The 'beautiful noise' of life
"I never really chosesongwriting. It just absorbed me andbecame more and more important in my life.” – Neil Diamond
Born in Brooklyn, NY on Jan. 24,1941 Diamond began writing poems while still in high school. After learning the guitar, he startedcombining his poetic skills with his musical compositions but didn’timmediately turn to those skills as a career.
But after studying pre-med at NewYork University – where he was a member of the NCAA Championship Fencing team –he took up songwriting full time in the early 1960s. His many dozens of songs since have included10 Number One hits and more than 130 million sales, making him one of thebest-selling singer-songwriters in history. Inducted into the Songwriters’ Hall of Fame, he also is a Kennedy CenterHonoree and subject of the Broadway Musical “A Beautiful Noise.” For Saturday’s Poem, here is Diamond’s,
BeautifulNoise
What a beautiful noise
Comin' up from the street
Got a beautiful sound
It's got a beautiful beat
It's a beautiful noise
Goin' on ev'rywhere
Like the clickety-clack
Of a train on a track
It's got rhythm to spare
It's a beautiful noise
And it's a sound that I love
And it fits me as well
As a hand in a glove
Yes it does, yes it does
What a beautiful noise
Comin' up from the park
It's the song of the kids
And it plays until dark
It's the song of the cars
On their furious flights
But there's even romance
In the way that they dance
To the beat of the lights
It'sa beautiful noise
And it's a sound that I love
And it makes me feel good
Like a hand in a glove
Yes it does, yes it does
What a beautiful noise
It's a beautiful noise
Made of joy and of strife
Like a symphony played
By the passing parade
It's the music of life
It's a beautiful noise
And it's a sound that I love
And it makes me feel good
Just like a hand in a glove
Yes it does, yes it does
Whata beautiful noise
Comin' into my room
And it's beggin' for me
Just to give it a tune
