Milestones

One time I took one of those email surveys that someone had forwarded to me. One of the questions was “If you could have written one song, which song would it be?” I had never pondered the question before and found it an interesting one. The first song to come to mind was “Straight, No Chaser,” by Thelonious Monk.

As a senior in high school, it was one of the first songs that I transcribed by listening to it over and over again and writing it out one note at a time. That and “Dr. Jekyll” by Jackie McLean, which I recorded into a mini recorder so I could play it back at half speed. And then I tried to figure out “Two Bass Hit” by John Lewis. I first heard all these songs on Miles Davis’ album Milestones, which was the third or fourth CD I ever bought. I consequently went out and bought more Miles (Nefertiti and Filles de Killamanjaro), as well as Monk’s Misterioso, McLean’s Destination Out and Lewis’ group The Modern Jazz Quartet’s Django.

The Modern Jazz Quartet was a bore, I didn’t know what to make of Destination Out, the drumming on Nefertiti was the best I’d ever heard and Monk’s compositions absolutely blew me away. Thus my self-education continued, as I bought albums by Miles’ drummer (Tony Williams’ Emergency) and more Monk (Thelonious In Action and Art Blakey’s Jazz Messengers With Thelonious Monk).

Anyway, I decided not to put “Straight, No Chaser.” I reconsidered that a better answer would be something by my all-time favorite composer Charles Mingus, but I ended up putting “Black Dog,” by Led Zeppelin. I figured it would have been better to have written a song that actually made money.



Led Zeppelin “Black Dog”

Hey, hey, mama, said the way you move
Gonna make you sweat, gonna make you groove.
Oh, oh, child, way you shake that thing
Gonna make you burn, gonna make you sting.
Hey, hey, baby, when you walk that way
Watch your honey drip, can’t keep away.

(chorus) ah yeah, ah yeah, ah, ah, ah. ah yeah, ah yeah, ah, ah, ah.

I gotta roll, can’t stand still,
Got a flame in my heart, can’t get my fill,
Eyes that shine burning red,
Dreams of you all through my head.
Ah ah ah ah ah ah ah ah ah ah ah ah ah.

Hey, baby, oh, baby, pretty baby,
Tell me what you do me now.
(repeat)

Didn’t take too long fore I found out
What people mean my down and out.
Spent my money, took my car,
Started tellin’ her friends she wants to be a star.
I don’t know but I been told
A big legged woman ain’t got no soul.

(chorus) ah yeah, ah yeah, ah, ah, ah. ah yeah, ah yeah, ah, ah, ah.

All I ask for when I pray,
Steady rollin’ woman gonna come my way.
Need a woman gonna hold my hand
And tell me no lies, make me a happy man.