This is from
www.emmgryner.com
emmjournal
December 24, 2002
i knew it as soon as the newscaster said his name
what the news would be
and i was in the car
when I heard
that sinking feeling set in
of another voice silenced
present tense would turn to past tense
for descriptions of his life, his legacy
i did not discover joe strummer or the clash on my own
michael murphy introduced us
maybe 5 years ago now
punk rock
the brand of music i had missed out on
by always having my childhood radio set to culture club and madonna
here was this separate reckless abandon
that got inside your veins
spilled outside the lines
that i so often drew within
i listened to Combat Rock and London Calling
mostly [lots still to discover]
and my version of Straight To Hell
also inspired by Michael
still is so enthralling to perform
though I haven't much this year
focusing on my own stuff more.
the best thing about music
is that it can take you out of yourself and
like encouraging hands on your back
push you to act with courage
to be daring
to do more than you might normally do
to surprise yourself
and to find some strength to defeat what you're scared of
i think of all the people that must have derived that kind of courage from the clash
what an amazing sum of souls it must be
it makes you hope you do it for one person, at least once
in this grand but quickly passing lifetime
goobye joe strummer.