Monday, August 23, 2010

Nail Song

I grabbed me a nail and I set it on the wood
and the nail said "Lord, this had better be good
Lord, this had better be good."

I picked up the hammer and I went to hit the nail
and the nail said "Lord, I would rather be in jail
Lord, I would rather be in jail."

I swung the hammer down and I hit it on the head
and the nail cried "Lord, I would rather I was dead
Lord, I would rather I was dead!"

I pounded that nail and I hammered it deep
and the nail said "Lord, I wish you would let me sleep
Lord, I think I'm going to sleep."

The storm rolled in and it blew all night
and the nails said "Lord, but we're holding on tight
Lord, but we're holding on tight!"

The sun came out, it was hot all day
and the nails said "Lord, for a little bit of shade
Lord, for a little bit of shade."

Yes, the man with the hammer thinks he's the boss
but it's nails that held the thief on the cross,
it's nails that held the thief on the cross.

--for Big Tent's prompt about something you did with your hands.
Collection available! Knocking from Inside

14 comments:

KaLynn ("MiMi") said...

Powerful! Thanks for sharing and reminding.

Anonymous said...

Wonderful! I can hear an entire crew singing harmony on the end of each stanza. And the hammer hitting the nail is the drum beat and base line.

Elizabeth

Anonymous said...

neat. I like that work song cadence.

Anonymous said...

This is crying out to be set to music. It's wonderful. I'm full of admiration.

Anonymous said...

This is crying out to be set to music. It's wonderful. I'm full of admiration.

Diane T said...

My, I never thought about nails crying out, LOL. What is their purpose? Funny but poignant poem!

mareymercy said...

Wow, this is awesome. Really interesting and powerful. Made me think of a chain gang song.

Mary said...

This is a fantastic poem. I like thinking about the nails in different ways...how you started with the process and ended up with the thief on the cross.

(I do really HEAR this poem right now. We have a house being roofed right next door. Except it's not so much hammering as stapling. Ouch to the ears nonetheless.)

Anonymous said...

I love this--the song of it, the sharp but inevitable turn at the end. Beautiful.

James Brush said...

I heard this as music too. Simply wonderful. I really liked those refrains.

Anonymous said...

The rhythm of this poem is wonderful. I love it.

Christine said...

This has beautiful rhythm!

Pam Olson said...

This reminds me of some of the camp songs I sang when I was young-- all it needs is a guitar!

Wayne Pitchko said...

awww the rythm of a hammer...nicely nailed