Letters from Quotidia Fractal 1

Welcome to Letters from Quotidia Fractal 1, the first of twelve posts carrying this identifier. This is also Letter 313 in the series. Did you know that 313 is a palindromic prime? It reads the same frontwards and backwards and is divisible only by itself and one. You can find lots of other references to this number online should you be inclined to go down such rabbit-holes but all I can say is that, in essence, the Fractals will explore pretty much the same territory as the 12 Holograms preceding it but will have one added feature: a third song, a blast from the past, so to speak, thematically linked to one or both new compositions.

The Three Sea Captains was composed to celebrate the victory of the combined fleets of Britain, France and Russia (and their respective sea captains) over the Turkish and Egyptian fleets at the battle of Navarino in 1827. The last great sea battle fought with wooden ships; it was decisive in the struggle for Greek independence from the Ottoman empire. Banter, our wee folk group of over 20 years, featured this composition in our sets from time to time- and I can even remember playing in strict dance time to accommodate Irish dancers at the Penrith Gaels Club toward the end of the 1990s. Here’s a music file of Banter practising the tune. [insert tune]  

Wooden ships, heroic battles, and the history of Greece brings to my mind the Odyssey written by Homer after the Iliad and, in what might prove a bridge too far, or my having bitten off, yet again, more than I could comfortably chew, I determined to write a multi-verse account of that legendary odyssey from the point of view of a sailor accompanying Odysseus on his adventures. Apart from this old man shouting at clouds, do you know anyone else who would attempt to reduce The Odyssey to 72 lines of rhyming couplets in dactylic tetrameter?

I have set it to the music of The Three Sea Captains tweaking the music to accommodate the quatrain-structure of the lyrics. I have also stuck to the chronological order of events I found at the admirable site greekmythology.com and have remained faithful to the narrative with one exception: when the men eat the cattle of the sun-god Helios, the fact that they were starving did not prevent Zeus from killing every man and destroying the last remaining ship- Odysseus being the only survivor. But heroes need sidekicks. On their own they are sort of boring- too far removed from most of us who are frequently referred to as the great unwashed, the peasantry, the plebs, or the hoi polloi to use a Greek descriptor. You may hear certain people boast of their adventures on cruises or expeditions to far-flung places, but I’ll wager they will all pale in comparison to the tale I present now. [insert song].

The narrative just heard has been carried by a swung country-waltz arrangement of the original tune. And that brings me to my next song- a blast from the past- the past being the mid-1980s when I was writing a few country songs for a variety of projects. The protagonist of my song, Back to You, is another wanderer. His beat is not the treacherous waters of the Mediterranean in mythical times but rather the country music circuit of the 1960s and 1970s in America encompassing rural areas of the mid-west but also larger centres such as Nashville, Memphis, Austin and New Orleans. The pressures of life on the road put many relationships under strain where the pull of playing music on the gruelling circuit night after night tugged with the domestic responsibilities owed to family and friends. Nuff said, have a listen. [insert song] 

The distinction between loneliness and solitude is made well by poet Mary Sarton, Loneliness is the poverty of self; solitude is richness of self. Noted poet and translator, Michael Hoffman illustrates this point exactly in his short poem, Night, published in the magazine, Poetry in 2008. It’s all right/Unless you’re either lonely or under attack./That strange effortful/Repositioning of yourself. Laundry, shopping,/Hours, the telephone—unless misinformed—/Only ever ringing for you, if it ever does./The night—yours to decide,/Among drink, or books, or lying there./On your back, or curled up.//An embarrassment of poverty.//

Li Bai, an important Chinese poet of the Tang Dynasty- also known as Li Po and other names, left home to wander through the Yangtze River Valley in 725 A.D. Married four times and friends with the poet Du Fu, whom I have quoted in other letters, he wrote about his own life in a conversational tone. Here’s an example from the domain of solitude. It was at a wine party—/I lay in a drowse, knowing it not./The blown flowers fell and filled my lap./When I arose, still drunken,/The birds had all gone to their nests,/And there remained but few of my comrades./I went along the river—alone in the moonlight.// My song Practice Being Lonely is closer to Michael Hoffman in tone than Li Bai. [insert song]

And so the first Fractal comes to its conclusion. The term “fractal” was coined by the mathematician Benoît Mandelbrot in 1975 who based it on the Latin word frāctus, meaning “broken” or “fractured”. The mathematical ramifications of his work are for those rarefied beings who understand this stuff. But the Latin meaning of broken or fractured is one that appeals to me and examples of it may be found scattered through most, if not all, of the Letters. Fractals have endless applications in the sciences and the arts and can be found everywhere. Until next week, keep safe, keep well, keep happy.

