skiffle lyrics | From the Sound of It

Yet another piece that works as a song (though more as a poem) but not as an exemplar of the music genre that informs it.

Skiffle is another genre strong on narrative storytelling. Bands like Herman’s Hermits struck me as having remnants of the genre and, if Ray Davies wasn’t a genius, one could even point to influences on his songwriting.

It’s too knockabout to be so far above the chimney pots. It wouldn’t know what to do with dense allusion and words turning in on themselves, and neither should it have to. It doesn’t need changing; it’s already a curio.

I’m thankful this boom tish has been preserved but I’m not sure if we’d still see the appeal of songs about dustmen and window cleaners anymore than we’d watch On The Buses for more than nostalgia.

Current songwriters only have claim to Now since that is when they are active. The present is turning into the past as reliably as always, and this makes the poem or song age instantly; sometimes even before it’s complete.

The movement from past, present, future are all intrinsic parts of songwriting armoury. The fact that you can cover vast tracts of time in the space of a song is most useful.

The quality of music being produced in each era cannot be said to travel in one direction of time’s arrow.

III

Hoverboard Blues

Someone fetched the future 
and found this in the flames
bought a hoverboard for Christmas
and it set the house alight

All things bright and beautiful 
should not be left plugged in
recharging when not in use

Someone stretched the truth but not this time
It really was a hoverboard in the kids room
Who'd ever thought
How high does it hover?

The fireman warned us after the fact
our research said it was safe
we thought it  would be
harmless fun
Someone fetched the future 
 but we were trapped in frames                                     If we could have escaped by hoverboard oh wait

Skiffle was a little before my time. What you see in Them Blinkin’ Jets is that, despite choosing an approach and a title that superficially reflect skiffle, a poem emerges that relies on its own pattern to tell its story. Here the device is in the ‘sendin jets’ line whereas surely a skiffle group would feel compelled to put the title to good use. Subtlety is not a byword for skiffle.

The ‘endin jets’ pattern falls down in any case on that ‘that’s us end in jets’ line; clumsy enough to draw the listener’s attention to the device. A real no-no.
Here though it’s just a matter of editing. The stanza would then read

Pose for a product that costs like a planet
breaks the sound barrier by request
worth the existing infrastructure
lets us end in jets

I know there’s risk here because one could read too literally into what or how it ‘lets us end in jets’. Perhaps one cannot invoke the ‘being allowed to/being given permission to’ element without it distracting or detracting from the rest of the message.
But ‘thats us end in jets’ will never fly

Let’s try another approach

Pose for a product that costs like a planet
breaks the sound barrier by request
worth the existing infrastructure
intents end in jets

Too dramatic and not what I was thinking of so

Pose for a product that costs like a planet
breaks the sound barrier by request
worth the existing infrastructure
interests end in jets

From the Sound of It

Tag Archives: skiffle lyrics

Scofflaw skiffle

Hoverboard Blues

A scuffle at the scaffold with skiffle playing