JOHN DONNE
John Donne (22 January 1572 – 31 March 1631) was an English poet and a cleric in the Church of England. He is considered the pre-eminent representative of the metaphysical poets. His works are noted for their strong, sensual style and include sonnets, love poems, religious poems, Latin translations, epigrams, elegies, songs, satires, and sermons. His poetry is noted for its vibrancy of language and inventiveness of metaphor, especially compared to that of his contemporaries. His early career was marked by poetry that bore immense knowledge of English society, and he met that knowledge with sharp criticism. Another important theme in Donne’s poetry is the idea of true religion, something that he spent much time considering and about which he often theorized. (More from Wikipedia)
The final cut on the Moon Going Down album – the lyrics are also printed for this song – is called “Are You Sure John Donne it this Way”; only Thomas Anderson could mix a reference to an old “outlaw country” song by Waylon Jennings, “Are you Sure Hank Done it this Way” with John Donne, the British poet and satirist who was a contemporary of William Shakespeare.
(November 2012)
