Friday, April 3, 2015

The Poetry of Rock n' Roll: "Secret Oktober"

To observe National Poetry Month, once a week I will be featuring lyrics of rock n' roll or pop songs that also double as exquisite poetry.

And we start the month off with the lyrics from a group that, if one is old enough to remember them, might strike some as pablum pop. But Duran Duran actually have a solid lyricist in lead singer Simon Le Bon. Here are the lyrics to "Secret Oktober" from 1983, a song full to bursting with achingly lovely visuals and a rich narrative.

"Secret Oktober"
by Duran Duran

Wise on a birthday party
in a world full of surprising fireworks
and sudden silence.
Lies on a stranger's bed,
the new day breaks like a speeding train or an old friend
ever expected, but never knocking.
Holding your own in a battered car,
all night parties, cocktail bars and smile
when the butterfly escapes the killing jar.

Sure eyes awake before the dancing is over.
Wise or naked in secret Oktober.

Freefall on a windy morning shore,
nothing but a fading track of footsteps
to prove that you'd ever been there.
Spoken on a cotton cloud
like the sound of gunshot taken by the wind
and lost in distant thunder.
Racing on a shining plane,
tomorrow you'll be content to watch
as the lightning plays along the wires and you'll wonder.

Sure eyes awake before the dancing is over.
Wise or naked in secret Oktober.


http://www.duranduran.com/

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