Scottish Pipes and the Hurdy Gurdy Man

Mike Marcelino records 'Scottish Pipes' 

Our band finished recording and mixing our latest lyrical poetry song, "Scottish Pipes" and released it today,  Tuesday, March 6, 2012.  


The music composed by Tomas Texino features the African "Talking Drum" and flute with a bagpipe finale, not to be missed.

The song was more than two decades in the making.  Mike Marcellino wrote a poem, "Scottish Pipes" in 1989.  Working with Texino this year, Mike reworked the poem, added some history and turned it into a song.

To listen to "Scottish Pipes" and other of the band's lyrical poetry songs, use the music player at the top of this blog, or you may use link to Mike Marcellino's musician/band page on Facebook.  There you may share "Scottish Pipes" and like our band page to help us grow!


Mike Marcellino's Band Page on Facebook

Edinburgh Castle is the oldest in Scotland dating back to the 12th Century.  The photo from Wikipedia is of the Sir William Wallace window in St. Margaret's Chapel, the oldest surviving structure.    Wallace was a knight and one of the leaders of the fight for Scottish Independence as depicted in the film, "Braveheart," winner of five Academy Awards in 1995 including Best Picture. (Photos from Wikipedia). 

This fall, Mike hopes to perform his lyrical poetry songs in Scotland, hopefully including a show in Edinburgh, outside the castle maybe.  The band is planning a performance tour of Europe to discover
American fol music roots there and so Mike can discover his own Scotch-Irish, French-German, English roots.  Stay tuned, we'll keep you posted.

Donovan inspires "Scottish Pipes"

Donovan sings "Hurdy Gurdy Man" live in Paris in 1970

Lost verse of Donovan's "Hurdy Gurdy Man" written by George Harrison -

When the truth gets buried deep
Beneath the thousand years of sleep
Time demands a turn-around
And once again the truth is found
Awakening the Hurdy Gurdy Man
Who comes singing songs of love.

  
Not sure how I happened to listen to the music of Donovan, a Scottish singer songwriter and friend of The Beatles, but in 1964 he recorded "Catch the Wind." I listened to it a lot as that was about what I was trying to do.  At the end of 1965, I enlisted in the U. S. Army rather than be drafted as the Vietnam War was going on.  I ended up in Vietnam anyway and in early 1968 I listened to Hurdy Gurdy Man in my "hootch" as the war went out outside.  While they say Donovan mimicked Bob Dylan, I never thought so, but both drew there influences from Woody Guthrie and Ramblin Jack Elliot.  

In 2012, Donovan will be inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame; a rather overdue induction.  Both "Hurdy Gurdy Man" and "Catch the Wind" rose high on the charts in the U. S. and the British Isles.  

It just so happens I am working on a new lyrical poetry song recording of a poem I wrote in the middle of the night back in 1989 as I searched for my Scottish roots, awake from flashbacks from the war.

Scottish Pipes

by Mike Marcellino

Scottish pipes
wail away.
Scottish pipes
wail away
in a room with yellow walls.
Outside
stacks of painted chimneys.
Inside
a tv antenna
pointed southeast.
Gray silver white clouds
rolling in
from the north
over water
dotted with soft blue holes,
patchwork.

A painter’s eyes,
tar rectangles, angles
blasting light
from copper metal
on the second level.
Blasting light
on pale
yellow painted walls.

Scottish pipes
wail away.
Scottish pipes
wail away
in a room with yellow walls.

Dreaming of the hurdy gurdy man,
the tribes of Galway
from across the Irish sea
playing strings of love
in St. Margaret's Chapel
from the 12th Century.

Third floor
rooftop melodies.
Scottish pipes
wail away.
Scottish pipes
wail away
in a room with yellow walls.
Listen to the radio.
Listen to the radio -
Loretta Lynn
part Scotch-Irish
part Cherokee.
Sleet storms.

