Let me tell you what I've started doing. (as I'm listening to Coming Down off of Viva Satellite)
MY SPIRIT IS UP
A COLD SNAP IS RETURNING
HOPING FOR THE END
I'm trying to journal DAILY! I have done this successfully in the past, but not for very many days in a row. So, here I go trying again. And I'm over a week in now (that's me bragging a tad). And I will throw one up here on the site sometimes. To hopefully stir up traffic. I mean who really cares about what I'm blogging?
My belief is, (and it has research to back it up) it makes me a better writer. Which in turn makes me (hopefully) better at writing songs. Language is my main instrument (Tom Waits said that).
So I'm journaling daily and writing a haiku. And I'm trying my best to stick to the traditional format of a haiku. The 5-7-5 of course. But also, I understood it needs to be written in the present tense. And it also needs to describe the season, without saying the season I'm in. It's supposed to help me write songs, Steve Earle told me that. Help with cadence. And I do believe it does.
I went camping with Steve Earle one time, and about 125 other songwriters. And Steve broke us off in groups of 5 to do certain little things. And this one day we were to write a haiku, in the format I just explained. And I had never even heard of a haiku until that day.
I'll never forget, I was sitting quietly in my chair, in the class, waiting for Shad to return by my side. And Steve Earle looks at me and goes, "let me hear your haiku?"
And I said, "I didn't write one."
And he goes, "why not."
And I said, "I didn't have time."
And he stared at me for what seemed like 5 or 6 seconds, but was really probably 1.5.
Which is still kind of a long time.
Which is still kind of a long time.
And he hasn't talked directly to me since.
That's my haiku for today up there in tall letters.
It ain't no big deal. (I said that)
MO
2/17/25