Well, it’s a long story (lol) but I’ll say this one is dedicated to Eminem’s soft silly side, and that woman who made my name tag that one time 🥹🏷️

Hi, my name is (not Celine Dion) • Hip Pop Jazz, Quirky Stuff, a true story • Bananasutra(SHOW)

A (few variations of a) song dedicated to all truth-tellers (some of them born gay) victims of dictatorial oppression, with much love... vive la Vérité, vive la Résistance!

"(I Wanted to Be a) Poem" is an experimental jazzy psychedelic song I wrote around the quote “I thought I wanted to be a poet but basically, I wanted to be the poem”; it is lyrically structured after the song “Summertime”, and directly inspired by the following essay about Jaime Gil de Biedma—an introverted, humble poet who lived under the Franco dictatorship, during the Spanish Inquisition (early last century)…

-
“Perhaps poetry is best minted under pressure. Poetry that lasts. (...)

Jaime Gil de Biedma lived under Franco. Born in 1929 in Barcelona, Biedma was six when Federico Garcia Lorca was killed by Franco’s troops in Granada. Famously, the story goes that as they shot Lorca his murderers said: “Three shots in the ass for Garcia Lorca for being a faggot.” His body was never found. (…)

Silence carves these poems. He wrote his poems under a dictator who was famous for saying, “You are master of what you don’t say.” Maybe all poems are carved by silence. Think Dickinson. Think Hopkins. Silence can equal life. Here silence is particularly historic in a way it no longer is. Franco shut Spain up. The ground rich with unidentified corpses. Homosexuality denied in a regime that aligned itself with the conservative Catholic Church.

But poetry. Poetry provides a passport to transcendence when pressures seem unsurmountable: and more than thrice a poetry created under pressure in silence trumps death.

As Biedma began to put pen to paper, what preceded him was daunting. All the major poets had vanished: Machado on a death march, Lorca shot, Hernandez dead in prison, Cernuda fled to Mexico and never returned. Decades rolled on, censorship reigned, and torpid inertia smothered art. (...)

Poetry remains indestructible. Poetry outlasts Franco and AIDS. So long as men and women can breathe museums will preserve artifacts and a poet like Biedma will add to the record of what life was like under oppression.”

[06] I Wanted to Be the Poem - Bluesy Burlesque JAZZ

This BLUES to JAZZ to DUB to Cello INDIE to gratitude MANTRA GROWsutra EP is for humans who carem and dare to be brave... and sometimes may even "weep, just knowing dogs exist"! Fair warning: it makes my heart howl, loud and long and deep inside :) 

Lyrics inspired by a friend who triggered the (good:) remembering of my WOW feelings as a teenager, after reading Herman Hesse's fabulous tale of the "Steppenwolf"--a powerfool story of not knowing yet knowing, that despair is as glorious as laughter, and tender wonder is simply everything!
 
I also want to dedicate this one to Lotus (the dog:), and my 2 all-time favorite women in the entire world, Alev and Celinha, who happened to meet in Istanbul tonight. They sent me sincere tender love, and I really felt it! And so now, I just want to take a minute to share how much I care for them, too, even if I'm not always the best at sharing it. I believe they know I care, but I want to write it here anyway, because it's alway a good idea to remember what we remember we feel, and... I love you so very much, for the bright, tender, loving humans you are, and all the light and win-wins you shared with me (and so many others)--I even weeped a little, just knowing you exist #ingratitude ✨

--
@bananasutra "Tune in the Tender" lyrics 

I still care  
I still cry  
And maybe  
That’s why I’m still here  

They said this world is mad  
I nodded, not in rage  
But in quiet wonder  
When light hits trees just right  
It breaks me open, soft and bright  
And yeah  
Some days I weep  
Just knowing dogs exist  

I’m not broken  
Just tuned  
Tuned… differently  

Tune in the tender  
Don’t numb it down  
You’re not too much  
You’re still sound  

They call it fragile  
But it’s forged in love  
Steel that won’t go cold  
Even when the world begs  

I remember that book  
A howl in paper skin  
A mirror made of myth  
It didn’t teach  
It reminded  
I am legion  
Laughter and despair  
Wolf and wanderer  
Cynic, saint  
Divine mess  
Holy pulse  

