The founding co-owners of Tidal — including Jack White — have been on a worthy (albeit rather self-important) mission to give artists more ownership of their own music on streaming services. Now, the Third Man Records boss has issued a mission statement of sorts by sharing a poem called "Music Is Sacred."
White shared the free verse, all-lower-case poem on Third Man's website. It's bookended by some high-flown ideas about "the sanctity of music" and "the melody of the human race," but there's also an angry moment when he takes aim at "cowards and those who would intend / to rip out your lungs and dampen your desire."
Evidently this is what the songwriter has been getting up to since taking a hiatus from touring. Don't quit your day job, Jack.
UPDATE: A follow-up post from Third Man clarifies that the poem has "absolutely nothing to do with" White's involvement in Tidal. (Take that as you will.) The poem has been removed from the record label's website and moved to the Third Man Books site.
Read the poem below:
those of you who stand for the sanctity of music
so that its soul can breathe
and be heard
so that it blooms in graveyards
echoes in hotel hallways
awakens neighbors in the night
and fills peoples minds with fire
shout it out loud with whatever microphone you have
or these stones will shout for you.
jump in front of demons,
and stand over cowards and those who would intend
to rip out your lungs and dampen your desire
tell the living and the dead
what you know in your heart to be true
and what you know your ears
will forever hear
that the melody of the human race
is a song that never ends.
music is sacred.
White shared the free verse, all-lower-case poem on Third Man's website. It's bookended by some high-flown ideas about "the sanctity of music" and "the melody of the human race," but there's also an angry moment when he takes aim at "cowards and those who would intend / to rip out your lungs and dampen your desire."
Evidently this is what the songwriter has been getting up to since taking a hiatus from touring. Don't quit your day job, Jack.
UPDATE: A follow-up post from Third Man clarifies that the poem has "absolutely nothing to do with" White's involvement in Tidal. (Take that as you will.) The poem has been removed from the record label's website and moved to the Third Man Books site.
Read the poem below:
those of you who stand for the sanctity of music
so that its soul can breathe
and be heard
so that it blooms in graveyards
echoes in hotel hallways
awakens neighbors in the night
and fills peoples minds with fire
shout it out loud with whatever microphone you have
or these stones will shout for you.
jump in front of demons,
and stand over cowards and those who would intend
to rip out your lungs and dampen your desire
tell the living and the dead
what you know in your heart to be true
and what you know your ears
will forever hear
that the melody of the human race
is a song that never ends.
music is sacred.
