Kerouac - October in the Railroad Earth

Poetry by Jack Kerouac.

[@irishelk3]

I'm just chilling out in my room listening to this, I'm in Dublin, it's late at night, everyone's asleep, it's stormy and cold outside, no sound except for the wind. When I listen to or read Jack Kerouac, all is good, I love his world.

[@anthonyscioscia7098]

I wish I knew his world, but it's only my world through him. Jack kerouac is impossibly dead .. .. Long live the crazy dumb saint sir Kerouac .

[@timelkin838]

I feel like I am Jack. My dad read on the road and I learned about Jack like a child getting a bedtime story. I didn't understand it at the time but my dad is Jack by heart and so am I. I'm a pros poet and travel and a mad man in mad convos with people but I'm sad often and Jack was unhealthy and got sick in alcohol which I am fighting. My art comes out with drugs. I'm in the moment. He was a shooting star. I'm 32. Feel like 50 sometimes.

[@irishelk3]

@@timelkin838 Yeah?, i'm 30 myself. Personally, i have a rule where, 99 % of the time, i'll only drink with people. I smoke weed alone mostly. Got myself a camping chair, 25 euro, cleaned out the spare room and use it as a study and studio for painting. Stay off the alcohol man, its just for special occasions.

[@irishelk3]

@@anthonyscioscia7098 I think he's in another world now, and the kind of guy he was, he's exploring that place also.

[@veronicav1779]

Hi from Galway, pretty much the same here this evening, Kerouac state of mind eh x

[@ponderingmonk525]

I listened to this whole album on a rainy stormy night in New York. I was 20 years old in the city, there for work. Had an apartment on Elizabeth street, and I just listened to Jack and sat on my windowsill looking out…

[@georgerebic1240]

That is so great! I can see it now. You sound like one of his characters. Martin Scorcese lived on Elizabeth Street I believe.

[@nitedreamer23]

Today, March 12, 2022, Jack would've been one hundred. This one gets me every time. He died far too young.

[@The_Maze_Is_Not_Meant_For_You]

Well, sorta. He drank more than WC Fields, after all. It's kind of a miracle he made it as far as he did

[@BadDecisions333]

The way he reads is so similar to the way the jazz sounds... bouncing from note to note.

[@vivectelvanni]

He wrote specifically for that!

[@michaelskasick1560]

I love Kerouac's phrasing - to me, he brings out the real musicality of language.

[@reubenriisager9852]

it reminds me of my crazy life when i keep shittin myself

[@edphilbin3200]

Sarah Montana as a railroader, Jazz and Kerouac fan you nailed it. I can hear the jazz beat running the engine or riding the subway. It’s there for those who can hear it.

[@ZOGGYDOGGY]

Steve Allen on piano.

[@bellybroom]

i went on holiday with a girl.. took this book. every morning i woke up early to read, after she slept i read, when she went to the bathroom i grabbed the book.. i had no expectations, but the book grew on, i cudnt figure out why i loved it, it crept up on me.. one night when we were out i tried to explain about the great book i was reading, she didnt get it, i got drunk- we went back to the hotel, she fell asleep, i read.

[@georgerebic1240]

That is one of the most beautiful anecdotes I've ever heard! It sounds like Jack himself wrote it. Beautiful.

[@The_Maze_Is_Not_Meant_For_You]

I remember buying this box set in 1992. This is track 1 of the Steve Allen disc. I was hooked immediately, and since then, I've probably listened to this track three THOUSAND times. I think that it is absolutely necessary to listen to Jack reading his own material before you ever read his books.

[@georgerebic1240]

I agree 100% with you on that.

[@bailinnumberguy]

Existential poetry to the rhythm of jazz. Pure magic.

[@daysturn1971]

His best poem. The piano music does it justice.

