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beginnings of  love

     hot…    summer…     sun…     crimson red…

 fever…    fervor…     burn…

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     one loved completely…

   the other used craft and wiles

…manipulated

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  unexpected storm

…one wrong word      …or      …just mis-heard

…over-re-action

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 all pretense lifted

   our life together became

   …cold      …winter       …ice      …white

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  he declared me…        HIS!

 put me in a golden cage

…set it next to yours

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yesterday i loved…

   today i mourn…     tomorrow…

i will release you

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white bird spread your wings

fly away from love’s last breath

white bird…    release me

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this song was the true inspiration for my poem as in Muse was making it play over and over and over again in my head while i was trying to get more than two hours sleep….  a waste of time on my part.  i should have just gotten up immediately.  i wrote what became the final verse, but Muse wanted me on my laptop, writing “back story” as i was listening to this gorgeous song.  i must say that after reading the lyrics  {at the bottom of  this post}  i almost didn’t write anything ~ reading the lyrics as a poem…. well, it is already perfection.  damn Muse still wouldn’t leave me alone.  please forgive me for my hubris.

beneath the lyrics is the story of  how this song came about if  you are interested.

“White Bird”   It’s A Beautiful Day

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this is my submission to these FABulous sites for poets ~

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The Haiku Challenge   at   Few Miles
Day 1  prompt:    Freestyle

thank you Someone is Special for hosting the challenge!

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Prompt #104   at   Haiku Heights
prompt:    Crimson

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Sensational Haiku Wednesday #136   at   You know…that Blog?
prompt:    Craft

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Cold and Hot    at   POETRY JAM
prompt:   Write about very cold or very hot

thank you for the great prompt, Peggy!

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Open Link Night – Week 29    at    dVerse ~ Poets Pub
submit a new or old poem

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The Poetry Pantry #85     at     Poets United
submit a new or old poem

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Open Link Monday    at    imaginary garden with real toads
submit a new or old poem

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The Poetry Picnic Week 24    at   The Gooseberry Garden
prompt:    Free Linking
submit a new or old poem

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Prompt #142   at    Carry on Tuesday
prompt:  use all or part of  ”After all, tomorrow is another day.”
the last six words of Margaret Mitchell’s  original novel  ‘Gone with the Wind’

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Thursday 2 February 2012    at    Theme Thursday
prompt:   Storm

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Prompt 205    at   One Single Impression
prompt:   Wrong

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Prompt #304   at   Sunday Scribblings
prompt:    Action

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i am also participating in ~

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NaBloPoMo Soup

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“White Bird”   It’s A Beautiful Day

Artist – It’s A Beautiful Day

lyrics~

White Bird
In a golden cage
On a winter’s day
In the rain
White Bird
In a golden cage
Alone

The leaves blow
‘Cross the long black road
To the darkened skies
In its rage
But the White Bird
Just sits in her cage
Unknown.

White Bird must fly
Or she will die

White Bird
Dreams of the Aspen tree
With their dying leaves
Turning gold
But the White Bird
Just sits in her cage
Growing old.

White Bird must fly
Or she will die
White Bird must fly
Or she will die

The sunsets come
The sunsets go
The clouds
Float by
And the Earth
Turns slow

And the young bird’s
Eyes do always glow
And she must fly
She must fly
She must fly

White Bird
In a golden cage
On a winter’s day
In the rain
White Bird
In a golden cage
Alone

White Bird must fly
Or she will die
White Bird must fly
Or she will die
White Bird must fly
Or she will die
White Bird must fly…

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the story behind the song ~

It’s a Beautiful Day was a band formed in San Francisco, California in 1967, the brainchild of violinist David LaFlamme.
LaFlamme, a former soloist with the Utah Symphony Orchestra, had previously been in the band Orkustra, and unusually, played a five-string violin. The other members were his wife Linda (keyboards), Pattie Santos (vocals), Hal Wagenet (guitar), Mitchell Holman (bass) and Val Fuentes (drums). Although they were one of the earliest and most important San Francisco bands to emerge from the Summer of Love, It’s a Beautiful Day never quite achieved the success of their contemporaries such as The Grateful Dead, Jefferson Airplane and Santana, with whom they had connections. It’s A Beautiful Day created a unique blend of rock, jazz, folk, classical and world beat styles during the seven years the band was officially together.

The group’s original manager, Matthew Katz, had previously worked with Jefferson Airplane and Moby Grape. The members of It’s a Beautiful Day were unaware that the other two groups were already trying to end their business relationships with Katz. During 1967 and early 1968 Katz prevented It’s a Beautiful Day from performing in San Francisco, telling them they were not ready. He booked their first public appearances at a club he controlled in Seattle, Washington formerly known as the Encore Ballroom. Katz renamed the club “San Francisco Sound”. While in Seattle the group lived in the attic of an old house owned by Katz while writing and rehearsing new songs in between club performances. Few customers came to the club during It’s a Beautiful Day’s engagement in Seattle during December 1967.

The group’s signature song “White Bird” was inspired by the experiences David and Linda LaFlamme had while living in Seattle. In an ironic twist on the band’s name, the sad song was partly inspired by Seattle’s rainy winter weather. In a later interview, David LaFlamme said:
“Where the ‘white bird’ thing came from … We were like caged birds in that attic. We had no money, no transportation, the weather was miserable. We were just barely getting by on a very small food allowance provided to us. It was quite an experience, but it was very creative in a way.”

By the time the group members returned to San Francisco they were broke and frustrated at Katz’s attempts to manipulate their career. In desperation they began playing at a few clubs without Katz’s approval. The band gradually began to gain some recognition and earn money. It’s a Beautiful Day got their first big break when offered a chance to open for Cream at the Oakland Coliseum on October 4, 1968. Around this time the group first began a long process of trying to disentangle themselves from Katz.

The band’s debut album, It’s a Beautiful Day, was produced by David LaFlamme in Los Angeles and released by Columbia Records in 1969. It featured tracks such as “White Bird”, “Hot Summer Day”, and “Time Is”. The theme from the song “Bombay Calling” was later used, at a slower tempo, by Deep Purple as the intro to “Child in Time” on its In Rock album. The vocals and violin playing of David LaFlamme plus Pattie Santos’ singing attracted attention including FM radio play, and nationally, “White Bird” bubbled under Billboard’s Hot 100 chart, peaking at #118.

By 1970 the original lineup of the band had changed somewhat; the LaFlammes had split up and Linda left the band, replaced by Fred Webb. The following album, Marrying Maiden, released in 1970, was a chart hit.

The band continued on to record Choice Quality Stuff/Anytime in 1971 and the live album Live At Carnegie Hall in 1972, touring until 1974 when they split up. In 1976, LaFlamme’s solo version of “White Bird” finally cracked the Billboard Hot 100, peaking at #89. Pattie Santos was killed in a car crash on December 14, 1989.

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