Imagine the end! On December 8, Jim Morrison and John Lennon make it a point to meet in heaven. This year, while the charismatic Doors frontman celebrates his 73rd birth anniversary, the iconic Beatles legend will remember the day he was murdered 36 years ago.
It’s been an annual ritual since 1981. The two rock superstars sip a special ale, and talk about how the music world has changed. From heavy metal to grunge, from manufactured boy bands to free music downloading, they haven’t spared anyone of brickbats. This year, choosing the subject wasn’t difficult at all. Greeting Morrison with a hug, Lennon announces, “Everyone on earth is doing seminars or writing voluminous essays on the connection between literature, poetry and music. All because our friend Bob Dylan won the Nobel for Literature.”
Morrison smiles, and says, “Bob is great. I know he wrote poetry, but I haven’t followed it much, barring maybe ‘Blowin’ In The Wind’ and ‘The Times They are a-Changin’. I was more interested in the narcotic substances he chose.” Lennon sneers, “He introduced us to some famous substance, but I was too stoned to remember what. But yes, most rock fans describe him and Leonard Cohen, who arrived here a month ago, as the ideal rock poets. And some people put you in that category too, Jim.”
The Doors star chuckles, “John, if you describe ‘Come on baby light my fire, try to set the night on fire’ and ‘Hello I love you, won’t you tell me your name?’ as actual poetry, it surely reflects your absurd taste.” Lennon replies, “Likewise with our ‘Love love me do, you know I love you’ and ‘All my loving, I will give to you, All my loving, darling I’ll be true’. Yes, I also did more poetic works like ‘Imagine’ and ‘Give Peace A Chance’, but by and large, we were songwriters. Just like Paul Simon, James Taylor, Nick Drake, Carole King or those Pink Floyd guys.”
“I agree”, says Morrison, “In that sense, Dylan and Cohen had a style rooted in classic and revolutionary poetry, and thus would be more associated with the term ‘literature’. Most of us were influenced by great poets like Arthur Rimbaud, T.S. Eliot, Pablo Neruda, Federico Garcia Lorca and Dylan Thomas, though we never consciously used their styles. Even Shakespeare’s writing had a musicality, which I understood only after death.” The Beatle comments, “On that note, I must tell you of my experience in Rishikesh, India, years ago. There, I noticed a huge connection between poetry, literature and music. George Harrison told me they quoted Urdu poets like Ghalib, Mir Taqi Mir and Zafar, whose poetry was actually converted into songs called ghazals. These became a huge part of popular film music too.”
Morrison continues, “Yes, I’ve heard some great stories from India. Recently, I bumped into this wonderful composer R.D. Burman, who told me about the legend Rabindranath Tagore, who won a Nobel for Literature, but also wrote poetry and songs.”
Just while Lennon and Morrison are about to leave, they have a surprise guest. Cohen, still trying to settle down in heaven, is seen across the road, and invited to join the discussion. Poker-faced, he retorts, “No way, buddies. I was sick of these debates that suddenly started once Bob got the Nobel. Now spare me that trauma.”
Cohen says he’d be happier writing more songs without getting into any analysis. “Let the listener decide whether it is literature, poetry, a simple song or plain rubbish,” he says, leaving Morrison speechless. Hallelujah, now imagine the end.
The author is a freelance music writer
