Heartstrings

[pallas_athena]

They said, "You have a blue guitar,
You do not play things as they are."

The man replied, "Things as they are
Are changed upon the blue guitar."

--Wallace Stevens

speedlime recently dug out her old guitar and posted a picture. I could not put into words what I felt at the time, and so the comment I left her was mostly exclamation points. I still have difficulty finding the words for the effect the sight of that guitar had on me.

I see that case and I am instantly in high school again. Singing and friends were damn near the only things that made that place bearable, and both were combined in the band speedlime, fatbuttsheep and I formed. I see that case and it's not just a luridly-decorated guitar case. It's the sound of Speedy and Zart playing "Lesson for Two Lutes" in guitar class as the sun streams in the window of the tiny practice room. It's the smell of sandalwood incense burning in front of our bench under the pine tree in the Bishops' Garden while we worked out three-part harmony to whatever cheesy-ass song we were going to sing next. Often we'd just start it and work out the harmonies as we went. Speedy excelled at high descants, while Zart could work out beautiful lower lines. I mostly just stayed on the melody.

Our first gig was at a refugee centre, depressing the hell out of some refugee women. "Sing something happy," one of them requested after a half-dozen songs laden with death and angst. All our songs are miserable! We're in high school! What do you expect!?

We all loved Speedy's guitar case and secretly wished we could make our stuff look that cool. Various of our friends wrote songs for us; one of them wrote a lengthy sort of Beat-poetry-like description of that case, which I don't think we ever actually performed, but still.

Speedy describes opening the case:

"Opening up her case was like an archaeological expedition: layers upon layers of old locker decorations, photos from my thirteenth birthday party, sheaves of music from an attempt at taking lessons, and typed up rude rugby songs (complete with mysterious stains) that date back to my dad's days playing for the University of London in the early 1960s."

I remember poring over that sheaf of rugby songs! Very educational for a young lass. Speedy went on to play rugby at college until she broke her middle finger and had to walk around in a splint, permanently flipping people off.

Anyway, I'm glad Speedy's guitar is alive, and I'm glad Speedy is playing her again. There is nothing I would like more this evening than to sit with Speedy and sing the old songs, and for it to be summer, under our pine tree.

Comments

[speedlime.livejournal.com]

Now words have failed ME :)

...but who wrote a description of the case? I don't remember that. Brain addled by too many renditions of 'Midnight Special,' I imagine.

Anyhow-- that pine tree is still there, and maybe by summer I'll have remembered a few more chords.

[artnouveauho.livejournal.com]

That was one J. Gretch, I believe. Remember, it was raining and you were worried about the paint going all streaky, and she sat down and penned "Streaky Bird"?

Are you playing "Midnight Special" again?? With the hammer-strum? Awesome sauce!