Copyright Mike Marcellino, 2012 (originally written October 7, 1989)

The Hurdy Gurdy

The hurdy-gurdy is the first stringed instrument to which the keyboard principle was applied. The French name, Viella a Roue (wheel fiddle), describes the method by which sound is produced. The bowing action of the fiddle is replaced by a wheel cranked by a handle. The outer rim of the wooden wheel is coated with resin. When the crank is spun, the wheel turns and the gut strings vibrate.

		Just as the bag of the bagpipe acts as a reservoir of air for continuous sound, so too the wheel makes possible continuous sound by avoiding changes of bowing. Both bagpipe and hurdy-gurdy use drones, provided in the former by reed pipes, and in the latter by strings which sound fixed pitches. Other strings tuned in unison provide notes of the scale. Tangents activated by keys press these strings at the appropriate points to produce different pitches.

There is evidence of the hurdy-gurdy in Europe in the twelfth century. By the end of this century, the instruments was highly regarded. Before 1300 the instrument was often long enough to require two performers, one to crank, and one to push the keys. Single player instruments developed in the thirteenth century when the hurdy-gurdy became the ideal instrument for dance music. 

Musica Antiqua's hurdy-gurdy, really a four string symphonie or organistrum by Ellis, is based on a late fourteenth century Florentine marble fingure in the Vienna Leichtenstein Gallery. It has two unison chanterelles, two drones, and an interior pegbox. It is oblong in shape and has tuneable tangents and a range of two diatonic octaves with drones on g and d1. The gut strings are difficult to keep in tune when there are changes in temperature or humidity. Notice the cotton wrapped around the strings to keep the circular bow from wearing through the strings.

 

Hurdy Gurdy Man
by Donovan

Thrown like a star in my vast sleep
I open my eyes to take a peep
To find that I was by the sea
Gazing with tranquility.
'Twas then when the Hurdy Gurdy Man
Came singing songs of love,
Then when the Hurdy Gurdy Man
Came singing songs of love.
Hurdy gurdy, hurdy gurdy, hurdy gurdy, gurdy he sang.
Hurdy gurdy, hurdy gurdy, hurdy gurdy, gurdy he sang.
Hurdy gurdy, hurdy gurdy, hurdy gurdy, gurdy he sang.
Histories of ages past
Unenlightened shadows cast
Down through all eternity
The crying of humanity.
'Tis then when the Hurdy Gurdy Man
Comes singing songs of love,
Then when the Hurdy Gurdy Man
Comes singing songs of love.
Hurdy gurdy, hurdy gurdy, hurdy gurdy, gurdy he sang.
Hurdy gurdy, hurdy gurdy, hurdy gurdy, hurdy gurdy, hurdy gurdy.
Hurdy gurdy, hurdy gurdy, hurdy gurdy, gurdy he sang.
Hurdy gurdy, hurdy gurdy, hurdy gurdy, gurdy he sang.
Here comes the roly poly man and he's singing songs of love,
Roly poly, roly poly, roly poly, poly he sang.
Hurdy gurdy, hurdy gurdy, hurdy gurdy, gurdy he sang,
Hurdy gurdy, hurdy gurdy, hurdy gurdy, gurdy he sang 

Hurdy gurdy:  Beowulf to New York City subways

In this YouTube video, a folk music artist plays the hurdy gurdy in an excerpt from the 8th Century epic tale Beowulf.  

Beowulf on the hurdy gurdy

In contrast, in this YouTube video, Melissa Kacalanos brings the hurdy gurdy's mixture of medieval and Middle East sounds into the subways of New York City at Canal Street in 2006.

Hurdy gurdy played in the subways of New York

"Into the nowhere zone" a new lyrical poetry song

Into the nowhere zone

The Wedge at Newport Beach, one of the world's most treacherous body surfing spots.  Photo by Oceanlight.com The Wedge Newport Beach Natural History Photography Blog

To listen to "Into the nowhere zone" click on the link to our music site on ReverbNation, or use the music player at the top of this blog: 

Mike Marcellino on ReverbNation 

Into the nowhere zone 

by Mike Marcellino

On the shore

brazen

the raven,

or is it a crow?

A blackbird's

tell tale colors,

purples and blues;

gives away a Starling's

stutter step

pecking

at crumbs.