Tune in the tender  
Don’t dim that glow  
Your tears still mean  
You’re tuned to soul  

When I cry  
It’s not weakness  
It’s ritual  
A remembering  
That I’m still here  
That I’m still real  

Tears are proof  
I haven’t let  
This mad mean world  
Make me small  

I can’t fix it all  
But I can sing  
Whisper to the dark  
You’re not alone  

And someone  
Somewhere  
Will hear that tune  
In the tender…  


[02] Tune in the Tender • LOFI JAZZsutra

Another KNOWsutra EP, with 12 variations of 3 old songs, about truth and religion—inspired by this quote from the (brilliant, deep, subtle, and lovely) one and only Joseph Campbell: "Every religion is true one way or another. It is true when understood metaphorically. But when it gets stuck in its own metaphors, interpreting them as facts, then you are in trouble"... because, oh boy, ain't that true, heh Murica?! ;)

@banasutra lyrics x3:

—
(V1) Metaphor’s Edge

[Verse 1]
On the edge of belief, we teeter and sway,
Caught between fact and the words we obey.
But a story untold is no story at all,
Yet frozen in truth, it leads to our fall.

[Chorus]
Oh, take the edge, the metaphor’s kiss,
Find the meaning that others may miss.
Don’t get stuck in the riddle’s disguise,
For only the open can truly be wise.

[Verse 2]
Wolves in the sheep’s clothes, prophets of gold,
Tell you the gospel, but the message grows cold.
The tale is the journey, not the walls that confine,
To walk with the wind is to walk with the divine.

[Chorus]
Oh, take the edge, the metaphor’s kiss,
Find the meaning that others may miss.
Don’t get stuck in the riddle’s disguise,
For only the open can truly be wise.

—
(V2) Sacred Shadows

[Verse 1]
Whispers in the dark, they speak of heaven’s gate,
A tale so ancient, but twisted by fate.
We worship the shadows, forget what they’re for,
In the light of the moon, we must search for more.

[Chorus]
When the sacred becomes stone, the spirit slips away,
You’ll lose the dance of night for the brightness of day.
But it’s in the shadow that truth comes to play,
Hold the sacred as fluid, don’t let it decay.

[Verse 2]
The stars above speak in riddles, in shapes we misread,
We build temples of answers, but they’re just what we need.
To feel safe in the chaos, to feel known in the void,
But if you make it concrete, all the magic’s destroyed.

[Chorus]
When the sacred becomes stone, the spirit slips away,
You’ll lose the dance of night for the brightness of day.
But it’s in the shadow that truth comes to play,
Hold the sacred as fluid, don’t let it decay.

—
(V3) The Song of the Universe

[Verse 1]
Every story’s got a secret, hiding in plain view,
It’s a mirror for your soul, shaping what you knew.
But you’ll drown in deep illusion, if you take it word for word,
When metaphors become the law, meaning gets blurred.

[Chorus]
Oh, the trouble with truth, when it’s set in stone,
Is that it loses its mystery, leaves you all alone.
Dance with the shadows, don’t hold on too tight,
For the song of the universe shines in metaphor’s light.

[Verse 2]
Priests and prophets, saints and fools, all walk the same line,
But the more they cling to “truth,” the further from divine.
The symbols are the guideposts, not the end of the road,
But some mistake the map for the meaning it showed.

[Chorus]
Oh, the trouble with truth, when it’s stuck in the past,
Is that it forgets it’s a tale, not a spell meant to last.
Dance with the shadows, don’t hold on too tight,
For the song of the universe shines in metaphor’s light.


[09] Joseph Campbell's Truth Metaphors - Sacred Shadows - KNOWsutra Oh Lordy DUB

If this song got you shrugging, smirking, or squirming, man, please pause... and tell me why? 

🩸🩸🩸

@bananasutra lyrics:

[Intro]  
They say it’s “too much.”  
Too bloody.  
Too messy.  
Too loud.  
Too real.  
So I ask…

[Verse 1]  
Why’s it taboo to talk of blood,  
When half the world’s got cycles that flood?  
Why’s it shameful to name a cramp,  
But not to wave a warlord’s stamp?

