Sunday, June 21, 2009

Fathers and others: Never leave your verses at home

I think I finally know what FATHER'S DAY means.
I am sitting here, sipping coffee and listening to "ANOTHER MUSIC IN A DIFFERENT KITCHEN," the classic debut by MANCHESTER punk pioneers BUZZCOCKS.
The coffee is essential, because I really didn't sleep much at all last night.
Everyone was off camping except for me and 10-year-old ANNIKA, who was sick as the proverbial dog.

I spent the night attempting to nurse her back to health. At one point in the night, that endeavor even included holding her hands while she placed a wet cloth on her head and we both wondered why the children's Tylenol wasn't doing its fever-reducing job. Her longest spell of continuous sleep (and consequently mine) was from 11 p.m. to 4 a.m.
She is back sleeping now, as I hear the Buzzcocks' song "Fast Cars."
That song reminds me of a great story!
Singer/guitarist PETE SHELLEY wrote most of the early Buzzcocks' songs (following the departure of co-founder HOWARD DEVOTO).
Guitarist STEVE DIGGLE was supposed to have his first sole songwriting credit with "Fast Cars," but, as he told UK music journalist Roy Wilkinson, a not-so-funny thing happened on the way to rehearsal:
"I'd written the music and the chorus, when I got to rehearsal I'd found I'd left the words for the verses at home. Pete had found some words that he and Howard had written. We didn't want to hang around, so we stuck those on for a couple of verses. That also happened with (1978's UK No. 20 hit) 'Promises.' It was actually going to be a political song, about promises from the government, but I'd left the words again, so Pete wrote some and it became a love song. The moral is, never leave your verses at home!"
That story, the music and the coffee are nice, but the thing that really makes me smile this morning is the sight of Annika sleeping soundly, and thinking I played some part in helping her feel better.
That's what Father's Day means to me.

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