Things You Should Know


Hey. My name is Rowan. I'm from this place called Pretoria. It's alright. For those of you who don't know, it's in Africa. Down south. In South Africa. In fact, it's the capital. And no, we don't ride elephants to school. Idiots. I have this thing for literature, music, theatre, film. You catch my drift. I'm highly opinionated about many things, so if I offend you at any time; I'm not sorry. I myself am a lyricist and songwriter, albeit not professionally as yet. I do occasionally try my hand at musical theatre. Occasionally. And this is where I spill my heart and soul.

Friday, April 12, 2013

If Music Were Woman

At times I sit and ponder,
If music were women,
Would men wish and wonder,
Would we try to understand?

Oh, the complexities it would bring!
With each and every note,
Every word we sing,
This is not how it was planned.

The cut-throat reality of rock,
Sewn together with guitars and drums,
Mouthing off bout this or that round the clock,
She would not make your mother glad.

What of the smooth and silky melody,
Dressed in satin and lace,
Breaking into unseen clarity,
Streaming out the brass in those Jazz hands.

The raw, red-blooded sexuality,
Rough in word and deed,
Essentially the taken liberty,
Hip-hopped and offhand.

Alas, none of these I see fit,
But there is one remaining,
Perhaps the only one I'll permit,
The love child of genius and wonderland.

Yes, hidden in history and steeped in judgement,
Love, passion, brilliance personified,
Elegant, yet not overbearing, always triumphant,
Fit for kings and queens and me, the classic answer.

Always, grand.

Tuesday, April 9, 2013

Be the change you wanna see in the world...

I'm struggling with something. I know no one really reads my blog, and it doesn't phase me. Life is about so much more than pointless numbers of page views on a screen. But few of us actually realise that. We don't want to have to face the truth about the world around us. The truth about who we are and what our overriding ambitions in life say about us. Reputation, money, status. That's all we really care about. We care more about the coastal holiday home than the health of the ocean it overlooks. More about the speed or pedigree of the car we drive than the pollution as a result of manufacturing it and using it. More about the size of the balance of our bank account at the end of the month than the difference those few rands would make to the guy on the street. The truth is we don't care. We'd rather turn a blind eye to the issues and hope someone else takes care of it. Or shift the blame to our predecessors. Anything but accept responsibility. I have a question. How would you feel if your child or grandchild asks you about trees one day? Or about non-polluted rivers? Or dolphins and whales? What if they ask you what happened to them? How OK are you with replying "We killed them"?

I wouldn't be.

Start today. Make a difference.