Ransom Note Poetry Project
I'm reposting this for a friend. Everyone please participate. Even if you think you have nothing worth adding, just go for it :)
The ‘Ransom’ Note Poetry Project
What is it? ‘Ransom’ note poetry is a way in which to be creative using songs. It is easy and a fun thing to do.
How do I do it? Think about 4 or 5 songs you like and pick out some of the lyrics. Arrange them into a short poem or story. The point is to use snippets of songs and to use as little connective tissue as possible. I myself used a play list that someone else made for me. Try to use a play list already in existence of your own, one of your friend’s play lists, or a movie soundtrack. Please include a title and a play list, see example following. If you could also include how you heard of this project it would be very helpful.
Why? I have been nominated a Poetry Ambassador this year by the International Library of Poetry. Therefore I am conducting a study for a statistical project, to not only inspire the act of writing poetry, but also to track my effectiveness. I’m trying to predict how many responses I will get. I will be mapping and documenting all the information I receive. I will be analyzing the data in one month (7-5-06) and in three months (9-5-06). I know that people ask you to send internet chain letters all the time, I am asking you to forward this to everyone you know as part of an experiment. Please help me conduct this study. Your work will not be published, it will not find it’s way on to the internet in any form. It will be recorded and kept in the study under a participation number.
Come up with your own ransom note poem and forward it to me at ransomnotepoetry@yahoo.com
Thank you for taking the time to participate and forward this to everyone you know. Please also consider posting it on bulletin board, real or cyber. Blog rings, or on-line journals. Your help is very appreciated.
Sincerely,
GB
The Original example:
The Break Up
"The two of us
All used and beaten up
Watching fate as it flows down the
path we have chose.
You and me,
We're in this together now,
None of them can stop us now!"(1)
My reply in the dark,
"And the fire fades away
Most of everyday
Is full of tired excuses
But it's too hard to say
You're close enough to see
That you're the other side of the world
To me"(2)
I whispered, "When all our hope is gone
We have to hold on."(1)
But he wasn't listening,
"Can you help me?
Can you let me go?
And can you still love me
When you can't see me anymore?"(2)
I began to lose my temper
and I started to scream,
"Don't play dead 'cause maybe one day
I will walk away and say:
You disappoint me,
Maybe you're better off this way"(3)
He gave no response.
I walked out and got in my car
As I drove, I was still talking to him
Even though he wasn't there
"If it was up to me
I would have never walked out
So until the sun burns out,
Oh, I hope you're waiting"(4)
I went to my best friend
And told her the whole thing.
She said,
"They left the television screaming,
Left the radio on.
Someone stole my shoes,
But there's a couple of bananas
and a bottle of booze"(5)
Then I replied,
"Oh, well, Happy New Year's baby.
We could probably fix it
If we clean it up all day..."
"Or we could simply pack our bags
And catch a plane to Barcelona,
'cause this city's a drag,"(5) she suggested.
I thought she was right.
"i may take a holiday in Spain,
Leave my wings behind me,
Flush my worries down the drain
And fly away to somewhere new."(5)
She hooked her arm in mine,
Then she grabbed the bottle of booze
And as we walked out the door, she said,
"Take a holiday in Spain
Leave my wings behind me
Drive this little girl insane
Fly away to someone new."(5)
Play List:
1. We're in this Together Now - NIN
2. Other Side of the World - KT Tunstall
3. Passive - A Perfect Circle
4. The Suffering - Coheed and Cambria
5. Holiday in Spain - Counting Crows
My Attempt:
She was a January girl
She never let on how insane it was(1).
We grew up way too fast
And now there's nothing to believe
And reruns all become our history(2).
God help you if you are an ugly girl...
And god help you if you are a phoenix
And you dare to rise up from the ash
A thousand eyes will smolder with jealousy(3)
'Cause people they ain't no good(4).
Baby girl, stand up and fight
This is not some paradise,
This is just where we live(5)
And if I stay lucky, then my tongue will stay tied
And I won't betray the fears that I hide(6)
'Cause I've been here,
Silent all these years(7)
And I wanna get me a little oblivion, baby(8).
Are you waking up slowly
Nothing but lonely?
Are you waking up
Holding your breath?
Are you looking for something?(5)
If this is giving up, then I'm giving up(9)...
What's this? What's this?
There's color everywhere!(10)
My life is brilliant
My love is pure
I saw an angel
Of that I'm sure
You're beautiful(11)
Cast me gently into morning
For the night has been unkind(12)
Now we're grown up orphans
That never knew their names
We don't belong to no one
That's a shame
But you could hide beside me
Maybe for a while(2)...
Are you unforgiven, too?(13)
We may be on this road
But we're just imposters in this country(14)
You left the light on
You were there to hold on(15)
And I don't want to come back down
From this cloud
It's taken me all this time
To find out what I need(16)
I'm accidentally in love
And the world's a little brighter(17)...
I sense there's something in the wind
That feels like tragedy's at hand(18)
Scars are souveniers you never lose
The past is never far(2)
And I can't make it on my own
Because my heart is in Ohio(19).
Identify, please identify(20).