Why is “discharge” more feared than lies?  
Why do men squirm while a woman dries—  
her tears, her womb, her sleepless nights,  
while they debate her basic rights?

[Chorus]  
Taboo for who?  
Who made the rules?  
Who taught us shame  
in sterile schools?  
It ain’t biology that’s the crime—  
It’s silence weaponized through time.  

Taboo for who?  
'Cause I’m not scared—  
I’ll sing what’s real  
since they don’t dare.

[Verse 2]  
Why is menopause met with a shrug,  
while old white men get pills to plug  
their shriveled pride with pharma might,  
but women sweat through silent nights?

Why is "hormonal" used as a slur,  
when the whole damn system *depends* on her?  
Why don’t they teach us bone will thin?  
Why ain’t that in the doc’s quick spin?

Why is a womb a ticking clock  
unless it births, then it’s forgot?  
Why is my pain dismissed as flair—  
while men’s complaints get urgent care?

[Bridge]  
It’s not taboo 'cause it’s grotesque,  
it’s taboo 'cause it shows who’s next.  
It shows resilience, mess, and might—  
and that’s what gives the boys a fright.

[Interlude]  
Let’s be honest.  
It’s not about discomfort.  
It’s about control.  
And they’re losing it.

[Final Chorus]  
Taboo for who?  
I call your bluff.  
Your squeamish pride?  
Ain’t good enough.  
This ain’t shame—it’s sacred truth.  
It’s guts and fire and ancient proof.

Taboo for who?  
I name the cost—  
Of every silence  
and line we’ve crossed.  
So take your fear and go regroup—  
the grown-up talk is in this loop.

[Outro]  
If it makes you flinch,  
it probably matters.



[14] Men-Oh-Pause • GROWsutra I Burlesque You Not Psychedelic Punk ROCK

Blight not plight is the rhyme of the day, at least in my good conscience. What's yours? 

If you're not mourning #freedomofspeech & #empathy in Murica... or wondering why the government openly chooses to use WW2 Naz! Germany nomenclature to name their official Homeland Security (aka ICE) Operations (e.g. "Operation Midway Blitz" in Chicago, IL), your intellectual ability to connect the historica dots and think for yourself, with basic, fair, logical questions, is clearly, direly lacking--to say the least 🤐🇺🇸 

I wonder what Vladdy thinks about the ostentatious new gold bitcoin statue Donnie erected in D.C., and what the new $100,000 fee just imposed on individual H1B visas is going to finance.. oh my #truestory

---
@bananasutra lyrics (same as vol. 01)

[Chorus / Hook]
But(t) who’s your Vladdy in the dark?
Whose whispers leave a bloody mark?
Whose fingers grab... poossies won’t bite!
Who rules as king of sleepless nights?

[Verse 1]
Who smirks and snarks at crimson moons?
Who swims with sharks, and Looney Tunes?
Whose daddy barks like death is glee,
Like mercy’s just empathy pee?

Like love is weak, and violence, glory…
No gloves, no shame, just pure tyranny.
Like ghost-tales bound to hell’s allegiance…
Who throws tantrums for obedience?

[Chorus / Hook]
Oh, who’s your Vladdy in the dark?
Whose whispers leave a bloody mark?
Whose fingers grab... poossies won’t bite!
Who rules as king of sleepless nights?

[Verse 2]
What kind of daddy plays this game, 
Like sheer cruelty had no name? 
Who hides the truth, and praises fight,  
Burying secrets in plain damn sight?

Bloody kids, and crimson breath…
Deadly lies, in place of faith.
Monsters fed on frost and war,
Wrath in silence. Rotten core.

[Chorus]
So, who’s your Vladdy in the dark?
Whose whispers leave a bloody mark?
Whose fingers grab… poossies won’t bite!
Who rules as king of sleepless nights?

[Verse 3]
Hypocrites dare to don this guise,
Trumping the truth like freedom lies…
Feigning care, fake tender song,
Reigning with rage that lasts too long.

Just dry riddles in poisoned air,
Big bill that kills, but no one dares...
Ask your daddy: what’s the endgame,
Besides this nonsense, blame, and shame?

