Normally, I listen to the same song 10-40 times in a row or in a day. I like to deconstruct the song, think about the artist’s choice in words and chords, and how the song is structured overall.

A few weeks ago, I could not stop listening to Beauty Pill’s Prison Song:

Will you still visit me when I’m in prison?
My outside sweetheart.
Will you bring birthday cakes with contraband inside?
Out with the guards.
Or will you mail me a tearsome letter…

I love how the lyrics go back and forth between thinking things are over and thinking there’s a chance. You can hear uncertainty in the voice of the singer. The second half of the song reverses some of the ideas of the first half, which astounded me when I figured it out. I got to ask the song writer about this. He did indeed turn the words inside out (using opposites) on purpose, and I immediately wanted to use that idea for a poem.

This week, I’m listening to Amy Winehouse’s Rehab song. In case you could not guess, it’s about rehab. =-) I keep shaking my head at how she borrowed from an obvious influence — but one I can’t quite put my finger on at present — to discuss this rehab idea. It reminds me of church gospel or a cousin of Motown. Winehouse puts a fresh twist on an old topic with her choice of style — we already have the angry “drug” songs from Hole and Nirvana in the 90s — and it certainly helps that her voice has range.

I’m not sure yet what I’m doing with this observation of music. For now, I’m enjoying what I’m observing. I know I’ll take what I learn and apply it to poetry in some way.

Do you listen to music with the goal of borrowing ideas for a poem? Does it ever happen by accident that you borrow ideas from lyrics or song structure for a poem?