Guest
from A Song is Born (1948) John Bubbles is referenced by Heathcote Williams in his poem in celebration of Lord Buckley Buckley explained, “I fell in love with the dialect “Of the American Beauty Negro.” It was to give his delivery an old time gospel beat And to turn him into a countercultural hero – Who fizzed across the firmament utterly possessed Of a uniquely free spirit to undermine The stultifying roadblock of gray, fifties America With his life enhancing sparkle and shine. An old static language that didn’t say anything anymore Couldn’t compare with his syncopated bebop beat Which took the spoken word and transformed it Through the living poetry of the street.
