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January 15, 2018 by Simon Sweetman

The Ghost of Electricity: War Stories by Jon McLeary # 194 Lucy in the Sky

party759“It’s very strong and there are two of them on there. I’d only take it in quarters if I were you but you will have a good Easter”

He looked down to the tiny rectangle of paper in his hand then put it away carefully.

Ron was going to a three-day festival and he hadn’t had a break for a long time.

Ruby and Diane drove him over

He swallowed the lot in one go before he remembered

And by then it was too late

There was the solo set ahead but that was two days away and he had his leather jacket and his guitar was hidden backstage

For the first couple of days he just wandered around – befriending all the animals and he slept on a huge slab of Totara in the nights.

He didn’t seem to need food and then he got bitten on the hand by a little dog

It came time to do his gig and Ron was still seeing a purple sky

He went backstage to get his axe26231623_1532891560151802_4959669354256477466_n

She was just a little girl and she had his guitar – his telecaster.

“That’s actually my guitar and I have to go on the stage and play. So can I have it please?” said Ron.

“No! It’s mine and you cant have it.” said the little girl.

He was getting desperate to get his guitar back and there were people waiting to hear him play.

“You can play drums if you give me my guitar,” said Ron

“OK”.

When they got out there on the stage no one was sure just what was going on

It was still early afternoon

He realised then that he hadn’t thought far enough ahead

The world was some kind of giant plum tree with its insides hanging out

Ron had a moment where he couldn’t remember anything he had ever written

So he played covers

Stones, Dylan, Bowie, Beatles, Doors…

Even Monkees

He played around with his voice but kept forgetting the words

The little girl was terrible on the drums and a great big tall bloke replaced her after awhile

He wasn’t sure if things had improved but the crowd responded to Nights in White Satin with the new drummer and Ride a White Swan

It all peaked there

He left the stage and re-trod his steps trying to make sense of everything

There was nothing there

Ron slept on the way home

He was on his way into the weird movie world

Almost primed for it

He was locked out of his own music and songs

And he really needed to get back on his feet for a couple of years

Hide in the Hobbit…
party759 - Copy

The Ghost of Electricity – War Stories by Jon McLeary is a new initiative at Off The Tracks, a series of stories and reflections from painter, writer and musician Jon McLeary

To read any of the first 193 in the series click here

Posted in Blog, Miscellany and tagged with Art, Drugs, Guest Blog, Guest Post, Jon Mcleary, Lucy In The Sky, Music, Painting, Poem, Prose Poem, Ron, Short Story, Spines, The Ghost, The Ghost of Electricity, The Ghost of Electricity # 194, The Ghost of Electricity: War Stories, The Ghost of Electricity: War Stories by Jon McLeary, The Ghost of Electricity: War Stories by Jon McLeary # 194, The Ghost of Electricity: War Stories by Jon McLeary # 194 Lucy in the Sky, The Spines, War Stories, War Stories # 194, War Stories by Jon McLeary, Wellington, Wgtn, Writing. RSS 2.0 feed.
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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.

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