He walks the old splintered planks

floor of the beachcomber,

dating back to seventy-five.

In the air

above the sea

propelled

by a crashing wave

perhaps three feet;

nothing like

being in the air

above the sea.

Absent time

absent thoughts

no worry, but the surf -

nirvana after all

in the liquid glass

rainbows over your left shoulder.

Hurricane curls, like dancing girls -

first Irene, then Katia

swells capped off by a wild northeaster

clocking winds over 50 miles per hour

creating havoc on the beach.

Riding faces five or six feet high

wipe outs turn you into a pretzel,

no fear, you can only die.

Atop a cliff of white foam

aqua below, daring

you to take off

flirt with the unknown

deep down;

in that instant

you go

falling into the nowhere zone

Copyright by Mike Marcellino, 2012

The ups and downs of making music

St. Augustine Beach rainbow 

(photo by Mike Marcellino, copyright 2011

Chasing a musical rainbow

I doubt there's anything a person can do that has more ups and downs than making music, that is, creating, recording and performing music.  In our case, it's lyrical poetry music, avant-garde stuff that very few people are doing.  Our listeners often say our music is "unique."  Our music is a fusion of poetry, or lyrical songs and stories, set to music, both played by musicians and composed using computer software.  Depending on the subject or story of the lyrics, the accompanying music may have elements of folk, jazz, punk, hip hop, blues, country or even surf, as in "Bondi beach".  I suppose you could say "Flatbush" is even psychedelic. 

In November, we recorded and released our 8th song, "Taipei subway." 

On New Year's Day we popped up to #42 among the Hot Folk Artists in the world on ReverbNation's charts.  ReverbNation, a leading website for musical artists, has more than 1.5 million artists.  Monday we peaked at #26.  We reached our all-time high of #17 in April. The next two days we were nearly off the chart, only to reach #95 today.  We're #30 on the Top Folk Artists' New York City chart, after peaking at #22 in August after releasing our 7th song, "West of the Pecos".  

I often wonder why I continue to make music, though I do enjoy it.  We haven't tried to sell any tracks yet, other than a self-produced sample CD, "Notebook Writer" for show we did in New York City in the fall of 2010.  We expect to start selling digital tracks and album this month.

But, then, we receive comments like this one from Agata Zak, an actor from New York City -

"Keep up the beautiful work. You are an inspiration to many."

Or, one from Mas Las, a journalist from Algeria - 

"'West of the Pecos' is a masterpiece, the voice, poetry, rhythm and the music." 

And, going back to December 2009 when we first began making lyrical poetry music, from Paul Donohoe, a writer in Australia -

"This (The Walls of Fire) lovely and haunting piece of poetry should be a world wide sensation."

Then I wonder, gee, are they kidding, is this for real?  While people are listening from all over the United States and the world the numbers aren't large - in the thousands, but not yet tens of thousands.

For the record here are our recorded songs so far:

Amelia Earhart, soft silver wings 9-23-2009

been down ta Las Cruces 10-22-2009

Flatbush 11-3-2009

The Walls of Fire 11-11-2009

Bondi beach 11-20-2009

Alphabet cofeehouse 3-13-2010

West of the Pecos 6-7-2011

Taipei subway 11-6-2011

Tomas Texino composed the music on all songs except Flatbush, composed by Randall Leddy who also played  bass.  David Dowling played bass on Amelia.  All songs were recorded in St. Augustine, Florida, except for Flatbush, recorded in Brooklyn, NY.

In any event, thanks to our listeners for joining us on a wild, poetic music ride.

Listen and share our music with your friends (free to stream online).  Like our Facebook Musician/Band.  page.  Help us introduce our music to more people our band to grow.

Mike Marcellino's Facebook Musician/Band page

Here's the link to our ReverbNation music page.  It's free to register and listen and there's a lot of great music on the site.  You can be a fan of our band if you like, and even join the street team, which will be getting some stuff to do this year!

Mike Marcellino on ReverbNation 

Take care, and we love to hear from you, so drop us a note!

