Up until today, I was fairly sure poetry just wasn’t my bag, but I’ve just a heard a track by a couple of cheeky Scousers that may have made me consider changing my mind.
The song in question is Summer with Monika by Roger McGough and Mike McGear (real name McCartney; his Paul-ness’ younger brother, no less) – members of Liverpudlian musical comedy and poetry troupe The Scaffold (pictured above) – from their sole 1968 long-player McGough and McGear, and is a musically-accompanied ten-minute tale of love gone ‘comfortable’.
The poem tells the story of a couple in love, from their passion-filled honeymoon period when they’d “stay in bed for days on end” right through to the familiar and comfortable love that comes with the passing of time. It’s at once funny, sad and wonderfully surreal (containing plenty of ludicrous passages involving dancing around over-sized household objects and copulation with kitchen appliances), and is driven beautifully by a subtle and appropriate instrumental backing that may well have been provided by Jimi Hendrix or Graham Nash (they both appear on the album, along with other members of the late ’60s rock aristocracy including McCartney, sr., Dave Mason, Spencer Davis, John Mayall and Noel Redding)
As may be apparent, I don’t claim to know anything about poetry, but I do know what I like and I like this. Have a listen for yourself and let me know what you think.
‘Prologue‘:
‘Epilogue‘:
file not found x2.
I think I’m slow getting to things sometimes.
Re-upped! Sorry about that old chap.