Can’t tell you how happy I am to write these lines.
As life is life, its rollercoaster took me on a wild ride. Its endless cycles of evolution might feel tiring, as complex to make sense out of as a free-jazz solo, and as violent as the tenderness it aims, you know Summertime is waiting around the corner.
Life’s rollercoaster also brought a pleasant new chapter to our story—the marks the dancing Cloud left last time we met are now living on our city’s walls, waiting for us to meet the wake-up call our poem screamed that day…
You might find them on your city walls as part of the paste-up and stencil street art pieces hanging around. Look out for a handwritten short poem or some | brain|flowers | nearby.
If you do find them, please share them on social media and tag me! If not, I share a few of them on Instagram, Farcaster, and Zora!
Now, back to our getaway…
I heard the First Lady of Song is singing a summertime lullaby by our side today, and all we have to keep in thought is MIND|YOUR|MIND.
Last time we met, a cloud brought a new || quest of blue || on Earth. As its song reached the minds, every living soul heard a poem scream in their thoughts. Our narrator experienced something drastically different: an electrifying wake-up call that left her with a poem tattooed on her skin…and a very disturbing dream.
As the dream faded in her mind, she heard a song reaching her thoughts from afar…it whispered something that felt like another wake-up call:
“Can you feel the light inside? Can you feel that fire?”*
She opened her eyes about an inch, unsure where or who she was, or if she was still alive. Through her blurry vision, she felt the world she had always known: the same shape, yet...a different vibe.
She was in a crumbling somewhere she didn’t recognise, lying on the floor, in front of a colourful block—a strange wall with splashes of words that looked like short poems and a bunch of brains forming an odd flower.
Then, something strange that sounded like a poem took over her thoughts as she felt clouds dancing in her mind:
“One of these mornings
You’re gonna rise up singing
You’re gonna spread your wings
and take to the sky”**
and, with music in mind and poetry at heart, here came Ella.
*from the song “St. Chroma” by Tyler, The Creator
**from the song “Summertime” by Ira and George Gershwin & DuBose Heyward
Your call!
Wait...what?
I’m not sure my cloud understood what just happened...what about you?
In your opinion, what does || here comes Ella || mean about our story?
CLICK HERE to share your thoughts with us.
I’ll share a few answers in the next issue!
“Summertime” has a special place in my personal story, and, long story short, I ended up writing a short presentation about it when I was in high school (in French) back in 2008—one I’d like to share with you in its | uncut | translated version :
“Born in the Brooklyn neighbourhood of New York, it was after his parents bought a piano for his brother, Ira Gershwin, that George Gershwin learned to play the instrument, which would later become his tool for creation. George’s first successes were composed for the Paul Whiteman Orchestra, for whom he wrote the piece” Rhapsody in Blue” in just three weeks. The following compositions elevated George into the ranks of the great composers of his time. Nevertheless, one piece did not receive the recognition it deserved upon its debut:” Porgy and Bess”. Composed by the Gershwin brothers and DuBose Heyward, this opera is based on the novella” Porgy” (written by DuBose Heyward) and on the play of the same name co-written by DuBose and his wife, Dorothy. Starting in the 1930s, this opera, which tells the story of Porgy, a disabled Black man living in the slums of Charleston, South Carolina, who tries to save Bess from the dangers surrounding her, achieved the worldwide success we know today. One piece from the opera stood out from the rest:” Summertime”. Widely known, the flagship song of” Porgy and Bess” is likely to be the most covered song of all time, with approximately 2,600 recordings. Appearing four times throughout the opera,” Summertime” first serves as a lullaby, then resurfaces at various moments in the story, as if it had been given the function of a connecting thread.”
In our story, Ella Fitzergerald’s version at Mister Kelly’s took over our narrator’s mind. In what first appears as a very classic rendition of the song, the First Lady of Song takes the crow by surprise by turning it into a swinging and quite ironic lecture on its summer vibe.
Keeping in mind the place “Summertime” in the “Porgy and Bess” opera, Ella Fitzgerald once again proves she’s the First Lady of Song. With that in mind, do we even need to introduce the legend she is? If yes, I’ll mention that the woman took her craft to the state of art with her mastery of improvised scat singing, and, 25 years after her passing, she remains an ultimate icon for most singers.
I came across news that will make every baby (and parent!) on Earth happy:
listening to music may reduce their pain during jabs or heel-prick tests…<
but is it enough to change the pain management game?
Check out The Guardian for more insight on this.
The Cully Jazz had a super great surprise in store this year: during a visit for the making of | wordstobemusic | vol.4 dropping later this year, the festival organised us a 30 minute interview with French artist Chassol—one I’m very happy to share with you today as part of my | uncut | interview series.
Press play to fall in love with the roughness of the uncut recording ;)
The interview is available to listen to and collect in its original French version.
The English transcript is available on my website.
Stay tuned for | wordstobemusic | vol.4 dropping by the end of 2025:
Chassol's performance inspired us poetry, and a fine getaway.
Last December, I dropped the print edition of | wordstobemusic |, featuring its first 3 volumes, and I wanted to thank everyone who bought it for the love and the fantastic feedback you gave me.
Want to order your copy of | wordstobemusic | vol. 1 - 3 print edition?
Click here to order the French print edition
Click here to order the English print edition
For all my web3 lovers, vol.1, vol.2, and vol.3 are here for you.
Following || quest of blue ||, someone shared a really delicate thought:
“For me, the poetry speaks of the constant tug between creating from the heart and hoping the world can read your heart. So one adjusts or gives up. Unless the cloud is content to float away into obscurity.”
If you recognise yourself, please say hi, I didn’t see your name on the form
Leon Faesulis recently dropped “In Love’s Debris” on Foundation, delivering a delicate and powerful poem. I highly recommend you check out his work—I’m sure it’ll match your cloud.
Thank you, Ben Westerham, for sharing Paul Weller’s Broken Stones—it inspired me to write a short poem I’m looking forward to sharing with you as soon as I get the time to finish its visuals.
It’s time to get a chance to win some NFT poetry!
CLICK HERE to suggest an album or a song!
In the next post, I’ll share a poem inspired by a piece of music you submitted {chosen by drawing lot}. The winner will win the 1/1 NFT poem.
The trick? If the album or song doesn’t inspire me, there’s nothing to win.
After all, our relationship to music is subjective, isn’t it ;)?
Thank you for reading!
I hope this little getaway put a smile on your heart!
If you'd like to support the project, subscribe to this newsletter, collect this post, | wordstobemusic | vol.1, vol.2, and vol.3, the print French or English edition or any of my other works.
‘Till next unexpected cloud!
☁️ ✒️
S.
| wordstobepoetry |
Over 100 subscribers