Mike and the band

Memoirs in music: lyrical poetry of Mike Marcellino

 Amelia Earhart

 Memoirs in music

The lyrical poetry of Mike Marcellino:    "Amelia" (September 2009)

To mark our recording eight lyrical poetry songs during the past two years, I am reviewing the recordings for those who may have missed the initial releases of the songs or my want to revisit them, read the lyrics or learn the backstory of the songs.

It's finally dawned on me that what I'm doing with the help of some very talented musician friends is to put my memoirs to music.  I've scratched my head over trying to put our music in a genre, but I can only say they are lyrical poetry songs.  

In September 2009 I finally fled the lake effect snows fed by arctic winds across Lake Erie east of Cleveland, Ohio to rediscover my first love - the ocean and surfing in St. Augustine Beach, Florida.  Except for music trips to New York City, I'm rediscovering a lifelong passion of being a surfer.   

I got the inspiration to write "Amelia" after visiting the International Air and Space Museum in Cleveland.  The photo of Amelia (shown above) was in a biography at the museum.  She looked like and had the courage of an angel.  As I rode my bike along the shores of Lake Erie and through the Cultural Gardens, I kept stopping to add another verse.  We recorded the song in the home studio of musician and singer songwriter David Dowling in St. Augustine.  Tomas Texino composed the music for "Amelia"and all my songs, except for "Flatbush,"  recorded a month later in New York City with Randall Leddy composing the music.

"Amelia," the first of eight lyrical poetry song recordings was released for streaming only on September 23, 2009.  We have not yet released our recorded songs commercially in digital or CD form.  "Amelia" ranks 6th in popularity among our eight recordings as tracked on our music site on ReverbNation.  

You may listen to "Amelia Earhart, soft silver wings" on the music player at the top of this blog.

There's lots of information about our band and music on the site, just click on the link below.  We've love to hear from you and what you think of our avant-garde lyrical poetry music.

Mike Marcellino on ReverbNation

You may also wish to visit our music page on Facebook and please do "like" our page as it helps awareness of our band and music grow.

Mike Marcellino on Facebook

Amelia Earhart, soft silver wings

By Mike Marcellino

Amelia Earhart,

Love your picture

in flight.

love your goggles,

love your lips. 

Love how you circled the world,

single handed.

Amelia

amelia

amelia

Like that leather

air cap.

You’re a goddess, a woman

soft white,

ahead of your time,

such afterglow

night

in shinning armor.

Meet me on a northern coast,

not far from the equator,

above the island

where they made King Kong.

You’re Atlantis, risen

in my South China Sea.

Amelia

amelia

amelia

Oh, your last flight

Oh, your last flight,

what a night

Looking at your picture

in my book,

soft silver

soft silver

wings.

Your lips, painted colors

light, pretty pink.

Those eyes,

imagine,

sigh.

Your nails, natural,

fingertips.

taking you with me.

Amelia

amelia

amelia,

soft silver

soft silver

wings.

Your words,

Courage

Courage is the price that Life extracts for granting peace.

The soul that knows it not, knows no release.

From little things.

Knows not the livid loneliness of fear.

Not mountain heights where bitter joy can hear

The sound of wings.

How can life grant us boon of living, compensate

For dull grey ugliness and pregnant hate

Unless we dare

The soul’s dominion? Each time we make a choice, we pay

With courage to behold the restless day,

And count it fair. - Amelia Earhart, 1927

You made the crossing

not alone.

Meet you over the Atlantic.

Amelia

amelia

amelia,

Soft silver,

soft silver wings.

Copyright 2009 by Mike Marcellino, “Amelia Earhart, soft silver wings”

A sense of all, a poem (revised)

Vietnam Memorial, Washington D. C., 2010 Photo by Mike Marcellino A sense of all by Mike Marcellino Fragments, parts bits and pieces ...

The Wall in Washington: "A Sense of all"

Vietnam Memorial, Washington D. C., 2010 Photo by Mike Marcellino

A sense of all
by Mike Marcellino

Fragments, parts
bits and pieces
of you and me
shells on the beach,
pine cones at Yellowstone.

