With apologies to (and inspiration by) Led Zeppelin

Friends, how many more times are we going to go through the wearing and tearing of a communication breakdown? I'm dazed and confused! I'm gonna crawl to the houses of the holy, over the hills and far away. Hey, hey what can I do? I feel like Moby Dick, a fool in the rain without a living, loving maid to give me a whole lotta love.

Darlene, your time is gonna come in the evening and in the light. You shook me with your Bron-y-Aur stomp, leaving me trampled under foot. I can't quit you baby. Baby come on home. We're gonna groove to the rain song, immigrant song, the lemon song and the wanton song.

The song remains the same. It's nobody's fault but mine, ozone baby. The black country woman and her black dog are ten years gone with the hots on for nowhere. It's what is and what should never be.

I'm going to California on the south bound Suarez night flight, over the black mountain side on the misty mountain hop to search for the stairway to heaven and our d'yer mak'er. That's the way to the Kashmir of our good times and bad times.

I'm sick again with no quarter left in the battle of evermore. I dream of the ocean and being down by the sea side in my time of dying. Babe I'm gonna leave you in the crunge again when the levee breaks. Boogie with Stu and think of our dancing days out on the tiles.

Since I'm loving you, make it a celebration day and not a heartbreaker for your life. Don't settle for tea for one; have four sticks of hot dog, a custard pie and tangerine at the Royal Orleans on Walter's Walk near the candy store rock.

Rock and roll on the carouselambra with its gallows pole in the center. Don't forget to take your hats off to Roy Harper, the rover and his travelling riverside blues.

And thank you for allowing me to ramble on and bring it on home.

All my love,
Poor Tom - the bonzo's montreux on his achilles last stand

I was listening to my collection of Led Zeppelin CDs one rainy, weekend afternoon in September 2003 when I got the crazy idea to write something (e.g., a story) using as many Led Zeppelin song titles as possible.

I started by listing all the titles and the last paragraph was the first thing I wrote. This paragraph led down the path to writing this piece as a letter which quickly resulted in the closing with "Poor Tom" as the writer.

I was stumped after that and the hardest part was the first paragraph. Once I completed the starting paragraph, everything else seemed to flow naturally as I crossed each title off the list. I was done in less than three enjoyable hours.

My favorite part is the 3rd paragraph. For me, it captures the poetry of Led Zeppelin music. I hope that you enjoy it as much as I did writing it. I'm not a writer, so I think that this is the best writing I've produced to date. My friend, Mary (Meadows) Pyburn got it first and enjoyed it equally - this is dedicated to her as a Birthday present.

I've posted this on my AISK Web site (September 7, 2003), as well as two other Led Zeppelin fan sites as "Poor Fred" since "Poor Tom" was already taken.

If you can identify more than 80 Led Zeppelin song titles in my writing above, you're a true Led Zeppelin fan like me.