[s] -- also published in Seventh Heaven
[k] -- also published in kodak
[w] -- also published in Witt
[b] -- also published in Babel
[e] -- also published in Early Works
Several of the poems were changed between earlier and later publications. Changes in text layout, punctuation, and spelling are not noted below, but changes in wording are described.
Some of these poems were recorded by Patti either as lyrics or as spoken poems (sometimes as part of a song).
[r] -- recorded as published
[r'] -- heavily modified (e.g. truncated and used in part of another song)
For instance "piss factory" has an [r] as it seems to be the lyrics as read on the single, while "prayer" gets an [r'] because the end part is used in "Seven Ways of Going" from Wave. (There was also an unreleased recording of the poem ca. 1973.) However, slight differences in wording between poem versions and song versions are not noted.
Additional notes are indicated with numbers in brackets. [sic] indicates apparently unintended misspellings in titles.
See bibliography page for full publication details on all of Patti's books.
[2'] Similar poem to version in Rundgren LP insert -- identical up to line 15 ("spit pure ivory"), then continues as follows:
carve my face like a rock
bleed me scapegoat me
alarm me clock clock me
chain me to a rock me
rock me rock me
clever as a fox me
brand a star
on my right shoulder
left my spirit lights
behind a boulder
holding to my face forever
knowing I'll go on forever
laughing free as water
in a ring of fire
with its hair aflame
[3] Titles in brackets are the titles from later publications of the same text.
[4] "prayer" is used in part on the song "Seven Ways of Going" on Wave, and also in "The Histories of the Universe" on the You're a Hook compilation LP.
[5] The kodak version of "Balance" does not have the phrase
"language à la McClure" in the last stanza, as in the later two versions.
[7] "conch" is changed from earlier version: the word "rhythm" is changed to Patti's preferred "rhythum."
[8] The full title of "judith revisited" is "judith revisited (fragments) / the ladies room is ravaged" -- the text is the same in all three published versions.
[10] "ain't it strange" is a song on Radio Ethiopia.
[11] "babelogue", "high on rebellion", and "space monkey" are songs on Easter, but the poem "easter" bears no resemblance to the title track of that album.
[12] "the sheep lady from algiers" resurfaces as some of the lyrics in "Broken Flag" on Wave.
[13] "babel field" was released on a 12" of "Privilege (set me free)" in
Australia.
[15] "amelia earheart" combines "amelia earheart I" and "amelia earheart II" from Seventh Heaven.
[16] "piss factory" is the lyrics to the first Patti Smith single, 1974.
[17] "notice 2" is changed from earlier versions: "which attempts to penetrate the mystery of her." becomes "which attempts to penetrate the mystery of. . . ."
[18] "ha! ha! houdini" was originally published as a chapbook by Gotham Book Mart, 1977.
[19] "easter" is changed significantly, in several places, between Babel and Early Work. Neither version bears any resemblance to the title track of Easter.
[20] "land" was incorporated into the song "land" on Horses.
[21] "grant" is changed from earlier version: "today i've spent some time with my father. i have watched and listened and opened w/ him." becomes "today is sunday. i've spent it with my father. i have watched and listened and opened w/ him."
[22] "corps de plane" is changed from earlier version. In Babel section iii reads:
there are three voices within one cool white voice. when any one of these experience ecstasy, pain, or is at the summit of certain and concentrative mania, i exorcise my right of telepathic pleasure pull.when one is fucking someone else i cry a name softly and then my own over and over until i know i've gotten thru. sometimes it's a long and wrenching process. often instant success, but i get thru. i cannot be forgotten nor blotted out. likewise, when i am experiencing something to be shared, i leave a traceable space open for any three of the one to slide and come in. i am not beautiful but vain enough to attempt to conquer distance. and breathless sleep.
In Early Work section iii reads:
a child is watching a war movie. the bomber pilots have a 50-50 chance and they know it. there is nothing to loose. victory is on the other side of boredom. i am watching the same movie. it fills me with anxiety, agony. the moves of these brave faces reduce my own adventures to the mere turnings of a petticoat. what experience could i enter that could compare to this?
This passage has been moved verbatim from the earlier version of "combe." (See [29].)
[23] "babel field" is changed significantly, in several places, between Babel and Early Work. One version of it (?? which one) was released on a 12" of "Privilege (set me free)" in Australia.
[24] "babelogue" is a song on the album Easter. The Early Works version of "babelogue" is changed from earlier version: "one who has not sold her soul to god" (same as on Easter) becomes "one who has not sold her soul to god or man nor any other."
[25] "high on rebellion" is a song on the album Easter. The Early Works version of "high on rebellion" is changed from earlier version: "i am lapping cocaine from the hard brown palm of the bouncer" becomes "i am lapping S from the hard brown palm of the bouncer."
[26] the text of "the salvation of rock" is not changed on re-publication, but a dedication is added: "To Fred Sonic Smith"
[27] "munich" is changed from earlier version. In Babel the paragraph starting with "the shops have closed" includes this passage:
i take her in a car parked out in back. the music is loud and boring. the lights strobing. i was thinking of driving her back to my room but decided to take her right there in the car. i was grateful for her stupidity, her pretty dress and her quaaludes. i had her kneel for me. i had her bend and i had her nuts. i tweaked her nipples and numbed her pussy by massaging her with a low circular motion. she was still in panties. i worked her over slow and machine like. she lost control and dropped a shoe. inside it was a wad of german marks which i palmed. she opened for a kiss and i inserted a small pink eraser. i left her cursing and gagging and exited with my guardian angel on his motorcycle.
In Early Works this passage reads:
i take her in a car parked out in back. the music is loud and boring. the lights strobing. i am grateful for her stupidity, her pretty dress and her quaaludes. she looses control and drops a shoe. inside a wad of german marks which i palm. she opens for a kiss and i insert a small pink eraser. i leave her cursing and gagging and exit with my angel on his motorcycle.
Also, in the next paragraph, "the challenging dilemma of drugs" is changed to "the dilemma of drugs.
[28] "thread" is changed from earlier version. In Early Work the second paragraph ends with the line "it's my rare and exquisite fortune of torture," whereas in Babel that paragraph continues as follows:
your name fills me with wonder. sounds you transmit i decipher. in labor i chose not to see my creation not attach name nor gender. only the sound of birth did i wish to preserve in my consciousness. my own sound was riddled with hard spickle. it became the rough edges of a piece of sculpture. the most base of a madam. an immense and speeding poon. no one to bow to. no one to blame.
[30] "wave" is the recitation for the title track of the album Wave.