Fragments, parts
bits and pieces
memories of songs we loved
revolutions survived.

Fragments, parts
bits and pieces
now worn down,
most look like India, Africa
So where is Gandhi
and King?
We still need them.

Fragments, parts
bits and pieces
pastels, holes, linear cracks 
in our unfinished business -
making life just,
not for a few.

Fragments, parts
bits and pieces
of forts
ancient hideouts.
Where are you now
that we need you?

Fragments, parts
bits and pieces
of souls lost;
so, what does it take
to put us
back together?

Fragments, parts
bits and pieces;
we'll be okay, complete
as long as we
don't lose a sense of all.

Copyright Mike Marcellino 2011

Will war ever bring peace?

 "Search & destroy" photo by Mike Marcellino, TET Offensive, Vietnam War, 1968, on a mission with the 23rd South Vietnamese Rangers and U. S. Army 23rd Artillery forward observers.


Will war ever bring peace?
by Mike Marcellino


"In war, there are no unwounded soldiers."  -José Narosky, Argentine writer, mostly of amorphisms

I don't know of the war experience of Narosky, or how he came to write this, but the quote is true.


Today is Veterans Day, November 11, 2011.  There hasn't been a calendar day like this since November 11, 1911, before the outbreak of World War I.

Our Veterans Day began as the moment fighting ceased in World War I, 11am, November 11, 1918.  This moment in our history has become known as Veterans Day in America.

This makes today's Veterans Day the calendar moment of 11-11-11-11, the eleventh hour of the eleventh day in the eleventh month in the year two thousand and eleven.  You can take this to the craps tables in Las Vegas, but it hasn't brought peace.  We are still fighting in Afghanistan and maintain troops in Iraq and all over the world. 


"Courage is fear holding on a minute longer." -George S. Patton, general, U. S. Army, WWII

U. S. Army Soldiers of the 101st Airborne patrol a mountainous village in the rugged Spira mountains in Khost province, along the Afghan-Pakistan Borde.  (Photo David Furst / AFP / Getty Images)

I found this photo on an interesting website started in 1984 to help soldiers from World War II, both Americans and Germans locate the places where they fought.  It's called the US Veterans Contact point and Information Center and was founded in Malmedy, Belgium.  Here's the link to the website for a further look at an interesting project. (Malmedy is well know as the site of the massacre of 71 unarmed U. S. troops by German troops during the Battle of the Bulge in World War II.)

Oddly, there hasn't been a date like this for a century, since November 11, 1911.  Since then Americans, patriots, if you will, have fought, died and been wounded in two world wars and wars in Korea, Vietnam, Iraq and Afghanistan, as well as excursions into Grenada and Panama, not to mention countless other military interventions. Here is the link to the Wikipedia timeline of United States military operations since 1776:

Timeline of U. S. military operations


While the sacrifice of American soldiers, sailors, marines and airmen, should be honored in deed every day of the year, the list of U. S. military operations is enough to choke a horse. 

We, as a nation, must ask ourselves, to what end? What are we fighting, dying and being maimed for?  Where is the peace?

Some day we should swap our M-16s for shovels and see if that brings peace.

"As we express our gratitude, we must never forget that the highest appreciation is not to utter words, but to live by them." -John Fitzgerald Kennedy

"My Girls" photo by Mike Marcellino, 1968, Vietnam War

Finally, we invite your to listen to our lyrical poetry song recording, "The Walls of Fire," an ode to the sacrifice by American troops from the Civil War to Afghanistan. There's a music player right up top.  If you'd like to "like" us on our Facebook music page here's the link.

Mike Marcellino's artist page on Facebook

Our music website is on ReverbNation where our band is #30 Top Folk Artist on the New York City chart.