[@StephenDedalus74]

Actually it is not a poem, it is taken from the book "Lonesome Traveler", a collection of non fiction short stories ;) It is the "chapter" or the story 3, "Railroad Earth", the first pages :)

[@gregscavuzzo5457]

I started reading Jack when I was living in Austin Texas in 1974 , one night I was smoking some Oaxaca weed and listening to Austin Public Radio and they were playing spoken word from Jack , I fell in love with his voice and the poetry, went out the next day and bought On The Road, everyone should watch Jack on The Steve Allen Show

[@TheGreatToucan]

Man, Kerouac could see it all, and write it down or verbally describe it so you don't just see it in its total detail, but you can FEEL it as it was. There has never been another like him. We miss ya, Ti Jean, we miss ya......

[@markturpin5667]

A wonderful comment written in the spirit with the feel of Kerouac himself. Thank you !

[@mozdickson]

Nice work. One of the things I've always loved about Kerouac's work is that (he and his buddies) the characters love and enjoy the bustle and swarm and jive of urban life, and equally thrive amidst mountains, and forests and isolated shacks and rails. As we do.

[@32motormouth]

adventuresinbelieving by alcohol

[@erniesullivan]

Hey, man. Dig what you wrote these many years gone by. My buddy, TJ, wrote a book, Bar Stools & Bus Stops. I think you will dig it. He was a big Kerouac guy. Sadly, he is gone now. Depression. Alcoholism. But check out what he left behind.

[@G_money]

nice comment. God bless...

[@AnnaLVajda]

Yes adaptable tramps.

[@bellavia5]

yes

[@jacklowe3429]

This, after so many years, is still the voice of America. Godspeed, Jack. Thanks for all those wonderful words.

[@Alterbridge321]

Kerouac had perfect cadence. It almost feels as though you're listening to verbal jazz when you listen to him read his work aloud. I had this playing while driving through Oakland and Berkeley up towards Marin a few weeks ago. Everything seemed to be sharp and shimmering. Clarity of Cal, I guess.

[@giorgigorisa4402]

It's 21th of october, Jack passed away on this day. kinda sad day it is. RIP Jack, you are in eternity.

[@DrewKane]

Goodbye, Ian. Your legacy will live on for many years to come.

[@stacyblue1980]

ok- question- what the hell does Ian Murdoch have to do with this? Maybe the imagery Kerouac wrote of? But ... yes it is sad that this young man (ian) committed suicide but-- i had to google the fella to try to figure out why he is mentioned in the comments here. Sad death but ....whats the deal? Maybe this reminds people of this Ian guy. Did you know him personally? Ah...whatever... Kerouac was no money maker. But bless this Ian guy. I have lost a great loved one to suicide. I cannot tell you how horrible it is but he is free. Yes.

[@Ulterior1980]

@@stacyblue1980 BECAUSE he left link to this before committing suicide, stupid

[@ilitardo160]

Ulterior1980 it’s not like he knew

[@tehapu7358]

What does that mean? Can anyone here speak English?@@ilitardo160

[@arobinson807]

"..it was the fantastic drouse and drum-hum of lum, mum afternoon, naathin' to do" love it :)

[@georgerebic1240]

That's one of my fave lines too. I always say it with him when he gets to it. Nathin'. Perfect example of how you.can FEEL what he's describing.

[@genevievetatum1536]

I really liked this. The piano playing in the background gave the recitation a soul.

[@tommyhaynes521]

That's Steve Allen I believe

[@Beauregard9]

Tommy Haynes , Yes, it is Steve Allen playing. He had Jack on his TV show at the peak of Jack's post-OTR fame.

[@larsdybvad4789]

This is my favorite by Jack Kerouac ❤

[@Zedwoman]

Oh, man! There is nothing to compare. NOTHING. I can see it, taste it and smell it as he tells it. SF long gone. Kerouac gone. My youth gone. But not forgotten.

[@greghuntjr.8284]

It must have had been amazing.

[@derekalexander923]

Still beautiful

[@MrDanty64]

Zedwoman. No. Not at all. Nothing is gone. Everything is nearly exactly what He was seeing back in the day on Market street and in SoMa. He is laughing now. If only I could email you the poetry I write....

