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Baker's Dozen

Evidently Chicken Supreme: John Cooper Clarke's Favourite Songs
Alex Burrows , November 18th, 2020 11:32

Performance poet, style icon and broadcaster John Cooper Clarke tells Alex Burrows about his most-loved songs of all time and growing up during the birth of rock & roll. Portrait by Paul Wolfgang Webster.

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Willie Nelson – ‘Stardust’
I had the Hoagy Carmichael version on a 78 and it’s the first time I heard the word ‘reverie’. I thought only a poet would use that word. If you saw the lyrics on their own, you wouldn’t imagine it could ever be a song. I just had to have Willie Nelson in the list because he is quite possibly the last living superstar. Have I ever used the word ‘reverie’ in a poem? No, I don’t think I have. But it is a state that is essential for the writing of poetry. I can’t think of a time when I’ve ever used the word ‘reverie’… it doesn’t rhyme with anything! Ha ha ha!