by Tom Adam
Yes, the song. No hidden meaning there. For over thirty years the Eagles’ “Hotel California” has inspired and intrigued people the world over. It has been covered and translated and parodied and most people still have no idea what the song even means.
But what in the world has that to do with a poetry prompt?
On a dark desert highway, cool wind in my hair
Warm smell of colitas, rising up through the air
Up ahead in the distance, I saw a shimmering light
Your prompt this week is to write a story, but not just any story. Write a ballad. Yes, a ballad, complete with meter and rhyme as strict or as informal as you like.
How they dance in the courtyard, sweet summer sweat.
Some dance to remember, some dance to forget
Of course, that’s not all. It wouldn’t really tie in to a rock song if I left it at that, would it? Your prompt this week is to write a modern day ballad, something like “Hotel California” or “Piano Man” or “Space Oddity.” Something similar to the items on this list from Wikipedia. Ground your ballad in the world of today.
It would be great if you used the traditional elements of The Ballad, too. Flirt with darkness (literally if you like), talk about death, use speech and description. If you could use a little help on what a ballad is, check out Wikipedia, or stop back tomorrow where I talk about the ballad form a bit.
Oooh! This prompt just made me salivate.
What a great prompt! I’ll need a jug of Diego Red for this. Tom, you’re spending to much time with old records. Get a life!
DCH
[...] ballad was written in response to readwritepoem’s recent prompt to write a ballad. In the post they mention the song Hotel California, and reading the lyrics I was [...]
Is this the right place to ask for help with the ballad prompt? I am SO narrative challenged! I don’t know why, but my creativity just ENDS when it comes to stories. I know that this prompt is going to be good for me, but I’m having a terrible time getting started when I almost always concentrate on images or ideas rather than things that unfold over time. My automatic response is to try and write something silly, which is what I always want to do when I’m afraid of failing miserably.
Does anyone have advice for a reluctant storyteller?
Katherine, just because the ballad tells a story doesn’t mean you can’t use images and ideas to tell it. Consider in “Hotle California” how many of the scenes are almost vignette-like, strung together not by narrative thread but by metaphor and meaning.
Try writing all of your ideas on paper and tearing them into little pieces, then put the pieces in the order you think they should go. A few temporal transitions and you have a narrative thread. But I’m sure some of the other people here would have much more useful ideas too. Good luck, and I look forward to seeing what you come up with.
This is fun, I like the idea of writing a rock opera….
i’m with catherine, i’m so narratively challenged as well. thanks for the tip! i’ll try my best.
[...] is a ballad written for Read Write Poem Prompt #37: Hotel California. Simply, we were to write a ballad. Since I don’t normally write ballads, this was a real [...]