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Playing for the Dead

 

I saw a lonely tombstone move
And played a loud diminished fifth.
A skeleton impelled to groove?
I saw a lonely tombstone move.
Do quiet spirits disapprove,
Or do they dance a jig in death?
I saw a lonely tombstone move
And played a loud diminished fifth.

 

Author notes

 

Playing music in the graveyard is one of my favorite activities.

The augmented fourth, or diminished fifth, is the infamous "Devil's Interval" which was prohibited from liturgical music by the Catholic Church.

 

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Comments

1 - 12 of 12

  • Night Hope gold member
    November 16
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    And now you ply your song among the stars for us all, dear Scribe.



  • Maatkara gold member
    November 17, 2008

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    This is not only very good but educational I hadn't heard of the "Devil's Interval" before.. I wonder if that's what Cohen meant to imply also with, "It goes like this, the fourth the fifth, the minor fall the major lift"?

    Well, maybe the expression 'loud enough to wake the dead' is true then


    • Victory Gin silver member
      November 17, 2008
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      It could be an allusion to the Devil's Interval but the sound it makes seems a little too dissonant for that particular song. Also, the way the lyric is written would then suggest the "diminished fourth" and the "augmented fifth" and that doesn't make much sense -- but who knows? He could have thrown a sneaky symbol into his song.


  • badnovocaine
    November 1, 2008

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    WHOA! I can say that this is the very first poem I have read by you and this left me speechless!!! Thats a good thing This is just WOW.
    I can officially say you rock.


  • Heart Sutra
    November 1, 2008
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  • tara wilson gold member
    October 31, 2008

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    I can hear it...
    a great poem for tonight. Perfect mood the dim fifth creates for the sound and feel of the poem..

    I like the contemplation of the player/poet in this while playing. In the moment...enjoyed this triolet, hardy anyone writes them anymore=(


  • Melodies
    October 31, 2008

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    Glad to visit you, Victory. Graveyards are high on my list of favorite places to visit, so the idea of playing music there sets well with me. Tombstone art and poetry can be quite lovely. Your poem makes me smile and think of your cleverness... like the repeating line very much.


  • Grunts Girl gold member
    October 31, 2008

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    music that moves the dead
    hmmm makes me wonder---
    do they hate you?
    or
    are they jammin?
    yes... indeed you needed to ask that one in your write!
    so ever find out?
    any of them ever tell you why they are shakin?
    LOL
    i had to.. it was funny


  • mysticstorm gold member
    October 31, 2008

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    This is wonderful and moving...I have heard a many a songs played at the end of a live...there is nothing more moving or heart felt...beautifully done...

  • Night Hope gold member
    October 30, 2008

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    A few years ago, my late sweetheart asked a bagpipe player to play at his father's & grandfather's graves. He played "Amazing Grace" & it was deeply moving. I can only imagine your music, but I know it's beautiful, too, Maestro.


    • just mercedes gold member
      October 30, 2008
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      Iattended my neighbour's funeral a year ago, and she had requested a piper to play the coffin from the church to the burial ground, and during the graveside ceremony. It was very moving, and Amazing Grace was one of the tunes.

  • just mercedes gold member
    October 30, 2008

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    Wonderful to read this on Samhain morning, which it is here now. Great images here of a musical response to a moving tombstone; pertinent use of the Devil's Interval.

    Don't eat the food there, Sparrow!

1 - 12 of 12