A Breakthrough? Maybe
This has been a songwriting journey for The Great Oft-Questioning Plotnik. When he was in South Africa in 2004, he started writing a song called "Who Will Be Our Mandela?" that was quite a favorite back in St. Plotniko when he finally finished it. The focus of the song was about the horror of our politics then, and the question was who would ever lead us out of this morass?
But things have changed. "Mandela" was one of the first songs Plotnik recorded on his current project, and it wasn't right. He played it for the group, and they were as lukewarm as he was feeling and he wasn't sure why.
But just today he maybe found a key to unraveling the old and sewing up the new. The focus had to change. Plotnik is not afraid of our leaders any more. What he is afraid of is our leaders refusing to lead. He isn't worried their hearts are in the wrong place, as he was about the old bunch, but he is worried the new guys might not have the cojones, that they're so desperately trying to please everyone that the polarization is just intensifying again.
So Plot has rewritten the lyrics to circle around this idea and phrase:
You Cannot Lead if No One Will Follow
But They Will Follow if You Lead
It fits lyrically, and it fits musically, and, as always, Plotnik wishes he was Toots when he tries to sing in a reggae groove.
posted by DAK @ 3:07 PM
2 Comments:
and it's a chiasmus-- an English professor once told me that that's the secret to making any written piece work. if you can boil it down to a chiasmus, then you've got your point figured out in your head and can communicate it to anyone.
Well, I had to look it up, but you're right. What a great idea for good writing -- if it makes sense going one way it ought to make more sense coming back the other way. Thanks BZ.
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