For many outsiders the punk movement had little or nothing to do with music or art. Punk music was loud and rude, ignoring the most fundamental aesthetic principles of classical western music, simply an assault on good taste. But for the followers punk was dead serious and a means to express personal and artistic freedom. And as several scholars have pointed out afterwards, it was not without threads in the established art world. Many writers have linked punk with art movements such as the french situationists of the 60's (Garnett 1999:21, Joland 1995:), and several are those who find similarities with punk and the beat poets, such as Kerouac, Snyder and Ginsberg, and even earlier poets and writers like Rimbaud and Celine (Joland 1995:588). Some scholars also point out that quite a few of the leading figures of punk and later new wave actually had formal training in art, among them Malcolm McLaren (who put the Sex Pistols together) and Nick Cave (Frith & Horne 1987). The divide between "art" and "popular culture", "high" and "low" is in my opinion a matter of perspective and of little value in describing the quality of the music. But it is interesting to see how parts of the punk movement were in opposition both to the "high"and the "popular". In opposition to "high art" with their emphasis on unconventional techniques and simplicity and a "every one can do it" attitude — in opposition to "the popular" regarding the commodification of music and the commersialization of the music industry. Punk artists, wanting to be neither "art" nor "popular" created a space in between (Garnett 1999:21).

The subject of this paper, poet, musician, songwriter and painter Patti Smith is often related to the punk movement, although she is not a punk artist in the narrowest sense. She is often labeled as the "godmother of punk". Her single "Piss Factory" (1974) and the following debut-album Horses (1975) are cited as among the first punk releases by many rock history books and rock encyclopedias, preceeding Sex Pistols "Anarcy in the UK " (1976) and Never Mind the Bullocks (1977). I will not make the effort here to define punk — according to Roger Sabin in his introduction to punk rock: so what? (1999) this is also a very complex and emotional subject. But Patti Smith's early work exemplifies the dynamics of punk aesthetics, exploring the fields of "high" and "low", depicting the committed artist as a rebel and outsider of society. She has inspired a lot of other artists, both punk musicians and others, among them Bono of U2, Thurston Moore of Sonic Youth and Michael Stipe of R.E.M.

In this paper I will focus on her commercially most sucsessful releases, Easter. "Resurrection" is chosen as a headliner for several reasons. First, it seems to connect to her biography. She has had long periods of withdrawals from the public and several critics called her comeback in 1995 an artistic resurrection. Village Voice critic Evelyn McDonnel writes:

And since much of the impetus and focus of Smith's new work involves her testimony as a witness to death, it's perhaps understandable that her return has been described not as the comeback of some bygone idol, but as a ressurection (McDonnel 1995).

The album Easter came after a severe accident were she fell from stage and was hospitalized for a long time. Second, it seems to be a central theme of the album as a whole. The main event of the christian celebration of Easter is of course the resurrection of Christ, and the phenomenon of resurrection is interpreted and alluded to in several songs and poems written on the album cover. In a recently published collection of he lyrics, she tells how the accident inspired her to read the gospels, and that the idea of resurrection was central in the making of Easter:

As we developed the material for Easter, these things were on my mind: the miracle of physical movement, the transmutation of energy through performance, and the idea of resurrection. Whether as a phoenix rising from the ashes or as a human being who just fell and got up again (Smith 1998:76).

Finally, it seems that "resurrection" in a broader sense describes Patti Smith's understanding of the making of art and the role of the artist: transforming, translating, transcending.

Since the work of Patti Smith may be relatively unknown to the readers of this paper, I'll begin with a short biographical scetch, placing her in the context of the New York underground art scene at the end of 1960's and beginning of the 1970's and following her career up to her latest release, Gong Ho (2000). Patti Smith's biography constantly turns up in the public interpretation of her work, sometimes in ways I find very problematic (see for example Johnstone 1997), so the purpose of this scetch is solely to give an idea of what kind of artist she is.

The following interpretations are not meant to be complete in any way, they are by all means "first readings", "try outs" and some might end rather abruptly. My "method" at this stage is association, following certain clues, leaving things I don't understand out. Much work has been spent on establishing the text, what Patti Smith actually sings may differ from the text found in published collections of her song texts, such asPatti Smith Complete and the website a patti smith babelogue.

