Off The Tracks

Off The Tracks
  • Blog
    • Interviews
    • Miscellany
    • Special Guests
    • Reviews
  • Podcasts
  • The Vinyl Countdown
  • Back Catalogue
  • About
    • About
    • About the banner image
    • On Song
    • Advertise
July 18, 2017 by Simon Sweetman

Poem: John Coltrane Is Dead And I Am Alive And What – If Anything – Am I Doing About THAT?!

John Coltrane’s been
dead for 50 years. A Love
Supreme still means more
to me, most times I play it, than any
other record.
John Coltrane was 40. And then
dead. I’m older than him now. I’ve beaten him. On
one level – and that feels weird. Should it feel
weird? Does it seem weird to anyone else? Some of
you reading this are (far) older than me – most of
the rest of you
will go on to cap 40 and move from there through
the decades. None of you (us) will make anything
close to A Love Supreme. Or take the sort of
Giant Steps he did with ease. Well, was it ever easy
for John Coltrane?
I had these thoughts – and a few others (you won’t get to see, or hear or
read those) – when I decided to try to put it in perspective…when I
read the date of his death and lined it up with the
times – and thought of my own birthday, just the day
before his death, but a decade and a bit on…
So it’s not significant, I hear you say…
It is.
It is.
It’s terrifying and mystifying and mesmerising and
A Love Supreme…
A Love Supreme…
A Love Supreme…
I’ll never do anything close to that – and my own (Only!) comforting
thought is that neither will you.
He was a genius. His sheets of sound still
soothe – still take me to a place where
only sleep can relate…
He was just starting to sort his spiritual, philosophical and human
endeavours/problems – he was just getting to the place he wanted
to be. And then he was fast-tracked, or cut short – or BOTH
and I am still filling most days
by doing this
or That
and not much of either – or anything
really.
And yet, my heart swells with pride
when I hear the rush inside that song, that album, that
style, that sound, that horn, that heart, that hide…it is
some days – where I most want to hide…
A Love Supreme…
A Love Supreme…
A Love Supreme…
A Love Supreme…
A Love Supreme…
A Love Supreme…
A Love Supreme…
A Love Supreme…
A Love Supreme…
A Love Supreme…
A Love Supreme…
A Love Supreme…
A Love Supreme…
A Love Supreme…
A Love Supreme…
A Love Supreme…

Posted in Blog, Miscellany and tagged with 'Trane, A Love Supreme, Coltrane, John Coltrane, John Coltrane Is Dead And I Am Alive And What – If Anything – Am I Doing About THAT?!, Poem, Poem: John Coltrane Is Dead And I Am Alive And What – If Anything – Am I Doing About THAT?!. RSS 2.0 feed.
« Taj Mahal/Keb Mo: TajMo
The Vinyl Countdown # 529 »

Popular

  • Charlotte Grimshaw: The Mirror Book
  • Janna Lapidus Leblanc: Four Years In Pictures
  • The Sad Story of Bob Welch: Fleetwood Mac’s Most Undervalued Member
  • The Best Guitarist in The World: # 8 – Mark Knopfler
  • The Best Guitarist in The World: # 11 – Lindsey Buckingham
  • Revisiting Live at Knebworth (1990)
  • Little Feat: Meanest Blues of All (Live 1973)
  • Poem: Dear Ngā Mihi,
  • Sweetman Podcast # 252: Mike McKeon aka Mike Dr. Blue
  • José James: New York 2020 (Live)

Archives

Tags

Album Review Auckland Book Book Review Chat Compilation DJ DVD DVD Review EP Film Film Review Gig Gig Review Guest Blog Guitar Interview Jazz Jon Mcleary Live Live Gig LP Movie Music NZ Podcast Poem Record Records Simon Sweetman Soundtrack Spines Spotify Stub Stubs Sweetman Podcast The Ghost of Electricity The Spines The Vinyl Countdown Vinyl Wellington Wgtn Writing You can support Off The Tracks via PressPatron [OST]

Categories

  • Back Catalogue
  • Blog
  • Interviews
  • Miscellany
  • Mixtapes
  • Playlists
  • Podcasts
  • Reviews
  • Scene Of The Day
  • Special Guests
  • The Vinyl Countdown

Off The Tracks is the home of Sweetman Podcast, a weekly interview/chat-based pod. It's also home to my reviews across film, TV, music and books and some creative writing as well.

Off The Tracks aims to provide quality reviews and essays, regular blog updates about the shows, albums, books and movies you should be experiencing.

It's a passion project. Your support will help to keep Off The Tracks online.

All content © 2021 by Off The Tracks. WordPress Themes by Graph Paper Press