Me and The Ventures

Teaching myself guitar as a kid.

Had old records to listen to.
Too soon for computers and youtube.
There was a sound for me I knew.

Every Saturday night as a family.
We watched Hee Haw on TV
Roy Clark (R.I.P) I loved to hear.
But he just didn't speak to me.

I liked guitar instrumentals.
You know, music without words.
Didn't really care for bluegrass.
Cared even less for Beethoven's third.

Vinyl records and 8-track tapes.
I listened to them all.
Black Sabbath to Ricky Nelson.
Pink Floyd made my skin crawl.

My parents came home with a record.
Girl in a gold bikini on the cover.
I am pretty sure, I do believe,
was the moment, girls were discovered.

An album by the Ventures.
Played it every hour, every minute.
Apache, Lonely Bull, Wipe Out
Pipeline, Honky Tonk and Out of Limits.

The Ventures were my music.
I listened a hundred times a day.
I even recorded them on tape.
Listen at home and when I was away.

They played like I wanted to play.
They made the boring songs cool.
Made the cool songs cooler.
I even listened in homeroom at school.

I play their songs on my Gretsch
Still can't play in front of anyone.
I record the Ventures on youtube
Keeping their sound alive, for years to come.

The early members are gone now.
New generation of Ventures has begun.
Got the inspiration for this poem,

in a hotel room, playing Walk Don't Run.

R. S. Morris