Biographical scetch
Patti (Patricia Lee) Smith was born December 30, 1946 in Chicago, but grew up in Philadelphia and later New Jersey. She became strongly interested in poetry in her youth, naming Arthur Rimbaud and Bob Dylan among her early "idols". After abruptly quitting art classes, she moved to New York at the end of the 60's. Here she became involved with the underground art scene, writing for music magazines acting and collaborating with among others the playwriter Sam Shepard. She met photographer Robert Mapplethorpe and they moved together. She began writing lyrics for other band such as the Blue Oyster Cult and read her own poetry as a warm-up act for the pioneer punk group New York Dolls. Her first book of poetry, Seventh Heaven, was published in 1972, followed by among others kodak (1972) and WITT (1973).

With her readings of poetry, usually backed by guitarist Lenny Kaye and keyboardist Richard Sohl, she became part of the emerging punk scene in New York. They teamed up with guitarist Tom Verlaine from Television and recorded the single "Hey Joe", with "Piss Factory" on the b-side. Shortly thereafter they formed the Patti Smith Group and had a lengthy stay at CGBG (originally "CGBG and OMFUG", "Country, Bluegrass and Blues and Other Music For Urban Gourmets"). Their concerts were instrumental in making this place the major punk and new wave club in New York, were groups like the Ramones, Television and Talking Heads would play regularly. Patti Smith Group were among the first punk/new wave groups signed to a major label. Their first album, Horses, was produced by the Velvet Underground's John Cale and was very well received both by the music press and the public and are regarded today as a classic. The cover, a black and white photo of Patti smith taken by Robert Mapplethorpe, created much debate. It shows Patti Smith in an androgynious pose, dressed in black trousers, white shirt and a tie around her neck — "my Rimbaudian pose" as she describes it — avoiding all the stereotypes attributed to female rock artists at that time. In poetry and song in her early period she often challenges gender stereotypes, exploring male and female sexuality and gender ambiguity.

Their next recording, Radio Ethiopia (1976), did not get so good reviews and sold poorly. It was during the tour that followed that she fell down from stage and had to withdraw for a while. In 1978 she published her most extensive book of poetry, Babel, and the same year came Easter. The song "because the night", co-written with Bruce Springsteen, hit the charts both in the US and UK, which meant a commercial breakthrough for the Patti Smith Group. They made one more record, Wave (1979) before Patti Smith withdrew from the public. She married guitarist Fred "Sonic" Smith of the legendary pre punk group MC5, and they raised two children. She stepped into the public again for a short time with Dreams of Life (1988), produced by Fred Smith.

Robert Mapplethorpe died of AIDS in 1989, and the poems in The Coral Sea (1994) are written in honor of him. Duing 1994-5 several of her closest friends passed away, among them her husband Fred Smith and brother Todd, and her comeback album, Gone Again (1996) centers around the theme of life and death. Since then she has released two albums, Peace and Noise (1997) and Gung Ho (2000). Since the middle of the 90's she has appeared in public again, both with poetry readings, concerts and tours. Her memoirs will be published in October.

Some characteristics of Patti Smith's work
Patti Smith constantly refers to other "texts" in her poetry and lyrics, which calls for an intertextual reading. Some of these "texts" are persons, many of them she celebrates as idols, heroes. Artists, rock'n roll stars, poets and models such as Brancusi, Jackson Pollock, Jimi Hendrix, Mick Jagger, Burroughs, Edie Sedgwick, Marianne Faithfull turn up in poems and songs and lend their myth to the interpretation. Other "texts" are pieces of art, poems, films, music created by others which also intermingles with the reading of her work. Finally, she often refer two her own work, interpolates earlier poems in new songs, writing several texts with same or similar titles. "easter" is for example a poem published in Babel, another poem written on the cover of Easter and a song, all three quite different texts.

Patti Smith herself makes a distinction between poems and song texts, and generally it's possible to discern the difference in her writings. But many of her song texts are undoubtely inspired by poetic practices, sometimes portions of the song are interpolated readings of poetic passages. Her poetry is on the other hand influenced by music, with emphasis on sound and rythm.

The typing of her early poetry can often differ from conventional rules. She seldom uses capital letters, certain words are shortened, and some are spelled mor in line with slang. Some examples are "w/future" instead of "with the future, "rythums" instead of "rythm". In quotations of her work, I will follow her typing.

