So on to the poem! It is by a spoken word/poet named Anis Mojgani, and he is my absolute favorite at the moment. I've memorized five or six of his poems (best tool for coping with long-distance running), so you will see more of this guy in the future. But don't wait for me, look into this guy yourself.
Rock Out (Direct Orders)
You have been given a direct order to rock the fuck out. Rock out like you were just given the last rock n' roll album on earth, and the minutes are counting down to flames.
Rock out like you just won both showcase showdowns.
Rock out like the streets are empty except for you, your bicycle, and your headphones.
Rock out like your lips, which are placed onto a breakdancing muse with legs that go all the way up.
Rock out like you'll never have to open a textbook again.
Rock out like you were paid to disturb the peace.
Rock out like music is all that you've got.
Rock out like you're standing on a rooftop and the city's loud and glowing like a river beneath you.
Rock out like the plane is going down, there are 120 passengers on board, and 121 parachutes.
Rock out like the streets and the books are all on fire, and the only way it can be extinguished is by doing the electric slide.
Rock out like it's Saturday afternoon, and Monday is a national holiday.
Rock out like somebody's got a barrel pointed at your temple, saying: "Rock out like your life depended on it, fool" because it does.
Rock out like your eyes are fading, but you still got your ears. But you don't know for how long, so rock out like 5 o'clock time, make pop-in-lot time.
Rock out like you've got pants full of tokens, and nothing to do but everything.
Rock out like you are the international skee-ball champion of the entire universe!
Rock out like you just escaped an evil orphanage to join the Russian circus.
Rock out like your hero is fallen, and you're spinning your limbs until they burst into a burning pyre of remembrance.
Rock out like you are enslaved in the South, and dancing is all that you have to know who you are.
Rock out like your dead grandfather just came back to take a drive with you in your new car.
Rock out like the table is full.
Rock out like the neighbors are away.
Rock out like the walls wont fall, but dammit, you're going to die trying to make them.
Rock out the the stereo's volume knob is the figure 8 of infinity, instead of merely numbers.
Rock out like its raining outside and you've got a girl to run through it with.
Rock out like you're playing football! Football in the mud, and your washing machine is not broken.
Rock out like your throwing your window open on your honeymoon because you want the world to know what love is.
Rock out like you just got a book published.
Rock out like you just went to your high school reunion to find everyone, even the women, are all overweight and bald, except for the former homecoming queen, who you just found out got divorced from her impotent husband and only has eyes for.... YOU!
Rock out like you just got a date with Heidi Klum.
Rock out like a shadowman passes behind you, drops you to your knees. You're buckling in sweat, cold metal's pressed to your forehead, the trigger's pulled, and the gun jams.
Rock out like you've got an empty appointment book, and a full tank of gas.
Rock out like Jimi has returned carrying brand new guitar strings.
Rock out like the mangoes are in season.
Rock out like the record player wont skip.
Rock out like this was the last weekend, like these were the last words, like you don't ever want to forget how.
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ReplyDeleteHmm - at first I didn't like this poem; Still not sure I do. When I first heard someone recite it; it sounded horrible. Which makes me think it's not really poetry. I surely am not qualified to determine what is good or not good poetry. I'm mostly ignorant on the topic.
ReplyDeleteI admit it, I smiled at a few lines, but really this poem just made me sad. Hmm, so maybe it is a good poem - it made me feel.
The message of this poem bothered me. It seems to be the epitomy of our culture. Even our "Christian" culture. "Rock out like everything is going *YOUR* way." It just seems selfish to me. Clearly, the key word is "like". The synomym of "pretend" in this case. And the secondary word in many of the lines is "you".
It's perhaps the rocker's poetic version of "Don't Worry, Be Happy". http://www.lyricsondemand.com/onehitwonders/dontworrybehappylyrics.html
I'm not sure I understand what the phrase "Rock out" really means. If I had to explain it to an alien, how would I explain the meaning? "Be happy"? "Express joy"? "Don't be self-concious"?
I know we all want joy in our lives. And, from what I see in scripture, our Father in heaven wants that for us too. But I don't think I will really discover joy by Rocking Out *LIKE*...
It is better to go to the house of mourning than to go to the house of feasting, for this is the end of all mankind, and the living will lay it to heart.
From Ecclesiastes chapter 7 verse 2. Now there's some poetry. The verses following it seem to say that "Rocking out like..." is just foolishness.
It sounds so counter-intuitive. What are we gonna do with God? He just doesn't seem to get us!
Thanks for the little bit Luke!
My advice - Rock Out BECAUSE! Those are the direct orders you have been given.
