“Now Serving #591”

EMILY DICKINSON (#591):

I heard a Fly buzz – when I died –

The Stillness in the Room

Was like the Stillness in the Air –

Between the Heaves of Storm –

The Eyes around – had wrung them dry –

And Breaths were gathering firm

For that last Onset – when the King

Be witnessed – in the Room –

I willed my Keepsakes – Signed away

What portion of me be

Assignable – and then it was

There interposed a Fly –

With Blue – uncertain – stumbling Buzz –

Between the light – and me –

And then the Windows failed – and then

I could not see to see –

Now, a word or two about re-contextualization. You might divide the world into two camps: there are the purists and then there are the marketing-advertisers (with the rest of us between the trenches, guns and barbed-wire to either side, trapped in no-man’s land). The former resent any co-opting of art for commercial purposes, or even its benign juxtaposition as I have done here with Emily Dickinson and a random photo (perhaps an opportune comment on the blindness of youth to aging/death and the obtuseness of the material world as regards the spiritual). The ad-men, on the other hand, are pure opportunists and will risk ruining your favorite song by repetition and product association for cash. For example, I have a difficult time with Gershwin’s “Rhapsody in Blue” due to a strong mental link with that United Airlines campaign. But consider Paul Anka’s (did you know he’s Canadian?) hit song “Times of Your Life” (1975). Written by Roger Nichols and Bill Lane, it has the lovely lilt of nostalgia embedded in its DNA, and those of a certain vintage will recall its use in Kodak ads from the era. But I only just learned that it BEGAN life as a jingle and Paul Anka subsequently recorded it to great success (reaching #7 on the Billboard Hot 100). Since then, it has been used, quite apropos, in “Mad Men” and more recently in the (terrific) show “Severance” to deep effect. And in each case, the song both retains an essential, stand-alone quality while simultaneously recombining with visual images, novel context, to create the frisson of old + new. And for those of us stuck in the middle/muddle –when it works, it works.