The strings of the harp must be not too tight, and not too slack.
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Harps We Love
The harp we love hath a royal burst!
Its strings are mighty forest trees;
And branches, swaying to and fro,
Are fingers sounding symphonies.
The harp we love hath a solemn sound!
And rocks amongst the shallow seas
Are strings from which the rolling waves
Draw forth their stirring harmonies.
The harp we love hath a low sweet voice!
Its strings are in the bosom deep,
And Love will press those hidden chords
When all the baser passions sleep.
poem by Henry Kendall
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Rain-Songs
THE rain streams down like harp-strings from the sky;
The wind, that world-old harpist, sitteth by;
And ever as he sings his low refrain,
He plays upon the harp-strings of the rain.
poem by Paul Laurence Dunbar
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Gimme Some Slack
I wanna shake like liguardia
Magic mouth in the sun
Train ride to the courtyard
Before you can run
Down at the end of lonely street
Where no one takes a walk
Someone lyin at your feet
And someones gettin off
Just gimme some slack, yeah
Just gimme some slack
Just gimme, slack
Thats all I want is slack
The seven floors of walkup
The odor musted cracks
And the peeping keyhole introverts
With the monkeys on their backs
And the rooftops strung with frauleins
The pastel pinned up sails
The eighteen color roses
Against your face so pale
A just gimme some slack, thats right
Uh gimme some slack
Gimme, slack, oo yeah
All I want is slack
I wanna float like euripides
All visions intact
Im alright with fellini fiends
A trippin over the track
Down at the end of l-onely street
Where no one takes a chance
Someones in the cheap light
Someone wants to dance
Just gimme some slack, thats right
All I want is slack
Oh, gimme, slack
All I want is slack
Gimme, slack
Slack
Slack
Sssslack
Slack
[unintelligible]slack
song performed by by Cars
Submitted by Lucian Velea
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The Master-Player
AN old worn harp that had been played
Till all its strings were loose and frayed,
Joy, Hate and Fear, each one essayed,
To play. But each in turn had found
No sweet responsiveness of sound
Then Love the Master-Player came
With heaving breast and eyes aflame;
The harp he took all undismayed,
Smote on its strings, still strange to song,
And brought forth music sweet and strong.
poem by Paul Laurence Dunbar
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The Strange Music
Other loves may sink and settle, other loves may loose and slack,
But I wander like a minstrel with a harp upon my back,
Though the harp be on my bosom, though I finger and I fret,
Still, my hope is all before me; for I cannot play it yet.
In your strings is hid a music that no hand hath e'er let fall,
In your soul is sealed a pleasure that you have not known at all;
Pleasure subtle as your spirit, strange and slender as your frame,
Fiercer than the pain that folds you, softer than your sorrow's name.
Not as mine, my soul's annointed, not as mine the rude and light
Easy mirth of many faces, swaggering pride of song and fight;
Something stranger, something sweeter, something waiting you afar,
Secret as your stricken senses, magic as your sorrows are.
But on this, God's harp supernal, stretched but to be stricken once,
Hoary time is a beginner, Life a bungler, Death a dunce.
But I will not fear to match them - no by God, I will not fear,
I will learn you, I will play you and the stars stand still to hear.
poem by G.K. Chesterton
Submitted by Veronica Serbanoiu
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The Strange Music
Other loves may sink and settle, other loves may loose and slack,
But I wander like a minstrel with a harp upon my back,
Though the harp be on my bosom, though I finger and I fret,
Still, my hope is all before me; for I cannot play it yet.
In your strings is hid a music that no hand hath e'er let fall,
In your soul is sealed a pleasure that you have not known at all;
Pleasure subtle as your spirit, strange and slender as your frame,
Fiercer than the pain that folds you, softer than your sorrow's name.
Not as mine, my soul's annointed, not as mine the rude and light
Easy mirth of many faces, swaggering pride of song and fight;
Something stranger, something sweeter, something waiting you afar,
Secret as your stricken senses, magic as your sorrows are.
But on this, God's harp supernal, stretched but to be stricken once,
Hoary time is a beginner, Life a bungler, Death a dunce.
But I will not fear to match them - no by God, I will not fear,
I will learn you, I will play you and the stars stand still to hear.
poem by Gilbert Keith Chesterton
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O, Little David, Play on Your Harp
O, Little David, play on your harp,
That ivory harp with the golden strings
And sing as you did in Jewry Land,
Of the Prince of Peace and the God of Love
And the coming Christ Immanuel.
O, Little David, play on your harp.
A seething world is gone stark mad;
And is drunk with the blood,
Gorged with the flesh,
Blinded with the ashes
Of her millions of dead.
From out it all and over all
There stands, years old and fully grown,
A monster in the guise of man.
He is of war and not of war;
Born in peace,
Nurtured in arrogant pride and greed,
World-creature is he and native to no land.
And war itself is merciful
When measured by his deeds.
