October 28, 2024Einstein Washes the DishesMichael R.J. Roth

“I started as a poet, relishing the freedom it provided for the voice of the soul, free of constraints. I later started writing songs, finding ways to fit words into the structures created by music and convention. Of course, in songwriting as in poetry, the conventions have been evolving and increasingly liberating. The more I wrote, the more I found the words demanded music, and increasingly worked from the lyric to shaping the music around it. There are dimensions that poetry has that cannot be translated into song, but music provides dimensions the written or spoken word alone cannot achieve. We see those dimensional differences between photography and painting, for example, or black-and-white versus color. We see it in plays versus cinema, and may wonder what it would be like if architecture could sing or sculpture could dance. I find that songwriting provides an element of emotion and drama that I can’t supply with words alone. There is also the added factor of the audience. Songs need to convey their meaning rather urgently, and the need to communicate clearly in a short time adds some discipline that I like. I still write poetry, but I have been writing and performing songs for more than a half century, and still love the flirtation between words and music.”