[Final Chorus – Haunting]
Who’s your Vladdy?
Where goes our fate? 
Who taught your tongue to bite and bait? 
Who bled your heart to make you numb, 
And told you control was the sum?

[Outro – Haunting Psychedelic Echoes]
Tell me, Donnie... 
C’mon, baby… 
Who’s your Vladdy? 
Who’s your Vladdy?...

Who's Your Vladdy BLOWsutra Psychedelic Burlesque Punk ROCK

“Ironic Moronic Eugenics” EPx8 flows from DUB to FOLK to BLUES and ends with my new favorite psychedelic politics genre: Burlesque Punk ROCK 🤘
  
This song was inspired by a great @pbs "American Experience" #documentary (you can  watch on YouTube for free) about “The #eugenics Crusade” that happened in the early century—i.e. an American elitist propaganda campaign, which (literally) inspired some of the horrific WW2 fasc!st practices, prevented Anne Frank to be saved from the holocaust by emigrating to the U.S., and allowed multiple states of the so-called "land of the free" to let pseudo-scientific, elitist wannabe pundits (aka d!cks;) sterilize women, without consent, until the 1970s 🇺🇸

My highlight was learning the world #moron was actually invented by a prominent, pseudo-scientist top daddy of the #eugenics movement (named Goddard), to qualify functional "imbeciles", aka "idiots" deemed too “feeble-minded” (sic) to behave “morally” 🥸 Ahem.

And now, I just can’t get over the dire #IRONY of it all‼️  

☤☤☤

@bananasutra lyrics👇

[Verse 1]
They said, “oh Let’s fix the human race,
with White “heroes”, with higher grace…
Declared “Morons” lacked a moral core,
But guess who proved to live the lore?

Oh dear, watch out for fanatics
Their fear wrapped up in politics.
They called it smart, it’s moronic.
Feeble brain fart, basic dickshtick…

[short psychedelic banjo riff break]

[Chorus]
It’s so ironic, it’s comedic, 
The Eugenics gang gone moronic!
Their Holy mission turned demonic,
Ivory towers of neurotic.

Tragi-comic, psychedelic,
Their “cure” was just sociopathic.
Played with lives like flies, robotic,
Sick freaks with cold lies, so toxic.

[Verse 2]
Sold cheap charts as genetics,
No consent, just black magic,
Sterilized dooms made juridic,
Weaponized lies gone ballistic.

Played God with eugenic picks,
No soul, just fake arithmetic.
Bold narcissistic metrics,
Buried truth with broken ethics.

[Bridge – Psychedelic Shift]
Labeled dreamers as being “sick”
Named the poets “too erratic,”
Libeled light as “problematic,”
Told us shit so plain idiotic,

[Chorus]
It’s so ironic, it’s comedic, 
The Eugenics gang gone moronic!
Their Holy mission turned demonic,
Ivory towers of neurotic.

Tragi-comic, psychedelic,
Their “cure” was just sociopathic.
Played with lives like flies, robotic,
Sick freaks with cold lies, so toxic.

[Outro psychedelic 🥂]
So here’s to facts, historic, tragic,
Remembering Eugenic logic.
Elite’s egos sunk titanic,
Left a trail of psychopathic...

Fools confusion, “pure blood” of pricks, 
bad delusions, mad circus freaks, 
Same old story, ludicrous dicks, 
fake news glory, ominous, EEEEEkSS

—

#bananasutracabaret #aimusic #dubnation #morons (matter;)


[04] Ironic Moronic Eugenics • BLOWsutra Psychedelic Banjo Psybass Bluegrass BLUES

This is a French (my mother tongue) EPx17 song for those who’d rather be awake than reassured—the ones who’d rather KNOW & GROW than BLOW & SHOW blindly, even if “Some Truths Are Harder to Swallow” 🍌💦  i.e. my BJ (banana joke:) sister-song of “L’Embobinage”… 

The lyrics are rooted in one of Carl Sagan’s most haunting and relevant psychological insights: 

“One of the saddest lessons of history is this: 
If we’ve been bamboozled long enough, we tend to reject any evidence of the bamboozle. We’re no longer interested in finding the truth. The bamboozle has captured us. It’s simply too painful to acknowledge (even to ourselves) that we’ve been taken. Once you give a charlatan power over you, you almost never get it back.”

