Author Information
"Philip Parris Lynott"
by Jeph Johnson
It was a lonely night, kind of unstable
The night he went down
His records were stacked on my turntable
Spinning 'round and 'round.
His words were dancing,
Searching the night
For an ear to listen
To moonlight plight.
His voice never lied
And my ears often rang,
For no one cried out louder
For so many of our pains.
He spoke in a white man's world,
He cried out loud for the red.
A black Irishman stirring wild
Images in my head
He was so hot.
I feel so blue.
Now I'm caught;
There's no more new,
Just what we've got
And it hurts me too
For all he brought
To me and you
Cannot be taught;
All we can do
Is hope our thoughts
Of this man who
Brought us a lot
Are good and true,
Not just hot,
Not just blue.
I wish I knew
Phil Lynott
For it is you
Who
Brought
A lot
Of thoughts
I've got!
___________________
Phil Lynott, born to a white mother and black father, was known as a poet among the most unpoetic of people (and I am not referring to "the Irish" I am referring to 70's hard-rockers). His multi-ethnic heritage seemed to inspire his diversity. He loved Celtic Legend and the lore of the American West and adopted many other cultural personas. Unfortunately he succumbed to the rock 'n' roll lifestyle before his genius could be fully realized. I admired him for his ability to be non-categorized in his lyrics and music. He performed nearly every style of music:
•Folk ballads (re-interpreting "Whiskey in the Jar"),
•Country/Western (only wish Marty Robbins would have had a chance to sing "Mexican Blood"),
•Oldies (imitating Elvis on "I Don't Want to Forget How to Jive"),
•Electronic new wave dance ("Yellow Pearl" written in 1979, BEFORE "new wave"),
•R&B (even Sam Cooke couldn't have done a better job with "My Sarah"),
•Heavy Metal (Motorhead would barely be able to keep up with "Thunder and Lightning"),
•Industrial (Die Krupps even cover the Thin Lizzy song S&M),
•Rap (his song "Talk In '79" is one long rap, not quite "hip-hop" but rap nonetheless!),
•Showtunes (Phil performs a song in Jeff Wayne's Broadway-esque "War of the Worlds")
•Calypso-Reggae (using steel drums in "Jamaican Rum"),
•Classic Rock (don't forget the song he is most known for, the '70's rock anthem "The Boys Are Back In Town.")
He wrote tender love songs to his daughters, as well as odes to S&M. In one song he would hint at the plight of the Native American and in the next give Jack the Ripper his props. He had an arrogance about him ("...and she kissed me, right there, out of the blue...") as well as humility ("Got To Give It Up"). The other reason I admire him, and it becomes obvious in my ode above, is the relentless and nearly comical rhyme tempo he would utilize. Phil Lynott fronted the band Thin Lizzy and was a miraculous bass player as well. His life story is currently being planned as a movie. I wrote this the day after he died back in 1986.