Easter

the cover
Easter is maybe not a concept album, were every song is related to one idea, but it is still thematically much more coherent than usual rock albums. Many of the songs are dealing with the theme of life and death, transformation and god. This is evident already on the cover. Also this time the front cover photography was debated. It's the first and only with color, a picture of Patti in warm, flesh or earth colors. This time in a more feminine gesture, playing with her hair. And the obstacle this time was that she exposed her armpit hair(!) On the record sleeves are notes or poems by Patti to each song (but not the song lyrics), and a poem called "Easter (la resurrection). There is also a quotation from 2. Timothy 4,7: "I have fought a good fight, i have finished my course..." And there is several black and white photographs, three of them taken by Robert Mapplethorpe. The first is of the american flag called "Fire Island". The other two of Patti Smith, printed on the cover of this paper. These two might be a commentary on the theme "resurrection". The first is called "patti-dark". Here she is dressed in black wearing trousers and shirt, blindfolded with her back to the curtain covered wall. The other is called "patti-light". This time dressed in a white gown with a white cloth draped on her shoulders. She has turned her back towards us, as if she looks through the curtains. The first picture might suggest a state of unknowing, blindness rebelry and struggle. The second shows Patti after the transformation, "resurrection": seeing not at us, the world, but through the curtain, through the veil ( a recurring word on the album), looking into the mystery or wathever that is on the other side.

The record contain nine tracks ("godspeed" is added as a bonus track on the cd re-issue of the patti smith masters). Those I'm not interpreting in this paper are "space monkey", "because the night", "privilege (set me free)", "we three" and "25th floor/high on rebellion". Both "privilege" and "25th floor" were intended for interpretation, but were left out due to limited time. I'll only mention that "privilege" contains readings of Psalm 23.

till victory
As the title suggests, "till victory" starts off in a triumphant and rocking mode. The song is in E major, and for the first two stanzas the chord structure is quite simple, changing between E, A and B major. Also Patti Smith's voice sounds triumphant and optimistic, singing out loud. The lyrics are quite different from regular pop and rock lyrics — they don't tell a story. They are associative, create images, raise moods, and are not easy to understand. Still it's possible to discern a basic song structure, ABA, and we find other structuring elements such as rythm and rhyme. The first stanza evokes images of flying, "raise the sky, we got to fly/over the land over the sea". Then follows a hint to the album's resurrection theme: "if we die souls arise". She asks God not to seize her "till victory". The last part of the stanza is a proud expression of freedom and a call to make a direction, to "ignite exite". There is no one to bow to or vow to or blame.

The music changes right after the beginning of the next stanza. Both voice and accompaniment are softer. Also the melody changes and different chord structures are introduced. The mood becomes more dreamlike and the visionary aspect of the lyrics is underscored: "you will see us coming/V formation through the sky". At the end of this part, the words "down and round, round and round" are repeated, which underlines the dreamlike character of the song. The music builds up, and a new stanza is introduced after a break, this time returning to the first melodic and harmonic pattern. Some of the words here have mystical or religious associations. The "veil" could refer to the temple curtain that was torn in two at the death of Jesus, described in Mark 15,37-38. The next line is even closer to the Easter-event: "The nail. The grail. That's all behind thee", where "nail" would be refering to the nails of the cross and the grail to the last supper." "That's all behind thee" might then be referring to the resurrection. The last lines of the stanza repeat the first stanza. The music modulates a half step up to F#, which underscore the triumphant mode, and the words "till victory" are repeated.

This song clearly celebrates a victory, a victory that in some way lies in the future, but which also is present due to something that has happened in the past. This is a liberating victory, there is no one "to bow to. to vow to". If the song refers to easter and the event of resurrection, the "in-between" time is in line with christian beliefs: Christ won a victory that Easter long ago, a victory that will be completed when He returns the final day. This line of thought is more elaborately expressed in the song "Sunday, Bloody Sunday" by U2, a group that on several occasions has expressed their appreciation of Patti Smith (Opsahl 1998:37-38)

ghost dance
Musically, "ghost dance" resembles native american spirituality. In her liner notes Smith explains how the american plain indians used the ghost dance to "resurrect their forefathers — those gone from form. a system to survive-revive-and conquer". She tells us she likes the beauty of "communication w/past and future thru the sounds and rythums of the present". But she dislikes the racial aspect, since only american indians were allowed in the dance. Her own version is offered as a "neo-ghost dance. dedicated to the union; the communion of the future setting the space for the year to come-1979-the year of the child."