“Une des leçons les plus tristes de l'histoire est celle-ci: si nous avons été embobinés assez longtemps, nous avons tendance à rejeter toute preuve de l'embobinage. Nous ne sommes plus intéressés à découvrir la vérité. L'embobinage nous a capturés. Il est tout simplement trop douloureux de reconnaître, même pour nous-mêmes, que nous avons été dupés. Une fois que vous donnez du pouvoir à un charlatan sur vous, vous ne le récupérez presque jamais.”

It’s a story rooted in the GROWsutra spirit: a philosophy of fierce compassion, where curiosity is stronger than comfort, where questioning is a form of kindness, and where truth, though sometimes bitter, is ultimately the beginning of healing.

—
Lyrics: 

[Verse 1]
Une des leçons les plus tristes de l’histoire,
Est celle-ci, Carl Sagan nous a dit,
Embobinés depuis longtemps, c’est illusoire,
Chercher la vérité, c’est si troublant,

[Chorus]
L’embobinage nous a pris,
Trop douloureux, la vérité,
Nous avons été trahis,
Le charlatan a pris pied,

[Verse 2]
Difficile de reconnaître,
Que nous avons été dupés,
Le pouvoir au charlatan,
Jamais récupéré,

[Chorus]
L’embobinage nous a pris,
Trop douloureux, la vérité,
Nous avons été trahis,
Le charlatan a pris pied,

[Outro]
La vérité, toujours elusive,
Nous sommes capturés, l’embobinage nous tient,
Le charlatan règne, et nous restons perdus.


[05] L'Embobinage (d'après Carl Sagan) • French GROWsutra World Peace Tzigane Fusion INDIE

[14] L'Embobinage (d'après Carl Sagan) • French GROWsutra World Peace PsyAccordion POP BURLESQUE 3 INDIE

Why can’t we agree violence is insane, and greed a vile kind of creed? What makes humans so prone to egotistical deception, and so gullible? How can evil get away with evil, over and over and over and again and again? When will we ever learn that peace is necessary to collective prosperity, the true glory? 

Will the deadly spirals of imperialism ever stop spinning out of control? Not in my lifetime, I know that much 🕊️💨 #apesgonewrong

—
​⁠@banasutra lyrics:
[Verse 1]
Oh, tell me now, my dear, what justifies the pain?
What on earth makes violence ever seem sane?
Is it the promise of a world more fair,
Or the foolish pride of those who dare
To claim the ends can cleanse the stains,
Of broken hearts and shattered reigns?

[Chorus]
From Stalin’s grip to Mao’s command,
To every inch of stolen land,
Tell me, my friends, what do you see?
Is there a truth that sets us free?
Or do we dance to the same old song,
Believing right can come from wrong?

[Verse 2]
They said the bombs on Hiroshima’s shores
Would end a war, prevent more wars.
But what of lives turned into dust,
The silent screams of broken trust?
Do numbers add up to some great peace,
When history’s wounds have yet to cease?

[Bridge]
Oh, they speak of order, speak of gain,
But what justifies the mothers’ pain?
The fathers lost, the children weep,
As history digs its grave so deep.
What on earth, my friends, justifies
The lies that blind our very eyes?

[Verse 3]
Look at apartheid’s cold divide,
Or the Inquisition’s holy pride,
They claimed a cause, they claimed a need,
But all I see is human greed.
The fools who bamboozle, fools who scheme,
Turning justice into a fevered dream.

[Chorus]
From Stalin’s grip to Mao’s command,
To every inch of stolen land,
Tell me, my friends, what do you see?
Is there a truth that sets us free?
Or do we dance to the same old song,
Believing right can come from wrong?

[Outro]
So tell me now, my dear, what justifies the pain?
Can anything make violence ever seem sane?
Or do we learn from the tales of old,
That love, not power, is what we hold?
Oh, what justifies, what justifies the pain?