Beneath the Crescent
Lie a people maimed;
Their only sin--
That they worship God.
On Russia's steppes
Is a race in tears;
Their one offense--
That they would be themselves.
On Flander's plains
Is a nation raped;
A bleeding gift
Of "Kultur's" conquering creed.
And in every land
Are black folk scourged;
Their only crime--
That they dare be men.
O, Little David, play on your harp,
That ivory harp with the golden strings
And psalm anew your songs of Peace,
Of the soothing calm of a Brotherly Love,
And the saving grace of a Mighty God.
O, Little David, play on your harp.
poem by Joseph Seamon Cotter
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The Rosary
Not on the lute, nor harp of many strings
Shall all men praise the Master of all song.
Our life is brief, one saith, and art is long;
And skilled must be the laureates of kings.
Silent, O lips that utter foolish things!
Rest, awkward fingers striking all notes wrong!
How from your toil shall issue, white and strong,
Music like that God's chosen poet sings?
There is one harp that any hand can play,
And from its strings what harmonies arise!
There is one song that any mouth can say, --
A song that lingers when all singing dies.
When on their beads our Mother's children pray
Immortal music charms the grateful skies.
poem by Joyce Kilmer
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Puppet
Puppet
By: Adam M. Snow
I am a puppet to those who use me;
for they know not what my curse may be.
All I want is for my strings to be cut;
but instead my eyes are sealed shut.
I'm hanging by strings for their entertainment;
for I am evermore bound in containment.
Who am I to be called their puppet;
though my essence cannot forget.
Day by day these strings grow tight;
day by day I try not to fight.
Although I'm stuck and cannot move;
now there's nothing else for me to prove.
I am a puppet;
yet I can't deny it.
Although I have become one with these strings;
all I wish is to spread my wings.
poem by Adam M. Snow
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From My Room
From my room I hear
The wind blow
Strings from icy harp
Filling the dark
Now outside
The morning comes with night
And leaves with night
My heart is in dark
Like flickering light
Pounding on and on
Through to dreams gone
In the dark clouded sky
With beams of low sun flight
Time slowly passes by
With shadows left to right
From my room I hear
Where I now dwell
The dark voices near
Of iciness and its cartel
Strings from icy harp
Filling the dark
Now outside
*Federico García Lorca once wrote:
“From my room I hear
The water jet
A finger of grapevine…”
poem by Peter S. Quinn
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Loosen Up My Strings
No ones gonna jerk me around
One I get my feet on the ground
Im gonna hit it runnin
Gonna call it a day
See, a little bit of tension
Goes a long, long way
The boss man has got mine in a sling
But Ill be swingin when I loosen up my strings
Every night when the sun goes down
You wont find me hangin around
Im in loco-motion like a rock out on roll
Im nobodys puppet
Im out of control
The boss man has got mine in a sling
But Ill be swingin when I loosen up my...
Now, when it comes to getting down
And Im always keepin track
I dont need some yo-yo takin up my slack
The boss man has got mine in a sling
But Ill be swingin when I loosen up my strings
Yeah, hell have a line on me til my fat lady sings
But Ill be swingin while I loosen up my strings
Yeah, well all be swingin while I loosen up my strings
Hey, well all be swingin when I loosen up my strings
song performed by by Clint Black
Submitted by Lucian Velea
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Joseph Dixon
Who carved this shattered harp on my stone?
I died to you, no doubt. But how many harps and pianos
Wired I and tightened and disentangled for you,
Making them sweet again -- with tuning fork or without?
Oh well! A harp leaps out of the ear of a man, you say,
But whence the ear that orders the length of the strings
To a magic of numbers flying before your thought
Through a door that closes against your breathless wonder?
Is there no Ear round the ear of a man, that it senses
Through strings and columns of air the soul of sound?
I thrill as I call it a tuning fork that catches
The waves of mingled music and light from afar,
The antennae of Thought that listens through utmost space.
Surely the concord that ruled my spirit is proof
Of an Ear that tuned me, able to tune me over
And use me again if I am worthy to use.
poem by Edgar Lee Masters
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Hangmans Knee
(hopkins, beck, newman, stewart, wood)
Hangman, hangman, slack your noose
Slack it, oh slack it
Slack it for a while
There aint no use in your hurrying me
Aint nothing gonna change things now
Now I aint trying to prove your judge is wrong
And your jury, oh your jury
I guess Ill know the way out
And if you kill me with my canvas shirt
Good god, you could put my lawyer in jail
Listen
Its just this twenty two minutes to prepare yourself
I havent been in this position before
Wash your hands, get your .? .
Find the waistcoat, lock the door.
And oh!
Get your .? .
Oh yeah, get your .? . lock the door
Come on
Listen to this one
Oh hangman, hangman, slack your noose
Oh slack it, please slack it
Oh just slack it awhile, give me one more chance
There aint no use in you hurryin me
Good god, nothings gonna stop me now
Oh
Dont you worry
Cause you never get your .? .