Learn about, listen to our music on ReverbNation

"Taipei subway" a song of redemption

Photos Remix Taipei baseball team's new New Era cap (Hatclub.com) (top), cheering Taiwanese baseball fans (st1na.wordpress.com) and Taiwan Metro (axiomdisplay.com)

"Taipei subway," a new single released




Lyrics and vocal:  Mike Marcellino
Music composition: Tomas Texino


Taipei subway marks the 8th single record released in the past year by Mike Marcellino and his band. This latest in a series of avant-garde recordings fusing poetry,  "It's our first full band sound. I just wanted to be up there beating the drums this one," Mike said, about the new record.  "It's also pretty far out, stranger than fiction kind of stuff." The music composition includes acoustic bass, drumkit, acoustic slide guitar, crunch electric guitar, piano and synthwhirl.

You may listen to our new song either on our ReverbNation music site using this link, or the music player at the top of my blog.  We also encourage you to "like" us on our Facebook Musician/Band Page, as well as become a fan here.  There's a music player on our Facebook page too.  

ReverbNation music website 

Facebook Musician/Band Page


A story of "Taipei subway" -  baseball, music and human rights

I wrote "Taipei subway," in 2007 and recorded it with Split Pea/ce, my first band, in Cleveland the next year.  Abe Olvido, a multi-media artist, who liked to create music, was the other half of Split Pea/ce and we performed at clubs and events in Cleveland until 2009.

The song is an offbeat look at Taipei, Taiwan spawned by my wanderings in the city taking a break from a human rights mission I undertook in 1987.  I, along with a representative of former U. S. Attorney General Ramsey Clark, a liberal activist, and an official of a world Christian church group, accompanied a liberal opposition politician on his return to Taiwan.   Dr Hong Chi-chang was in exile in the United States for his opposition to the oppression and martial law in Taiwan, the longest in world history.  Our mission proved to be successful as the Dr. Hong wasn't killed or jailed but was put on trial.  Tens of thousands of Taiwanese greeted the opposition leader at the airport, after some tense moments when authorities boarded our plane.  As we were landing I would see hundreds of troops, riot police and armored vehicles on the runway.  Since that time, human rights and democracy have progressed and the tension between Taiwan and China have diminished.  I was asked to go on the mission by the Taiwanese leaders in the U. S. who were fighting for human rights and democracy in their home country.

I had first encountered the very active Taiwanese community in Cleveland while I worked as an aide to former Congressman Louis Stokes in 1984 specializing in human rights issues. For four years we worked to end marshal martial law and advance human rights and democracy in Taiwan. Martial law was ended in 1987 but was replaced with a repressive National Security Law by the regime still influenced by Chiang Kai-shek, the nationalist Chinese leader.  Chiang had fled Communist China after World War II to Taiwan, an island off the coast, set up the Republic of China and killed 30,000 Taiwanese intellectuals, educators and artists. Reform began in 1988 and in 2000 an opposition party candidate won the nation's first free election.

As I'm working on a new recording of "Taipei subway," I dusted it off (edited) to share with you.

Taipei  subway
By Mike Marcellino

Another day, night
another mission.
Underground.
White bright light -
Two guys, guitars
singing.
Where?
Taipei  subway.

Two guys, guitars
singing.
Where?
Taipei subway.
There.
Nowhere.
Nobody there.
Taipei subway
twins
Taipei  subway
twins.

Another day, night
underground.
White bright light -
Pictures
in dark
4 color corners
4 color
4 color.
Taipei subway
twins.

Another day, night
underground.
White bright lights.
White bright lights -
They weren’t
supposed to be
there.
Somewhere.
Anywhere;
Early commuters,
appearing
in a tunnel
of white tile walls.
On another mission.
Sent by God,
the old Taiwanese man said.
Taipei subway.
Taipei subway
twins.

Down below
runways filled with troops,
tanks, fire trucks
rows and rows of riot police
rigid
behind their plastic shields.
Tense moments, without warning;
authorities in plain clothes
board our jet from Tokyo.
Chaos in customs
tens of thousands,
cheering throngs
greeting him,
me, shooting pictures
in a scene
from Lord Jim.

Another day, night
underground.
White bright lights -
Taipei subway,
subway.
Two guys, guitars
singing.
Where?
There.
Nowhere.
Taipei subway
to a night game
of the
The Taipei Subway Twins
4 color,
4 color,
4 color.