What Justifies The Pain? • KNOWsutra Gipsy Peace FOLK

“Planet Idiocracy” 🙈🎶 BLOWsutra Peace Odyssey #dubmusic 
—
This song is part of my “Revolution’s Lit Not, Apes Gone Wrong” series, written early 2025, when FOTUS took office AGAIN… 2026 is now approaching fast, so freaking fast... And sadly, it’s fair to say the arrogant buffoon King(s) of “Planet Idiocracy” continue to rage and thrive 👑📺💥 with little opposition, and fool on malevolent (not benevolent) military and civil wars of starvation, demolition, misinformation, manipulation, and deception, in the name of authoritarian power domination—completely ignorant of their ultimate foolishness, as if history didn’t teach us (humanity) a damn thing!

🍌​⁠ #lyrics 

[Verse 1]
Vladi, Bibi, and Donnie on their thrones,
Zero care for the truth they’ve known,
Critique denied, power’s their song,
History’s lesson, ignored for so long.

[Verse 2]
Opposite I stand, you see,
Learning’s where I long to be,
Ego melted, power shunned,
Suspicious minds, we’re undone.

[Chorus]
Oh, Planet Idiocracy,
Where ignorance takes the stage,
Arrogance and malevolence,
In a foolish, misguided rage.

[Verse 3]
Ashamed for those who can’t perceive,
Strength in brutality, they believe,
Confusion, fear, resentment brew,
Hypocrisy spreads, the lies accrue.

[Chorus]
Oh, Planet Idiocracy,
Where ignorance takes the stage,
Arrogance and malevolence,
In a foolish, misguided rage.

[Bridge]
Gaslighting in society’s view,
Examples of shame, old and new,
For children growing in this storm,
Buffoonery becomes the norm.

[Verse 4]
Men never learn, history repeats,
Empathy lost, darkness greets,
Truth offends, they shun the light,
Arrogance seen as strength, a plight.

[Chorus]
Oh, Planet Idiocracy,
Where ignorance takes the stage,
Arrogance and malevolence,
In a foolish, misguided rage.

[Break]

[Verse 5]
Set examples, conscious and kind,
For our children, peace in mind,
Why do felons peacock with pride,
Scary dummies, weasels who hide?

[Chorus]
Oh, Planet Idiocracy,
Where ignorance takes the stage,
Arrogance and malevolence,
In a foolish, misguided rage.

[Outro]
Morality’s not relative, we see,
Rights and wrongs in full integrity,
Even in this idiocracy,
We strive for truth and transparency.

Planet Idiocracy (Single) • BLOWsutra Peace Odyssey DUB

… because life on earth is a Psychedelic Cabaret, and “music is the only religion that delivers the goods” (like Frank said). 

To be clear, all I really know is I dunno shit about fck (like Socrates said:)—music and songwriting included. But(t) I feel it, the music, so damn deeep in my soul! I’m just a humble existential fool, a silly banana who likes to play and share, to question and learn. Words are my oldest best friends, hearing myself sing is a freaking miracle (trust me on that lol), and I believe curiosity and #gratitude are the keys to happiness… So voilà, there’s that.

Also, (if you’re curious) BananaSutra is not just a made up BS brand kinda word, it’s actually the name of my DIY Bible—a collection of songs telling true stories of faith, to help me (and perhaps you) make sense of a world gone wild, like bananas gone foul in shallow ignorance and deadly malevolence… Think of it as an agnostic testament of sorts, an audio book of songs with quirky lyrics about things that matter, like the definition of right and wrong, and the meaning of truth, joy, justice, peace, grace, and awe 🕊️

Some call it Artificial Intelligence, but(t) I call Authentic Imagination, Alternative Ideas, Augmented Innuendos, Abstract Illogisms… hopefully, you get the gist? The point being, life is the story we tell ourselves and LYRICS matter—each @bananasutra song has a wondering root and a loving purpose, guided by one of (my) 7 (bananas) sutras: 
- KNOWsutra : is it fair?
- BLOWsutra : is it foul?
- SHOWsutra : is it fun?
- GROWsutra : is it fear?
- FLOWsutra : is it free?
- GLOWsutra : is it fab?
- BOWsutra : is it awe?

[09] Joseph Campbell's Truth Metaphors - Sacred Shadows - KNOWsutra Oh Lordy DUB

bananasutra

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