The simple and repetitive minor theme, with the band members chanting "Tayi taya tayi aye aye" in a responsorial fashion certainly gives the impression of a native american song, although the voice quality sounds more mellow and trained. The ethnic flavor is underscored by the instrumental backing, with hand drum, shaken bells, accoustic gitar and flute. The repeated text line "We shall live again, we shall live again" is excerpted from an original paiute chant, Throughout the song there are references to the dancing itself: "shake out the ghost dance", "One foot extended, snake to the ground" and "Stretch out your arms now tip and swing". In the first stanza we find references to the Old Testament, to the sending of manna to the Israelites (Ex 16) What is it children that falls from the sky [...] Mannah from heaven from the most high". This is "food from the Father" shared with peace among brothers. Although knowing little about native american religion, I guess that the general character of these words can also apply to native american beliefs. But later the address becomes more specific, "Here we are, Father, Lord, Holy Ghost". The following line refers to the bread of the Communion. The chanters of the song are identified as this bread, and also as "the tears that fall from your eyes/word of your word cry of your cry". It seems like " communication w/past and future" — note here the similar "in-between" of times as found in "till victory" — takes place through the trinitarian god of the christian tradition more than through the spirits of the ancestors in the original ghost dance. The hope for resurrection expressed in "we shall live again" is connected to the communion: "we" are the elements of the communion which are raised in the communion.

The purpose of a chant of this kind would be to enter a new state of mind, a trance, a special condition were communication with other worlds is made possible. At the end of the song, the music intensifies and the words are less intelligible. Here the sentences are structured as a series of direct questions to the father. At this point the lyrics printed in Patti Smith Complete are quite different from the recorded version. The much shorter printed version begins: "What is it Father that turns to the right/What is it Father in your holy light" which appears later in the song version as "What is it Father holy that night/What is it Father that moves to the right". The printed version is less complicated, simpler and down to earth, while the song seems to explore the joy of the special, extatic moment:

What is it Father [...] that makes me feel just what I need
You used to fly me the way to speed
[...] What is it Father, that makes me spin around
What is it Father, that brings me down

babelogue/rock' n' roll nigger
And now something completely different. While the first two songs discussed in this paper suggest a certain "peace with God", "babelogue/rock n roll nigger" is more rebellious in character, more in line with much of her earlier works, cfr the opening line on "gloria" from Horses: Jesus died for somebodys sins, but not mine". On this track two performances are spliced together: a reading of the poem "babelogue" in front of a live audience, and a studio recording of the song "rock n roll nigger"."babelogue" was first published in Babel, then in Early Work 1970-79, with slight alterations which we will return to. The printed version in Patti Smith Complete is close to the recorded version, including word repetions not found in the original. The typing is also more in line with the reading, "with the past" instead of "w/the past". I'm a bit suspicious about the version on the album as a live recording. To me it sounds like the audience response has been altered to make a rythmic effect, the clapping becoming increasingly more intense toward the end. My suggestion is that the audience response is sampled from the ending of a concert, maybe just before the group reenters to play a couple of extra tunes, and then mixed in with the reading.

The reading of "babelogue" sounds ecstatic, as if she gets into a trance or orgasm. She sometimes stutters, words are repeated, and certain words are spit out. In her early period, Patti Smith often links the act of writing/reading poetry with sex. In interviews from that time she explains that sex is an integral part of her writing process, and that she sits by the typewriter and masturbates while writing. In an interview for the magazine Oui she states:

First I wrote stuff that entertained. Then, as a teenager, I discovered Rimbaud and I realized that you can be entertained by words sexually in some place other than your sex organs. I discovered what I call 'brainiac amour'–when you fuck with the mind. Not when you mind-fuck somebody; not like you're trying to be hot shit or out-cool or out-Jesse James somebody, but like when you're fucking with someone. That's what Rimbaud did to me. That's a big step up from Jo in Little Women, I'll tell you. [...] Consciously I don't sit down to write anything. I just love the creative process. It's really sexy. Genet wrote to turn himself on so he could jerk himself off. But women are multi-orgasmic, so they can do it all day. (Cohen 1976)

This is thematized in several of her poems, like "Seventh Heaven" and "Dream of Rimbaud" (Smith 1994), and is also hinted at in "babelogue":

i would measure the success of a night by the way by the way by the amount of piss and seed i could exude over the columns that nestled the PA.