Copyright  Mike Marcellino, 2007/2011

"Lieu" - a story of love in war

Lieu 

by Mike Marcellino

South Vietnam, 1967.

Silly beginning, careless ending

lizards clung to the dim lit wall.

Thomas and i met her at Sherwood Forest,

the nightclub,

smiling at us over beer,

fries

and a now and then

Saigon Tea.

In a

sputtering

Honda 90

humanly propelled

by a papa-san

pimp,

I rode through

hit and miss,

foot, leg, peddle-powered

traffic -

Saigon streets

darkness after curfew

riding in the close warm

black night.

Teaming, steaming

from the Tahiti,

20 century

brick-fronted

same on the inside

hotel.

While Thomas

worried,

tripping

i shivered

(not really).

Inside outside

perfect night for baseball.

Lieu

dug store bought;

i read her scrolling

on a crumpled

piece of

paper

light brown

one six four and one-half

some street.

Self-conscious me

in Bermuda shorts,

naked legs

walking down winding back alleys

to find Lieu

and ma-muc.

Ma-muc

-burnt red stained beetle nut chew

in her mouth

bulging,

crushed

by an earthen

ceramic set.

Bermuda shorts hairy legs me and

ma muc

who smiles,

giggles -

Lieu’s ma ma san mother.

Her daughter came

home

happy

made me eat

gobbling hers.

Lieu,

and ma-muc

grabbing my leg hair,

giggling.

First joy of waiting,

simple thing

so tense

exciting -

Showering from

body tall vases

in the corner

morning after

love, her

surfer t-shirt mini on.

Lieu laughed,

cried,

gave

really.

Maybe she loves

someone

else

tonight.

Her oily

brown face,

round, dark eyes

long, straight black hair.

Not a fair maiden,

but no whore.

Copyright Mike Marcellino, 2007

The Walls of Fire - the song, lyrics and story

The Walls of Fire: story behind the song
by Mike Marcellino

Here's one of my favorite photographs I took while serving as a U. S. Army correspondent and photojournalist in the Vietnam War.  I like it because it's so pastoral, a far cry from the horror of war.

Recently I wrote a poem about the sacrifices of American troops from the Civil War to Vietnam and the gulf wars and we recorded the song, "The Walls of Fire."

Mike Marcellino took this photo with a Pentax 35 mm camera on search and destroy mission with the 33rd South Vietnamese Rangers and United States Army forward observers of the U.S. Army 23rd Artillery Group in the Iron Triangle during the Vietnam War in 1968.

The mission occurred during The TET Offensive, a surprise attack by North Vietnamese regular and VC troops throughout South Vietnam.  The enemy attack began on January 31, breaking the Vietnamese New Year's holiday cease fire.  TET was the heaviest fighting of the war. With heavy U. S. casualties and scenes of the VC taking over the American Embassy in Saigon (for a few hours), TET was the turning point in growing opposition to the war by the American people.  TET was was a complete military victory for U. S. troops, nearly eliminating all of the Viet Cong forces.  North Vietnamese troops took over the fight.  After the signing of a peace treaty in Paris the United States withdrew its forces in 1973.  The North Vietnam defeated the South Vietnam in 1975 and Vietnam was reunified.

For his reporting on the mission, the Rangers presented Mike with a captured Viet Cong flag during a formal ceremony. More than 40 years later, he still has the flag.  (Copyright by Mike Marcellino)

To listen here's the link (or there's a music player on the top of his blog)

The Walls of Fire on ReverbNation


The walls of fire
By Mike Marcellino

The walls of fire
grow higher, higher
pools of blood
carnage
bodies of brothers
touching
rock cliffs and open fields -
Hornet’s Nest at Shiloh
Devil’s Den, Gettysburg.

The walls of fire
grow higher, higher
pools of blood
carnage
bodies of brothers
touching
sea to shining sea -
lost in the Argonne Forest
face down on beaches at Normandy
frozen by the waters of Chosin Reservoir.