Well, might get your waistcoat on
Ha-ha
Heh-heh
song performed by by Rod Stewart
Submitted by Lucian Velea
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Nous
Mind be harp, strings be thoughts
Ego be plectrum
Nous be best, Best be choice
Neuron to neuron
Best be thoughts, best be harmony
Mind be harp, best be melody
Best be continuum, best be life
Best be nous, best be bliss
poem by Indira Renganathan
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Touch the Sleeping Strings Again
Say not, O say not, we are strangers,
By freak chance together brought;
Remind me not of lurking dangers
In wreaths of friendship quickly wrought.
Some sweet attraction draws me to you;
From Memory's harp strange murmurs flow;
And something makes me think I knew you
Beyond the sea of Long Ago.
Touch the sleeping strings and
tell me, tell me whether,
Thence comes music sweet and low:
Did not we walk some shore together
Beyond the sea of Long Ago?
Your eyes, in bashful glances falling,
Light up a landscape far away;
Your voice-- to hear it is recalling
A sweet but long forgotten lay.
When all the year was pleasant weather,
And none had heard of pain or woe,
Did not we sing this tune together
Beyond the sea of Long Ago?
Think not, although I speak so boldly,
That idle words are on my tongue;
Receive my greeting not so coldly,
Nor hush the harp that would have sung;
For lightly touched, as by a feather,
The sleeping strings will thrill, I know:
Were not our spririts linked together
Beyond the sea of Long Ago?
poem by Henry Clay Work
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Solace From Strings
Tune up your strings.
Keep them tight.
Strum me a song
on this painful night.
Play, play
take my pain away.
Tune up your strings.
Let your fingers slide.
Help me forget
how I have cried.
Play, play
take my pain away.
The sound of your strings
make me weep
and as you strum
I can fall asleep.
Play, play
take my pain away.
poem by Edwina Reizer
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Ocean of Forms
I dive down into the depth of the ocean of forms,
hoping to gain the perfect pearl of the formless.
No more sailing from harbor to harbor with this my weather-beaten boat.
The days are long passed when my sport was to be tossed on waves.
And now I am eager to die into the deathless.
Into the audience hall by the fathomless abyss
where swells up the music of toneless strings
I shall take this harp of my life.
I shall tune it to the notes of forever,
and when it has sobbed out its last utterance,
lay down my silent harp at the feet of the silent.
poem by Rabindranath Tagore
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Lazy Man's Song
I have got patronage, but am too lazy to use it;
I have got land, but am too lazy to farm it.
My house leaks; I am too lazy to mend it.
My clothes are torn; I am too lazy to darn them.
I have got wine, but am too lazy to drink;
So it's just the same as if my cellar were empty.
I have got a harp, but am too lazy to play;
So it's just the same as if it had no strings.
My wife tells me there is no more bread in the house;
I want to bake, but am too lazy to grind.
My friends and relatives write me long letters;
I should like to read them, but they're such a bother
to open.
I have always been told that Chi Shu-yeh1
Passed his whole life in absolute idleness.
But he played the harp and sometimes transmuted metals,
So even he was not so lazy as I
Harp of Heavens Plucked a String
Harp of heavens plucked a string,
Vibrate its metal and iron rings
And the melody so pure, crafted fingers could play
Or is it master's art put into the fine tunes
Magician's spell of the silent night
Flee so pure in the heart of rhythm
My delight
Echoes the land, echoes the skies
And the night and day grey in dawn of a new era
Where a heart is born
The soulful music of harp, laughter of my friend
Puts to tune my rusty strings...
poem by Lama Abbas
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I'd Rather Be A Man
(lead vocal - david paton)
You don't fool me with your tinted eyes and make-up
The firebird hides in shadow when you wake up
Your golden hair is black
Your jeans are tight but your hide is slack
Try it on the company but you don't fool me
Well i'd rather be a man than play my role like you do
I'd rather be a man than sin my soul like you do
I'd rahter be a man than slave the way that you do
I'd rather be a man cause a man don't crawl like you do
You don't fool me with your easy lies and fables
You won't see me in ten buck furs and sables
You sparkle like a snake
The wine is real but the glass if fake
Blame it on the apple tree but you don't fool me
Well i'd rather be a man than play my role like you do
I'd rather be a man than sin my soul like you do
I'd rahter be a man than slave the way that you do
I'd rather be a man cause a man don't crawl like you do
Your golden hair is black
Your jeans are tight but your hide is slack
Try it on the company but you don't fool me
Well i'd rather be a man than play my role like you do
I'd rather be a man than sin my soul like you do
I'd rahter be a man than slave the way that you do
I'd rather be a man cause a man don't crawl like you do
I'd rather be a man cause a man don't crawl like you do
I'd rather be a man cause i wouldn't wanna be like you
song performed by by Alan Parsons Project
Submitted by Lucian Velea
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