So call me “Guitar Terry”
Yes,
I have a lot of confidence,
far too much confidence
for my own good.
But here’s the deal,
if I wasn’t my favorite poet
I’d write the poems that
other poets have written,
or at least one’s that look, sound and read
exactly like someone else’s.
You must become your favorite
poet to be the best you can be.
Same with playing guitar;
when I was 16 years old
I was in a rock and roll band,
The Remnants,
we played other group’s songs, “covers”
The Rolling Stones, The Kingsmen, The Kinks
lots of easy, three chord tunes.
It was great fun,
but we lacked the confidence
and probably the skills to write
our own songs,
so, we rarely even tried.
Twelve months ago,
I bought a Fender acoustic guitar,
despite not having played for
55 years or so.
I practice two times a day,
and I play only to make
sounds I like,
learning new tricks and skills
as I go along.
some of what I play, I like,
some of it, I love —
I don’t play other people’s songs
any more than I would write
other people’s poems.
But I gotta tell you,
I’m getting really fuckin’ good —
You’ll never hear it, though,
because after a decade and a half
on the road reading and talking
about my books and myself,
I don’t and won’t perform for others
(Exception here: my wife Patti listens
because she loves it).
My music is mine.
I guess mine, and Patti’s
But it’s great, really,
you can take my word for it,
I’m my fav poet AND my favorite
guitar player now.
Walt Whitman said, “I am America”
Jackson Pollok said, “I am nature.”
Sir Paul McCartney said, “I play bass guitar”
George Harison said, “I play solo guitar”
John Lennon said, “I play best guitar.”
I say, “I am Terry Guitar/or Guitar Terry”
(But please don’t call me that)
Still,
Terry Guitar, Guitar Terry . . .
Yeah, has a nice ring huh?
My fav. guitar player.
Terry Guitar starts to rock!
And how many guitars does a guitar player need?
Answer: Always one more . . . at least one more.