Hope isn't lost, devote the ghost(21).
Difficult not to feel a little bit
Disappointed and passed over
...And you don't see me.
I threw you the obvious
To see if there's more behind
The eyes of a fallen angel
Eyes of a tragedy...
Here I am expecting just a little bit
Too much from the wounded(22)
And you said you meant it
And there's a piece of me in every single
Second of every single day
But if that's true then tell me
How we got this way(23)
I'm on my hands and knees
I want so much to believe
You fucking promised me(24)!
You could have been all I wanted(25)
You turned your light off
So I turned mine
Away from your sadness
Away from the nothing
That you feel for me(26)
In a phrase to cut these lips
I loved you(27)
But you couldn't last a lifetime(15).
This is no beginning, this is the final cut(28)
And I would like to state for the record
I did everything that I could do
I'm not saying that I am a saint
I just don't want to live that way(3).
The fire fades away
And most of every day
Is full of tired excuses
I wish it were simple,
But we give up easily(29)
If this is giving up, then I'm giving up
On love(9)...
Everybody, everything I've known
Never taught me how to stand up on my own
Had to learn it from the one who let me go
Now I walk alone(30)...
And this is my mixed tape for her
It's like I wrote every note
With my own fingers(23).
Play List:
1. Black Dove - Tori Amos
2. Name - The Goo Goo Dolls
3. 32 Flavors - Ani Difranco
4. People Ain't No Good
5. Story About a Girl - Our Lady Peace
6. Lucky - Seven Mary Three
7. Silent All These Years - Tori Amos
8. Perfect Blue Buildings - Counting Crows
9. Wreck of the Day - Anna Nalick
10. What's This? - Nightmare Before Christmas Soundtrack
11. You're Beautiful - James Blunt
12. Answer - Sarah McLachlan
13. Unforgiven II - Metallica
14. A Sorta Fairytale - Tori Amos
15. The Light and the Glass - Coheed and Cambria
16. Comedown - Bush
17. Accidentally in Love - Counting Crows
18. Sally's Song - Nightmare Before Christmas Soundtrack
19. Ohio is for Lovers - Hawthorne Heights
20. Identify - Natalie Imbruglia
21. The Suffering - Coheed and Cambria
22. Three Libras - A Perfect Circle
23. Mixed Tape - Jack's Mannequinn
24. Terrible Lie - NIN
25. Welcome Home - Coheed and Cambria
26. Quote Unquote - Evans Blue
27. Wake Up - Coheed and Cambria
28. Final Cut - Coheed and Cambria
29. Other Side of the World - KT Tunstall
30. I Walk Alone - Oleander
The ‘Ransom’ Note Poetry Project
What is it? ‘Ransom’ note poetry is a way in which to be creative using songs. It is easy and a fun thing to do.
How do I do it? Think about 4 or 5 songs you like and pick out some of the lyrics. Arrange them into a short poem or story. The point is to use snippets of songs and to use as little connective tissue as possible. I myself used a play list that someone else made for me. Try to use a play list already in existence of your own, one of your friend’s play lists, or a movie soundtrack. Please include a title and a play list, see example following. If you could also include how you heard of this project it would be very helpful.
Why? I have been nominated a Poetry Ambassador this year by the International Library of Poetry. Therefore I am conducting a study for a statistical project, to not only inspire the act of writing poetry, but also to track my effectiveness. I’m trying to predict how many responses I will get. I will be mapping and documenting all the information I receive. I will be analyzing the data in one month (7-5-06) and in three months (9-5-06). I know that people ask you to send internet chain letters all the time, I am asking you to forward this to everyone you know as part of an experiment. Please help me conduct this study. Your work will not be published, it will not find it’s way on to the internet in any form. It will be recorded and kept in the study under a participation number.
Come up with your own ransom note poem and forward it to me at ransomnotepoetry@yahoo.com
Thank you for taking the time to participate and forward this to everyone you know. Please also consider posting it on bulletin board, real or cyber. Blog rings, or on-line journals. Your help is very appreciated.
Sincerely,
GB
The Original example:
The Break Up
"The two of us
All used and beaten up
Watching fate as it flows down the
path we have chose.
You and me,
We're in this together now,
None of them can stop us now!"(1)
My reply in the dark,
"And the fire fades away
Most of everyday
Is full of tired excuses
But it's too hard to say
You're close enough to see
That you're the other side of the world
To me"(2)
I whispered, "When all our hope is gone
We have to hold on."(1)
But he wasn't listening,
"Can you help me?
Can you let me go?
And can you still love me
When you can't see me anymore?"(2)
I began to lose my temper
and I started to scream,
"Don't play dead 'cause maybe one day
I will walk away and say:
You disappoint me,
Maybe you're better off this way"(3)
He gave no response.
I walked out and got in my car
As I drove, I was still talking to him
Even though he wasn't there
"If it was up to me
I would have never walked out
So until the sun burns out,
Oh, I hope you're waiting"(4)
I went to my best friend
And told her the whole thing.
She said,
"They left the television screaming,
Left the radio on.