The linking of the sexual and the excremental is also a recurrent theme, as is the at times violent imagery. The poem starts out with the past-future timeline we found in "till victory" and "ghost dance", but expressed differently: "i haven't fucked much with the past, but i've fucked plenty with the future". The making of art is hinted at with references to rock, the concert stages, PA systems and lighting. After waking up she lies peacefully with her "knees open to the sun. i desire him, and he is absolutely ready to seize me" ("serve me" in the Early Works version). While this indicates a sexual act, it might also refer to the making of art as a bodily action, which is supported by the often quoted line that follows: "in heart i'm a moslem, in heart i'm an american artist and i have no guilt (Early Works version reads "in house i'm an moslem, in heart i'm an american artist"). I'm unsure of the meaning of "moslem". In Babel there is a section called "Muhammedia" which may give some clues. But the rest of the line states the freedom of the artist, no guilt, or no one "to bow to. to make vow to". And as an artist she seeks pleasure and "worships the flaw". The art is in the flawed, like the imperfect on something that otherwise appears to be excellent, or as she puts it, like "the mole on the belly of an exquisite whore". Then she makes an interesting turn on an old proverb: "he spared the child and spoiled the rod" (originally "spare the rod and spoil the child"). The poem ends with once again underlining the freedom of the artist: i have not sold myself to god". The version in Early Works (The original Babel version will be checked when available) has a different ending, where it's the exquisite whore that has not "sold herself to god or man or any other".

The title "babelogue" and Babel, where it was originally printed, refers to the biblical tower of Babel (Genesis 11:1-9) where the Lord "made a babble of the language of the whole world". In order to avoid the clichés, the trappings of ordinary language and conventions of established art and poetry, the artist and poet has to revert to this unintelligible babble, according to Smith. It is to "worship the flaws". Poetry is "babel-logue". Out of the worthless, "the piss", "the mole", the babble rises art. "babelogue" might also have a feminine connotation, as in "babe-logue". Other texts suggest that Smith tries to establish a feminine practice of writing. This has to be explored later, maybe in companywith Hélène Cixous (cf. Cixous 1996 and1997).

The reading fades into "rock n roll nigger", were the racially dubious term "nigger" refers to the artist, wether the artist is a rock star, painter or a religious savior. All these are "Niggers" living "outside of society". This song, together with "25th floor/high on rebellion"is the closest we get to punk on this album, with heavy guitar-riffs and Patti Smith screaming out loud. The song celebrates both the pain and the pleasure of art:

Those who have suffered, understand suffering
And thereby extend their hand
the storm that brings harm
Also makes fertileblessed is the grass
And herb and the true thorn and light

Suffering and destruction are transformed into creative, lifegiving processes. On the other hand, both the pleasures and pains have a price: "I was lost in a valley of pleasure [...] i was lost and the cost/was to be outside of society". The provocative ending, stating that "Jimi Hendrix was a nigger/Jesus Christ and grandma too/Jackson Pollock was a nigger" — the word "nigger" is repeated and spit out —celebrates the status of being "outside of society".

easter
As indicated earlier, the title track and concluding song of Easter (the bonus track"godspeed" is added in the patti smith masters), links to other texts by Patti Smith. The poem printed on the cover is subtitled "la resurrection". But it also links to "texts" outside of her work, poets and rock legends, among them Little Richard, Arthur Rimbaud and Cain. Thus it also links to yet other works by Smith, such as the poems "dream of rimbaud" and "dead rimbaud" and the record Radio Ethiopia (Rimbaud spend the last part of his life as a coffeebroker in Ethiopia). There is a picture of Arthur and Frédéric Rimbaud's first communion, and Patti Smith writes in the liner notes:

one morning about a hundred years before little richard baptised america with rock n roll, arthur and frederic and their sisters isabelle and vitalie labored thru the streets of charleville in white ribbons and cloth of blue to receive their first communion. close to the church it was arthur who broke formation and called to the other rimbaud children to come run with him thru the field, past the chapel off a bridge into the cold and finite waters of a river that led to the warm and infinite blood of christ.

