Notes About The Poem
Glenn Hughs poetry contest
Black Sabbath, "Changes"
Changes
A smoky vignette opens up, as if morning fog over the mountain valleys blown by winter winds.
Piano notes pulsing in a melancholic, waltz~ like cadence…the plangent tension of one long note on a mellotron held throughout the rhythmic piano notes sounds dolorous and desolate.
Images of 18th century couples in formal gowns and elaborate, powdered wigs dance through my mind. The hoop skirts gently sway as the couples move in a pattern, heads thrown back and arms rigidly locked in position.
The plaintive, closed throat voice of a man begins to sing, simply…
“ I feel unhappy,
I feel so sad.
I've lost the best friend
that I ever had.
She was my woman,
I loved her so.
But it's too late now,
I let her go.
I'm going through changes,
I'm going through changes. “
The couples spin and dance this waltz
all together, covering the dance floor like flowers
twirling a wind storm.
The fabulously tall and flamboyant wigs
disappear as does the pale make up on their faces.
The rigid yet beautiful dance continues as couples take turns covering the entire ballroom.
At each rotation, there's a change, some detail is different, the moles disappear and are replaced with fake eyelashes and red lipstick.
The gentlemen first have hair in low tails clubbed at the neck, then short locks and pompadours. Dresses go from elaborate ball gowns to poodle skirts and then to skimpy spangled dresses.
We watch as they dance and convert from one fashion, and one decade, to the next.
The final notes ring out, vibrating the room and the couples come to a halt, standing like statues in their perfect waltz form.
We realize that although every outward appearance has undergone transformations, some things never change....
Humanities love and dependence on music
and the compelling urge to dance to express the emotions that music elicits... surpassing every boundary, race, culture, and people. All of us use this expression in one form or another. An urgent expression of
Joy, love, sorrow, passion, pain, and on and on…
only able to fully express our feelings
through melodies and
the poetry of dance.
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