The walls of fire
grow higher, higher
pools of blood
carnage
bodies of brothers
touching
paddies, highlands -
Nui Ba Dinh, the Black Virgin Mountain
the Ashau Valley
along the perimeter of Khe Sanh.

The walls of fire
grow higher, higher
pools of blood, carnage
bodies of brothers
touching
empty deserts
filled with giant rising suns -
Fallujah rooftops
unknown streets of Sadr City
barren mountains, caves of Tora Bora.

The walls of fire
grow higher, still higher
pools of blood
carnage
bodies of brothers
touching.

The walls of fire copyright by Mike Marcellino 2009

Awesome remake

Dear Readers,

Well, time flies. I've been publishing this blog, "The Point of the Whole Thing," since May 2009.  Stories. Poetry. Music. Photography.  We now have several thousands regular readers. I appreciate that a lot.

So, to reward you and future readers, I've redesigned the Blogger blog with a new fresh, clean look, a lot of white space.  I like white space.  New features include a Readers' Poll that will change every week or two.  The first poll asks you to pick your favorite of our poetry song recordings.

Also new on the redesigned blog is a direct link to our Facebook Musician/band Page, affectionately named, "Mike Marcellino." All you have to do is click on "like" on the widget at the top of the blog, or do it when you get to the page.

By liking our band you get to listen to our music for free.  Soon we're offer downloads of tracks and an album of songs for a small fee.  The page has a music player (free to listen just "like" the page) and a link to this blog.  Joining the page also helps our band progress (we're now #19 on the folk music chart in New York City).  If we're going to make it in the music world we need a lot of listeners.

The site remake is continuing so expect more new stuff.

Thanks again,

Mike

"West of the Pecos"

Lyrics of a new poetry song 


West of the Pecos
by Mike Marcellino

A Texas crossing
takes all of three days,
nights of stars
the brightness of being
on a road to desolation
the dry dirt land
West of the Pecos.

Dropping down
from Texarkana
past Abilene,
Sweetwater
and Big Spring
through 500 miles
of no man's land
named for
an Apache chief -
the Chihuahua desert
of mesquite
bobcats, rattle snakes
and scorpions
cowboys call vinegaroons
on a road to desolation
the dry dirt land
along the Rio Grande
West of the Pecos.

Biting winds
uncover
the ghosts
of Lillie Langtry,
mistress of
the Price of Wales
and her fondest admirer
Judge Roy Bean
along the Rio Grande
a place heaven deserted
on a road to desolation
the dry dirt land
West of the Pecos.

The ghost of Gary Cooper
rode up in a Cutlas Supreme
a critter unknown to Roy Bean.
Standing before the bar,
the Langtry Saloon,
named after the judge's sweetheart,
a British actress known as Jersey Lily.

No six shooter in my hand
the hanging judge
sentenced me to roam forever
in this God forsaken
West Texas land
a place heaven deserted
on a road to desolation
the dry dirt land
West of the Pecos.

Copyright 2011 Mike Marcellino


To listen to "West of the Pecos" you may use the music player on the top of this page or go to Mike's music site on Reverbnation (free & no registration required but you may become a fan and there's a lot of new music on the site)

Mike Marcellino on Reverbnation

Here's some interesting photos of Roy Bean, Lillie Langtry, and Langtry, Texas today.

They say that each day 100,000 people visit the old home of Judge Roy Bean.  About 13 people live in Langtry.

Walter Brennan plays Judge Roy Bean and Gary Cooper is a cowboy trying to talk the judge out of hanging him in the 1940 film, The Westerner.  Brennan won an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor.  Neat black and white classic!

Lillie Langtry, sweetheart of Judge Roy Bean, though they never met.  Her friends Oscar Wild suggested she become an actress.  Born on the Jersey Islands off the coast of England, she was an amazing character and quite beautiful.  She also raced horses. For more about her here's Lillie's website

Lillie Langtry

Judge Roy Bean
(prints of this photo by Legends of America Photo Prints)
Legends of America Photo Prints

Langtry, Texas (Photo by The Sayre RV Odyssey b log)