The music sets a sacral mood, with organ, chimes and a groove that waves like church bells. At the end a bagpipe is woven into the chimes, creating a mysterious atmosphere. To me, it looks like the narrator of the song is Arthur Rimbaud himself, talking to his brother Frédéric and sisters Isabella and Vitalie that morning of the first communion. This happens on Easter Sunday. The narrator takes farewell with his brother and sisters, the "time has come". He tells Frederick and Vitalie that the Savior "dwells inside of Thee" and that "the path leads to the sun". But (s)he is mainly talking to Isabel, telling her that all is glowing, all is knowing" and later that we are dying, we are rising". (S)he shares with her a special knowledge, a mystic revelation. The last part of the text is spoken, with a soft voice, (s)he reveals (her)himself as the "spring of the holy ground", "seed of mystery", "ambassador of dreams", prince of peace", "the sword, the wound the stain", with imagery that clearly associates with the crucified Christ. This identification with Christ gets an interesting turn in the next line, "scourned transfigured child of Cain". This links to very old gnostic traditions, where Cain and later Judas Ischariot are the true messengers of God, knowing the deepest "mystery of betrayal" (quoted after Irenaeus telling about the Cainittes and citing their gospel of Judas). I'll read this as if it's Rimbaud who is the scourned transfigured child of Cain, but now resurrected. Arthur Rimbaud is then the artist, who without compromise follows the path of art, and are now rising — resurrection through art.

But maybe Patti Smith is Arthur Rimbaud is Christ?

Patti Smith gives an interesting etymology on the album cover:

the word cain means worker... slayer... smith. a smith is one most wretched and blessed.

I'll have to end here, there are of course much more to this poem, but I'm running out of time. I will only point out that there is a possibility that several on the songs on the record, are following the patterns of the Easter celebration. "till victory" ghetsemane (don't seize me till victory), ghost dance - the last supper ("the communion of the future"), maybe rock n roll nigger - jesus as outcast and sentenced to death - good friday, finally "easter"-Easter Sunday.

Sources
Patti Smith Easter, Arista Records 1978, from The Patti Smith Masters, Arista Records 1996

Patti Smith (1994) Early Works 1970-79, W. W. Norton Company, New York

— (1998) Patti Smith Complete. Lyrics, Reflections and Notes for the Future. Doubleday, New York 1998

Fiona Webster and j.BOLt., site managers a patti smith babelogue, http://www.oceanstar.com/patti/

The Revised English Bible, Oxford 1989

Bockris, Victor (1998) Patti Smith. Fourth Estate, London

Cixous, Hélène (1996) "Å komme til skriften", pp 22-56 in Nattspråk, Pax forlag, Oslo

(1997) Rootprints. Memory and life writing. Routledge, London

*Cohen, Scott (1976) "Patti Smith. How a Little Girl Took Over a Tough Gang: The Hard-Rock Poets," Oui, July 1976

Erlewine et al (1997) All Music Guide to Rock. Miller Freeman Books, San Francisco

Frith, Simon & Horne (1987) Art into Pop. Methuen, London

Garnett, Robert (1999) "Too low to be low: art pop and the Sex Pistols", pp 17-30 in Sabin, Roger ed. (1999) punk rock: so what: the cultural legacy of punk, Routledge, London and New York

Johnstone, Ian (1995) Bad Seed. The biography of Nick Cave. Little, Brown and Company, Boston

Johnstone, Nick (1997) Patti Smith. A Biography. Omnibus Press, London

*McDonnel, Evelyn (1995) "Because the Night," The Village Voice. August 1, 1995

Noland, Carrie Jaurès (1995) "Rimbaud and Patti Smith: Style as Social Deviance",Critical Inquiry, vol 21, nr. 3, Chicago pp 581-610.

Opsahl, Carl Petter (1998) "Rock og bibelfortelling" pp31-41 in Bilde, rom og fortelling. Rapport fra etterutdanningskurs for lærere 1996, Det teologiske fakultet

Ward, Stokes and Tucker (1986) Rock of Ages. The Rolling Stone History of Rock & Roll. Summit Boks/Rolling Stone Press, New York

*interviews found on the web site a patti smith babelogue, http://www.oceanstar.com/patti . Has to be checked against paper editions.