There was, at one time, an anthropology theory about stringing together the titles of country and western songs to tell a story itself. Not the lyrics, just the songs’ titles.
The Horse
Music. An alcoholic musician. A blind horse shows up, doesn’t move much. The names, titles, of country songs.
“They listened to records by the Everly Brothers, the Blasters, Merle Haggard, Rank and File, Rush, Gram Parsons, X, Charlie Parker, Los Lobos, Black Sabbath, and Jimmy Bryant & Speedy West.” Page 101.
The Blasters. Rank and File! Gram Parsons, &c. Roots rock. Classic cow punk. The years don’t exactly add up, but it’s interesting.
Some years ago, I stumbled into a recent imprint of Charles Bukowski’s poetry. Digging into the narrative, I kept trying to figure out where I heard this kind of story before.
Bukowski’s Post Office.
The Horse
More lyrical, but portions of it, as the narrative itself jumps a timeline, portions are that raw, nuanced, but bare minimum prose.
Good story-telling.
Nuanced and spartan yet layered and rich.
