Twisted

When I lived in London, I owned a silver Mini Ritz with a brilliant sound system.  During the summer holidays, I would take my daughter to work with me as I had a colleague with a girl of the same age and they would play together at her house, which was just down the road. That meant Ellen and I would spend hours every week driving from Twickenham to Fulham and back.

At the time, cassette tapes were in fashion and I would record songs from my favourite albums for the car. As most of you know, I’m a huge Joni Mitchell fan and, on one particular hot day in August, I’d been singing along to ‘Court and Spark’ when we hit a jam. I forgot the windows were open as I merrily jazzed along to ‘Twisted’. I was suddenly aware of frantic slapping on my thigh. Ellen’s face was bright red as she pointed to my window. There, in the car next to me, sat two men in business suits, in stitches at my Joni impression.

those heady dog days
hippy blues and mini cars
longing to be free

Kim M. Russell, 2017

My response to dVerse Poets Pub Haibun Monday: Tramps like us were born to survive…

Toni is our host today. She says it is getting to be the kind of weather when she drives with her windows down and the CD player cranked up, singing at the top of her lungs. She asks how many of us also crank up our sound systems to sing along with favourite songs? 

Toni wonders if we ever had another motorist look over at us in consternation or better yet, with a thumb up, played sad songs and cried, played defiant songs, played dancin’ in the car songs – I’ve done all that and embarrassed my daughter in the process!

Toni would like us to write about singing along with our music and driving.  Off on a trip, off on vacation, soothing ourselves, just driving at night, driving out anger or grief – as long as we keep the haibun classic (no poems or “westernized” writings) with one paragraph and a haiku – not a senryu, or three line micropoem, or American sentence. 

36 thoughts on “Twisted”

  1. I remember the album. Although I don’t sing in the car to music, I have enjoyed watching other people do this and if the windows are down it makes more sense since one can hear the music.

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  2. At least no-one could accuse you of bad taste singing along to Joni Mitchell. I’m a big fan, especially of Whales and Nightingales but I sound more like the whales.
    xxx Huge Hugs xxx

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  3. What fun! I often get disapproving glances when I am belting out Born to Run and especially the ending, banging on the steering wheel…cause….Tramps like us…baby we were born to run……I did so enjoy this and the haiku is superb.

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    1. I used to know all Joni’s songs right the way through – and my voice has gone down a few octaves, just like hers. Now I’m singing ‘Up Town Funk’ and ‘Shine’ with the Alto 2 section of a rock and soul choir.

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      2. It’s not just our one – there are seven or eight across our bit of Norfolk, from Great Yarmouth across to Diss and Dereham. It’s called the Invidia Choir and they do flash mob as well as formal and other appearances. We often have a session at a pub in North Walsham. There’s website too.

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  16. Loved this article! Very well done.
    I’m an alternative music blogger and fairly new at it. My latest post is about Royal Blood – a heavy alt rock two piece band from England and they’re taking the rock scene by storm. Jimmy Page approves of this band and they have also opened for Foo Fighters. Their music composes of heavy manic riffs, nothing like you have ever heard before. Do check it out, and my other articles and feel free to share your inputs!
    https://theindianindiehead.wordpress.com/2017/06/26/riffs-for-everyone/

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