[@dorengarcia7925]

Long gone... replaced by clean tech and greed. The thing about it was it WASN'T about greed... and career... it was about living a philosophical life... not a consumerist life. As is philosophy was more important than consumer toys. Long gone... like the renaissance.

[@elbiewatson]

@@dorengarcia7925 well said!

[@CJBradley]

This guy had such a way with words you can smell the space he lived in.

[@Deadhippomeat]

I miss you every day--you wrote the greatest jazz we ever heard. Rest well wizard, the winds of america still whisper your name.

[@paul_wj_lee]

"end of the land sadness, end of the world gladness."

[@EvanSchatz]

All your San Franciscos will have to fall eventually, and burn again

[@MrBojangles788]

That moght have been the greatest poem ever written/spoken/ performed. Ever In everyway. Viva la jazz

[@jerrywhoomst1116]

Sad and beautiful.

[@dancahill8555]

I came across his writing 2 years after he died. Even the I was too young and hadn't been hardly anywhere. Yet I think of him and kick myself. I was driving then when he was still alive (at 19) and he was 15 miles east from where I was every day. But I didn't know then. Same went for Coltrane, whose sound I did know. They died the same year in the same town. Fifteen miles away and not even because I was lazy.

[@CptEtgar]

Tremendous.

[@BrianNewberry]

Pianist is Steve Allen. :-)

[@zlyascope]

This is my san Francisco, got to this city when I was a kid in 2004. Now all those years, I cant shake the city, the cold air hugs me warm. Jack's words about san fran is the most honest description of the city. Rip Kerouac Your words will never die

[@laura8324]

Ah, you should have seen it in the 1950’s, the City was GLORIOUS!

[@davedammann741]

There in '69 at 18 years old. What a ride.

[@MrBojangles788]

GO GO GO JACK! take me somewhere else tonight, these beers and cigs aint quite doing IT, IT is an arms length away these days or to the moooonnnn! Man we miss you Jean.

[@recluseren]

same don, same

[@MrBojangles788]

@@recluseren i hear ya Love. We need more art in the world.

[@oscarjuliano]

HAPPY BIRTHDAY AND LONG LIVE TO KING KEROUAC!

[@CliffordLeach-ns5zh]

I love jack Kerouac great poet check out one of his book .he passed away but great poet

[@teresaconboy895]

My favorite audio reading of Kerouac's. A vibe like no other.

[@Poemsapennyeach]

Heard this before...Still brilliant.

[@louisskulnik7390]

Stormy early night. French Quarter. Town torn up by Hurricane Ida. No money, no work, no rent available until work returns. Listening to you, Jack.

[@marknewton6984]

Ybor City after midnight College kids throwing up, dates with tattoos. What have we become?

[@stateofdreams1]

I love the way he described things in his writings. Totally unique. He was a genius and an inspiration.

[@alonenjersey]

What's not to love?

[@danocable]

Does it get anybetter, dreaming thru the clowds in an alley drunk. This is poetry..... Thanks jack.

[@steviegaga]

One of his best readings ever, & listen to his brief singing riff. Great ear! Ah, died too soon but sad & miserable. God love him!

[@timkjazz]

Kerouac's syncopation is tremendous.

[@mikmcd2075]

had to look it up...

[@mikmcd2075]

now why do you have to go usin fancy language when the poet is readin...

[@tcarroll777]

One of my favorite writers and in my head in the top five greatest American writers

[@ruthdixon7807]

exquisite stuff from a time when all things appeared possible.

[@Dylansold456]

So profound, I just found my birthmother 3 weeks ago and am now 28, her 44, got her to read Kerouac for the first time and she loves him.

