***Poet’s (And Songwriter too) Corner- Van Morrison’s “Rave On John Donne”

Markin comment:

I have been mad for John Donne’ s poetry ever since I read his poem Death, Be Not Proud. Yes, I know that he was a metaphysical poet (the two-hearts business) but he “spoke” to me and still “speaks” to me. Fortunately, we socialists are indifferent to a person's personal likes (and dislikes) in music, poetry, literature and art or I would be in big trouble with touting Brother Donne. Thankfully he is long gone and cannot, reasonably, be cited as an active counter-revolutionary and therefore a person we would have to do something about. Whee! Put the subject John Donne (and other poets, mad men Whitman and Yeats) in a song done by Van Morrison and you have something that catches my attention every time. No question.
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Rave On John Donne lyrics by Van Morrison

Rave on John Donne, rave on thy Holy fool
Down through the weeks of ages
In the moss borne dark dank pools

Rave on, down through the industrial revolution
Empiricism, atomic and nuclear age
Rave on down through time and space down through the corridors
Rave on words on printed page

Rave on, you left us infinity
And well pressed pages torn to fade
Drive on with wild abandon
Uptempo, frenzied heels

Rave on, Walt Whitman, nose down in wet grass
Rave on fill the senses
On nature's bright green shady path

Rave on Omar Khayyam, Rave on Kahlil Gibran
Oh, what sweet wine we drinketh
The celebration will be held
We will partake the wine and break the Holy bread

Rave on let a man come out of Ireland
Rave on on Mr. Yeats,
Rave on down through the Holy Rosey Cross
Rave on down through theosophy, and the Golden Dawn
Rave on through the writing of "A Vision"
Rave on, Rave on, Rave on, Rave on, Rave on, Rave on

Rave on John Donne, rave on thy Holy fool
Down through the weeks of ages
In the moss borne dark dank pools

Rave on, down though the industrial revolution
Empiricism, atomic and nuclear age