "dirty" novel -
Paul presents a pitch.

Thursday, March 31, 2011

Thursday haiku - "We Can Work It Out"

"We can work it out",
hopes Paul, while John sternly warns,
"Life is very short".

Wednesday, March 30, 2011

Wednesday haiku - "Day Tripper"

It's a play on words:
"day trippers" are fake druggies,
mere "Sunday drivers".

Tuesday, March 29, 2011

Tuesday haiku - "I'm Down"

On this brisk rave-up,
Paul howls like Little Richard,
one of his heroes.

Monday, March 28, 2011

Monday haiku - "Yes It Is"

"Yes" was John's attempt
at reproducing "This Boy";
both are lush ballads.

Saturday, March 26, 2011

Saturday haiku - "She's a Woman"

With its driving beat
and Paul's high-tenor vocal,
"Woman" packs a punch.

Friday, March 25, 2011

Friday haiku - "I Feel Fine"

By John's reckoning,
"Fine" was the first pop record
to contain feedback.

Thursday, March 24, 2011

Thursday haiku - "This Boy"

John, Paul, and George shine:
their lithe three-part harmonies
guide this doo-wop turn.

Wednesday, March 23, 2011

Wednesday haiku - "I Want to Hold Your Hand"

"Hand" made for a smash;
launched the British Invasion;
and still thrills today.