So it’s Music…again.

I’ve been thinking about the relationship of art to art. One thing influences another. For example, consider a fire engine with the number five painted in gold. William Carlos Williams saw one on a rainy night and wrote his poem The Great Figure. It, in turn, directly influenced Charles Demuth in 1928 and Robert Indiana in 1963. Both painted their own interpretations of that piece. WCW’s poem, of course, was the result of some anonymous truck painter’s influence.

How many times has Romeo and Juliet been reinterpreted in one form or another? And wasnt it taken from the Chinese story of the Butterfly Lovers? Okay, so we cant really know that, since Shakespeare’s very existence is still a matter of some debate.

What about the Japanese folk song Sakura, Sakura? Here are some YouTube selections to illustrate what I mean. From the traditional folk song, someone composed a wonderful choral arrangement. Then, who knows how much later, Thelonious Monk did this mui fabuloso jazz interpretation.  Who would have guessed?

Look what Betsy Ross’ design did for Francis Scott Key. Every time her flag goes up, somebody sings his song. No royalties for either of them, but nobody forgets their names.