Someone stole my shoes,
But there's a couple of bananas
and a bottle of booze"(5)
Then I replied,
"Oh, well, Happy New Year's baby.
We could probably fix it
If we clean it up all day..."
"Or we could simply pack our bags
And catch a plane to Barcelona,
'cause this city's a drag,"(5) she suggested.
I thought she was right.
"i may take a holiday in Spain,
Leave my wings behind me,
Flush my worries down the drain
And fly away to somewhere new."(5)
She hooked her arm in mine,
Then she grabbed the bottle of booze
And as we walked out the door, she said,
"Take a holiday in Spain
Leave my wings behind me
Drive this little girl insane
Fly away to someone new."(5)
Play List:
1. We're in this Together Now - NIN
2. Other Side of the World - KT Tunstall
3. Passive - A Perfect Circle
4. The Suffering - Coheed and Cambria
5. Holiday in Spain - Counting Crows
My Attempt:
She was a January girl
She never let on how insane it was(1).
We grew up way too fast
And now there's nothing to believe
And reruns all become our history(2).
God help you if you are an ugly girl...
And god help you if you are a phoenix
And you dare to rise up from the ash
A thousand eyes will smolder with jealousy(3)
'Cause people they ain't no good(4).
Baby girl, stand up and fight
This is not some paradise,
This is just where we live(5)
And if I stay lucky, then my tongue will stay tied
And I won't betray the fears that I hide(6)
'Cause I've been here,
Silent all these years(7)
And I wanna get me a little oblivion, baby(8).
Are you waking up slowly
Nothing but lonely?
Are you waking up
Holding your breath?
Are you looking for something?(5)
If this is giving up, then I'm giving up(9)...
What's this? What's this?
There's color everywhere!(10)
My life is brilliant
My love is pure
I saw an angel
Of that I'm sure
You're beautiful(11)
Cast me gently into morning
For the night has been unkind(12)
Now we're grown up orphans
That never knew their names
We don't belong to no one
That's a shame
But you could hide beside me
Maybe for a while(2)...
Are you unforgiven, too?(13)
We may be on this road
But we're just imposters in this country(14)
You left the light on
You were there to hold on(15)
And I don't want to come back down
From this cloud
It's taken me all this time
To find out what I need(16)
I'm accidentally in love
And the world's a little brighter(17)...
I sense there's something in the wind
That feels like tragedy's at hand(18)
Scars are souveniers you never lose
The past is never far(2)
And I can't make it on my own
Because my heart is in Ohio(19).
Identify, please identify(20).
Hope isn't lost, devote the ghost(21).
Difficult not to feel a little bit
Disappointed and passed over
...And you don't see me.
I threw you the obvious
To see if there's more behind
The eyes of a fallen angel
Eyes of a tragedy...
Here I am expecting just a little bit
Too much from the wounded(22)
And you said you meant it
And there's a piece of me in every single
Second of every single day
But if that's true then tell me
How we got this way(23)
I'm on my hands and knees
I want so much to believe
You fucking promised me(24)!
You could have been all I wanted(25)
You turned your light off
So I turned mine
Away from your sadness
Away from the nothing
That you feel for me(26)
In a phrase to cut these lips
I loved you(27)
But you couldn't last a lifetime(15).
This is no beginning, this is the final cut(28)
And I would like to state for the record
I did everything that I could do
I'm not saying that I am a saint
I just don't want to live that way(3).
The fire fades away
And most of every day
Is full of tired excuses
I wish it were simple,
But we give up easily(29)
If this is giving up, then I'm giving up
On love(9)...
Everybody, everything I've known
Never taught me how to stand up on my own
Had to learn it from the one who let me go
Now I walk alone(30)...
And this is my mixed tape for her
It's like I wrote every note
With my own fingers(23).
Play List:
1. Black Dove - Tori Amos
2. Name - The Goo Goo Dolls
3. 32 Flavors - Ani Difranco
4. People Ain't No Good
5. Story About a Girl - Our Lady Peace
6. Lucky - Seven Mary Three
7. Silent All These Years - Tori Amos
8. Perfect Blue Buildings - Counting Crows
9. Wreck of the Day - Anna Nalick
10. What's This? - Nightmare Before Christmas Soundtrack
11. You're Beautiful - James Blunt
12. Answer - Sarah McLachlan
13. Unforgiven II - Metallica
14. A Sorta Fairytale - Tori Amos
15. The Light and the Glass - Coheed and Cambria
16. Comedown - Bush
17. Accidentally in Love - Counting Crows
18. Sally's Song - Nightmare Before Christmas Soundtrack
19. Ohio is for Lovers - Hawthorne Heights
20. Identify - Natalie Imbruglia
21. The Suffering - Coheed and Cambria
22. Three Libras - A Perfect Circle
23. Mixed Tape - Jack's Mannequinn
24. Terrible Lie - NIN
25. Welcome Home - Coheed and Cambria
26. Quote Unquote - Evans Blue
27. Wake Up - Coheed and Cambria
28. Final Cut - Coheed and Cambria
29. Other Side of the World - KT Tunstall
30. I Walk Alone - Oleander