"Bluebird" Charles Bukowski - for flute and voice

7.28.10: Rehearsal. Melissa Keeling rehearses an original prior to going into the studio."Bluebird" - for flute and voice

The text of this piece is taken from a Charles Bukowski poem of the same name, and translated into french:
"there is a bluebird in my heart that wants to get out (Looped)
but I'm too tough for him, I say, stay in there,
I'm not going to let anybody see you.

there's a bluebird inside my heart that wants to get out but I poor whiskey on him and inhale cigarette smoke
and the whores and the bartenders and the grocery clerks never know that he's in there.

there's a bluebird inside my heart that wants to get out but I'm too tough for him,
I say, stay down, do you want to mess me up?
you want to mess up the works?
you want to blow my book sales in Europe?

there's a bluebird in my heart that wants to get out but I'm too clever, I only let him out at night sometimes when everybody's asleep.
I say, I know that you're there, so don't be sad
then I but him back, but he's singing a little in there, I haven't quite let him die and we sleep together like that with our secret pact
and it's nice enough to make a man weep, but I don't weep, do you?

Flute material is drawn from well-known classic flute literature involving birds:

"Rossignol, mon mignon" (Roussel)
"Firebird Suite" (Stravinsky)
"Peter and the Wolf" (Procofiev)
"Carnival of the Animals" (Saint-Saens)

Category:

Music

Tags:

• charles bukowski
• bluebird
• flute
• poem
• poetry
• solo
• electronic
• electric
• effects
• amplified
• french
• orchestral excerpt
• birds
• instrumental music
• music instrument
• wind instruments
• classical
• music
• charles
• bukowski

[hyenasundries]

wonderful, i love it!  more please...

[vivaAnaloger]

tres jolie ... :)~

[spyturtle101]

great tone =D

[tondicter]

Hi! Could you please tell me exactly how you've got your flute set up- everything you've got plugged in and set up for effects?

Cheers, jen

[danareilly1]

Hi Melissa: Great mood, mysterious and inventive! The combination of music and poetry really impresses upon me the music of words, no matter the language. I'm a fan of yours too. I have watched many of your videos on the use of gear and effects. I play the flute and really appreciate your tone, technique, and creativity. Sincerely, Dana Reilly (with Consort Un-Caged)

[rickdizenzo]

How refreshingly odd,..LOVE IT! The whole vibe, and sensibility, is really moving. Keep it up,...I'm a fan!