I understand your reply, but this post was not trying to affirm selfishness or anything like that. The poet will typically recite this at the beginning of a rock concert, which is a perfectly fitting time to 'rock out'. In that context, 'rock out' can mean many things. The way i interpret it is 'to drop all self awareness and lose yourself in an experience". Wasn't it king David who would dance and celebrate while wearing only his undergarments in 2 Samuel 6:14-15? That doesn't really sound like he is going to a house of mourning.
DeleteAlso, if you look earlier in Ecclesiastes 3, we see that there is 'a time for everything and a season for every activity under heaven.... a time to mourn and a time to laugh'. So in the context of hearing a rock concert, why not rock out? Celebrate the life you have been graciously given, and celebrate the free gift of salvation that He gave us. Isnt that the whole point of worship? This poem isn't saying that rocking out is going to help you 'discover joy'; it is not a call to hedonism. Like david, 'rocking out' can be a way for expression.
I understand that you personally are not endorsing selfishness or hedonism. I think we are both espousing the same values.
ReplyDeleteI'm sure at the beginning of a rock concert, this message is very inspirational. But I would suggest that those reading your post, those in your target audience, are not at a rock concert. I was not at a rock concert when I first heard someone recite this to me as poetry. And like I said, I thought it sounded horrible. Hedonistic, (your word), would be a much better description of what I thought - I thought it sounded hedonistic, and therefore, I didn't like it. Thank you for helping me identify why I didn't like it.
It sounds very much like a modern day version of, "Eat, Drink, and be Merry". Solomon tried that too in his pursuit of meaning (Ecc 8:15) and he found it to be futile.
I know, it's semantics, but "Rock out like..." does appear to be a call to hedonism. Look at that first line, "Rock out like you were just given the last rock n' roll album on earth, and the minutes are counting down to flames." It appears to be the epitome of Hedonism - maximize pleasure now to increase the net pleasure (pleasure minus pain). I understand you personally are not endorsing that point of view. But the message of the poem apparently is supporting a fantasy way of thinking. At the beginning of a rock concert, my experience is that most in our culture are not thinking about how great their life is, how awesome their salvation is, how worthy of praise our God is. I am, unfortunately, barely aware of those things at any given moment in life. Probably because we live in a culture that most of the time tells us to do what feels good and what makes us happy. And this poem just appears to be sending that same message.
I'm not suggesting that we don't go to rock concerts, that we don't rock out, that we don't celebrate. I'm also not suggesting that we mourn all the time or avoid parties and only attend funerals. God knows we Christians often have a way of making the abundant life that Jesus wants to give look very boring. To those of you watching us, and to my Lord, I apologize.
My point is this: "Rock Out BECAUSE..." don't "Rock Out LIKE..."!
Rock out BECAUSE you are celebrating life, BECAUSE of salvation. BECAUSE God is worthy of worship.
Let me try to state my point yet one other way -
Don't rock out like its raining outside and you've got a girl to run through it with.
Rock out BECAUSE its raining outside and BECAUSE you've got a girl to run through it with. And if you don't have that girl, stop pretending. Stop rocking out and get out there and find her.
Do you see the difference between "LIKE" and "BECAUSE"? They are completely two different exhortations. Do you see why I don't like the poem? Why I'm surprised that you do? I understand now, you're reading/hearing it differently than I am.
Thanks for a little bit more Luke!
-Imaeyedeetentee
I fully understand where you are coming from, and I think this all arose out of vague semantics for sure. Just understand one thing: this is a poem, and thus an aesthetic medium that is subjective. Two can look at a painting and leave with different interpretations, opinions, and feelings, and both be right. To me, this poem is a call to live with intention and passion, and many of my own friends I shared it with felt the same, whereas you got something else out of it. None of these are wrong, so to each his own.
DeleteAlso, when you said 'At the beginning of a rock concert, my experience is that most in our culture are not thinking about how great their life is', I would humbly have to disagree. I am an avid concert-goer, both to christian and nonchristian arenas of rock, and it really just depends on the person. Concerts give me a feeling of ecstasy and I often find myself thinking about God. The Psalmists were onto something for sure. God can be seen and worshipped through music, and those who abuse the medium don't corrupt it.
I appreciate the thoughts and discourse, so thanks for having the guts to disagree. Ill be posting my own poem that I've been working on for a while, so I would love to see your thoughts with it...
Agreed on all points! I really appreciate that you go to rock concerts and think about God. You're a good man.
DeleteAnd I love your comment about God being worshipped through music regardless of those who attempt to corrupt it. I do believe words/lyrics are a big factor though - there's just so much power in words! So you and I need to be careful as we post our thoughts to blog using nothing but words. I still need to get my first post out there (coming soon hopefully).
So, maybe we can move beyond poetry criticism and wade out into deeper waters in future discussions. Possible topics may include: baseball playoffs, Disneyland, or what it's like to date my daughter. :-)
Thanks for the a little bit of yourself.
-Imaeyedeetentee