A Song of the Odyssey (Words Quentin Bega, inspired- of course- by Homer, music Trad)

Music adapted from English/Irish set dance-The Three Sea Captains

Intro: C2 Am F2 G7sus

Verse (a) C F G C Dm C Dm C C Dm F Dm G [ F G C]

Verse (b) Am7/C C Dm G Am7/C C F G C Am C Am G [F C D G]

The wiles of our captain, Odysseus saw the tall towers of Ilium

Burning because the wood horse inside saw the fall of Trojan pride me boys

On to Ismarus we saw our chance to lead the Kikones a merry dance

Pillaging, killing, our blood-lust was high-they fought back and we had to fly

The Lotus-eaters they offered enchantments; I ate of the fruit and wanted abandonment

Odysseus forced me back stashed me down under deck, but I only longed go on back

Our next encounter the cyclops Polyphemus, trapped in his cave he started to eat us all

But our brave captain he blinded the beast stirred up the great god Poseidon against us all

The master of winds, he gifted Odysseus a bag which we opened- mistrust got the best of us

Storm winds did blow our ship off its way, lots of egg on our faces you well could say

The Laestrogonians all but put paid to us, ravenous cannibals smashed all our ships but one

We got away with most of us gone, will our miseries ever  be done

Circe’s island saw some of us turned to swine, Hermes restored us again I could sup my wine

We stayed a while, the sorceress smiled warning of perils ahead in the wild

Then into Hades Odysseus goes, chats to Tiresias ‘cause he wants to know

How to lift the curse Poseidon’s laid on him, returns with wise advice full of spunk and vim

Wax in our ears we tied him with leather thongs, he wanted to hear the Sirens deadly songs

Tried to escape, nearly broke free, we passed by their island and then on out to sea

Scylla and Charybdis next we had to face, a six-headed monster, a whirlpool spins in place

Scylla ate some of us I barely escaped, what will the gods next pile on our plates

The Island of Helios near saw my mortal end, we killed some cows we were all starving men

Zeus caused a storm, smashed our last boat, Odysseus swam off & I grabbed a plank to float

On to an island where the nymph Calypso fell for Odysseus head over heels you know

Would keep him forever just for the crack but the gods said he’d have to go back

Shipwrecked again, a princess took him home to daddy the king who was enthralled by him

Good King Alcinous provided a ship to finally get us back home to Ithaca

Twenty years gone no one recognises us, disguised as a beggar the wily Odysseus

Checks out the scene, reunites with his son as we plot to get back the vacant throne

We’re killing again, the suitors are slaughtered, their schemes are smashed as they oughtabe

He now needs to prove to his wife who he is, he sends for her but alas she will not kiss

Until a secret known only to both of them helps weave together their love once again

Now reunited their bond true as time, leads me now to the end of my rhyme

Now that I’m home again, never to roam again, I hate the sight of the sea-driven foam

I sit at my table drinking mulled wine, tell my tale to those who will dine with me

Yes, now that I’m home again, never to roam, I do hate the sight of the sea-driven foam

I sit at my table drinking mulled wine, tell my tale to those who will dine with me

Back to You (words and music Quentin Bega)

I’m coming home this time/ Listen please it’s my last dime

I know you’ve heard me say/These words before

In a Memphis motel phoning/ There’s people here but I feel lonely

Can I explain why I’m here again/ The road called me back

Away from your arms/ I fled to the charms of country music

But I can’t play the music/ Like I used to do

And the words don’t come easy/And they don’t ring true

I need your tender loving/I need it like I need fresh air

And nothing’s gonna stop me/Running back to you

This time I’m gonna stay/Nothing’s gonna keep me away.

I need your tender arms/Keeping me warm

I’ve realised at last/My future lies in my past

I need to set my course/Guided by hope

That you’ll let me come back/ Right back to your charms

Fall into your arms/ Cause you’re my country music

And we’ll play that music/ Like we used to do

And the words will come easy/And they’ll all ring true

 I need your tender loving/I need it like I need fresh air

And nothing’s gonna stop me/ Running back to you

Yeah nothing’s gonna stop me/ Running back to you

No nothing’s gonna stop me/Running back-back-back to you

Practice Being Lonely (words and music Quentin Bega)

Intro: Amaj7 F#7 E7sus E7sus; Verse: A D E A-4

Chorus: Bm A C#m E Bm A G A A#

Mod. to B for verse 2 and chorus 2 then back to A for verse and chorus finish

I’ve had practice being lonely for so long it don’t hurt much

My shaving mirror face is the only way I check in on my own self

In the wasteland of my weekdays, I go through them in a trance

No one takes notice in the maze as I conduct my solo dance

Weekends are cruel reminders of what once was

When I held you and I lost you oh I have loved and lost

Maybe I should call her- pick up the phone and call

Ask forgiveness will she see me give me another chance

But I’ve seen her with her partner, looking happy so I stall

Put the phone down, once again, and forget about romance

Weekends are cruel reminders of what once was

When I held you and I lost you oh I have loved and lost

I’ve had practice being lonely for so long it don’t hurt much

My shaving mirror face is the only way I check in on my own self

In the wasteland of my weekdays, I go through them in a trance

No one takes notice in the maze as I conduct my solo dance

Weekends are cruel reminders of what once was

When I held you and I lost you oh I have loved and lost

Weekends are cruel reminders of what once was

When I held you and I lost you oh I have loved and lost

Credits: All written text, song lyrics andmusic (including background music) written and composed by Quentin Bega unless otherwise specified in the credits section after individual posts. Illustrative excerpts from other texts identified clearly within each podcast. I donate to and use Wikipedia frequently as one of the saner sources of information on the web.

Technical Stuff: Microphone-songs Shure SM58; (for the podcast spoken content) Audio Technica AT 2020 front-facing with pop filter); Apogee 76K also used for songs and spoken text. For recording and mixing down: 64-bit N-Track Studio 10 Extended used; Rubix 22 also used for mixing of microphone(s) and instruments. I use the Band in a Box/RealBand 2023 combo for music composition.