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Music by Jeff Eardley
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The Return to Ithaca
by Brian Yapko
This shall not be forever,
This life spent on the sea.
__I’m going to find my one true love
And joined again we’ll be.
I’ll risk the howling tempest
With sails high on the mast,
__The stinging pain of loneliness
Left firmly in the past.
I’m sailing home to Ithaca;
I hope to find her there
__Devoted, waiting by the shore
With myrtle in her hair;
Her skin as white as sheep’s milk,__
Her lips as sweet as wine,
__Her voice like breezes from the bay
With whispers soft and fine.
We’ll kiss in dappled sunlight
Upon the Grecian shore,
__And she shall press her lips to mine
One hundred times or more!
I’ll tell her that I love her
And shall no longer roam.
__I’ll be the husband that she’s missed
And ever more stay home.
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That was pretty darn good and very restful after a hard day’s work.
Great words, great guitar playing and a great singing voice.
Thanks for the read, the tune and the song.
Thanks Paul, you are very kind.
As you recently told me, I am glad to hear your composition and singing voice–at last–with music, as played by Jeff. I should have found a way to have Jeff play backup for me on my recent “Tucson Sunday Morning.” Beautifully written and most enjoyable to hear.
Roy, I have just listened to your wonderful “Tucson Sunday Morning” which is crying out for a guitar. I will try to put a few chords over your excellent vocals and get back to you. Thank you so much for your kind words today.
Brian, this is really quite lovely, and the musical accompaniment is superb.
Joseph, on behalf of Brian and myself, thank you for taking the time to listen.
A wonderful presentation, Brian, but I’m certainly not surprised – many excellent poets also excel in the music arena. A very lovely tune – great job…
Thanks Mark, Brian’s wonderful poem was crying out for a tune. Thanks for your kind comment.
Jeff, I’m thrilled that you set my poem to such beautiful music, which you play and sing superbly. I’ve never had a poem set to music before and feel very much like a proud parent. I’m beaming. Thank you for this!
And thanks to all commenters. Your words about the poem are very kind, but it is truly Jeff Eardley who deserves all the praise here. I may have written the words, but through his musical skills he has given birth to a song!
Brian, it is a huge privilege to think that I could possibly add anything to your wonderful poem. Your work is always inspiring, entertaining and educational and there are so many more crying out for a tune. You have made my day with your kind comment today. Thank you.
Yes, but it’s a huge honor not only to have your words chosen for a song, but to have it done so well!
As an analogy, I’ve translated several classic French poems into English. How many of my readers would even know the names Paul Fort or Gustave Nadaud if I hadn’t translated their poems? Even Victor Hugo is largely known for his novels. I believe they would be honored to know that not only did Georges Brassens consider their poems worthy of signing and recording (even though many French think Brassens wrote the lyrics himself!), but that an American poet hearing him sing them also considered them worthy of translating for an English-speaking audience.
Joshua, thanks for your most informative comment. The great George Brassens was a major influence on the English songwriter, Jake Thakray. Jake had a long and successful career in England with some hilarious songs. He fell out of favour and eventually vanished into obscurity. I met him a couple of times. He had no self esteem and never thought he was any good. He died, a sad alcoholic, in Monmouth, England. He was a phenominal lyricist and had me crying with laughter so many times.
Brian’s mellifluous marvel of a poem meets Jeff’s superlative musical skills to create an experience that has left me smiling with joy and grateful for the gifts of two talented artists! Great stuff!
Susan, thanks for “mellifluous,” one of those great words that I will be dropping into my conversations this week. Myself and Brian are available for a tour of Texas in 2024 so I hope you can fire up Mike to drive the tour bus. Groupies??? Perhaps not. Ha Ha.
Jeff, this is a lovely tune, exceptionally gentle yet with touches of firmness (qualities appropriate to Odysseus and his emotions at this moment). You make an excellent performance choice to emphasize the word “myrtle,” slowing and almost stopping as if stroking the woman’s hair. Myrtle is very rich in symbolism–sacred to Aphrodite and therefore meaning love, but in the Hebrew prophet Zacharias it comes to mean devotion to faith and enduring fidelity. Putting these meanings together, myrtle is popular for wedding wreaths and bouquets. Your musical setting lets the creamy color and light fragrance of myrtle spread in the air.
Margaret, thank you so much for taking time to listen and comment, and thank you for the “myrtle” explanation. Brian’s poem is such a delight and as far as I am concerned, all credit goes to him. I was delighted to be a small part of this. Your words are, as ever, to be treasured. Best wishes.
Thank you so much, Margaret and Jeff! I am so glad you brought up that myrtle, Margaret. I wanted to get that detail right and it seems that I have. And I’m particularly pleased that Jeff allowed for its resonances of love and fidelity to be expansively expressed in the music.
Brian and Jeff,
I enjoyed both words and music very much.
Thank you both for a lovely start to the day.
Oh thank you JD for your most generous comment.
Best wishes to you.
I am also grateful for the kind comment. Thank you, jd.
Through the sacred vineyard, we’d pass
With a pure love like no other;
A pair of tendrils together
Or two intertwined blades of grass.
The night lies down to rest awhile
And throw our way, this silence here;
One by one as years disappear,
Let’s walk many a thousand mile.
– Satyananda Sarangi
Satyananda, what a lovely web of wonder you weave with this. Thank you for sharing with us.
This is so beautiful, Satyananda. Thank you for sharing it.
This could have been written when people understood what poetry meant.
Michael, as long as SCP exists, there will always be great poetry. Thank you for commenting.
I second Jeff’s comment. Thanks, Michael!
This is great to hear and see. We definitely more such musical initiatives. Music and poetry have always been intimately wed going back to their origins.
Thank you so much, David. It really was Jeff who saw the musical possibilities in the work and I’m very grateful that he did. Now I will pay much more attention to the music of my poetry. I’d like to do this again!