[@paulstubbs6157]

Kerouac sheds a light on that part of us which we do not desire to share with the rest of the world, the inner-experience of ourselves that seems to transcend religion, philosophy, science, yes, and even the contingency of being born; that unknowable part of us that philosophers call the noumenon which, both literally and impossibly, seems to best describe who we really are: the heaven-opening insight which us exchanging identities mid-dream with Kerouac’s “shrouded stranger” of death who, when lifting up his hood, reveals only the mask of the face we had before we were born, before the womb intervened and reality began to liberate us from the facility of eternal sleep and the soon-to-be-arrived-at fiction of our “life” here on Earth.

[@MrBojangles788]

Damn, well said. So true

[@bpatrickhoburg]

I return here every October whether I like it or not. Must be quality poetry after all this time.

[@MrDanty64]

Patrick Hoburg Its "October in the Railroad Earth', which is from "Lonesome Traveler", but as much as its spontaneous prose you're right in that it could be seen as poetry in a runalong kind of way.

[@tutube998]

He was tactful. The time when you could look people in the eyes. And connect... The good and the bad of the new age

[@tattoofthesun]

thank you my friend, i listen to this every day for spirit

[@ruary3243]

i hope u still do

[@stacyblue1980]

Always comforting to hear this. I had some of his recordings as a kid. I felt so comforted and taken away by his voice and his story-telling. His books take you places. His voice is the vehicle.

[@spinningreelsofrhyme]

"I hear far off in the sense of coming night the sound of engines calling our mountains..."

[@butthymen7444]

What could I hope to say about Kerouac that someone else here hasn't already said? So let me say this... Steve Allen wasn't simply sympathetic. Allen had one of those beating hearts. Beating indeed. Allen got it.

[@0xcryptofamous]

Im literally sobbing right now listening to this... Ian was a good friend of mine and I hadnt seen him in a few years. I can tell you personally that Ian was an incredibly kind soul and one of the most brilliant programmers ive ever met! I hope all the officers who used excessive force on him are charged and brought to justice... RIP Ian, until we meet again bro :'(

[@micahhammac1242]

This is amazing it breaks my heart and lifts me at the same time!

[@kaleidoscope_records_]

Thank you so much for all your contributions, and for staying true to the spirit of open source, and for creating my favorite operating system of all time. You are an inspiration. Rest in peace Ian.

[@jpm9628]

What a beautiful and real soul. Jack brought a modern music to American Literature. I really believe that he was saving his soul by writing. He was transforming inside while the world was leaping and exploding into the future. Jack was running in front of the wave with a wild gambler's grin. Football joy. Piano notes plinking around him like snow flurries on a sunny weird March day.

[@paulwickline7434]

Love this... and all Kerouac!

[@jorgeesgueira5325]

Been digging through the comments to this great reading and I STILL DON'T KNOW WHO'S READING THIS!!! Because its really well done.

[@kamuelalee]

Just watched the documentary on Jack "What happened to Kerouac?" from the late '80s. Pretty good flick.

[@davidfay1556]

Takes me back to those beatnik days in Iowa City especially on a wintry Saturday evening in a coffee shop.

[@abatabat8855]

R.I.P. Ian Murdock :(

[@tehapu7358]

?

[@abatabat8855]

@@tehapu7358 Ian Ashley Murdock (* 28. April 1973 in Konstanz; † 28. Dezember 2015 Its a Debian song.

[@plattTV73]

Fantastic ending to Goliath, needed to hear the complete piece

[@nadapuesnada7716]

In the poetry of Jack Kerouac we hear the music of Charlie Parker.

[@marknewton6984]

Just Friends!

[@ialex1160]

I know I'm late, but recently I got to read the tweets you posted thanks to Wikileaks. Thanks for everything you've done, not only to the Debian and Linux community but to the programming community in general. Thanks for making Debian. Thanks for making dpkg. Thanks for making .deb packages. Thanks for making Aptitude. Thanks for everything you've done. I guess life can be hard even to young, rich and successful people. *RIP Ian Murdock 1973 - 2015*

[@KingFluffs]

Ian Murdocks gonna off himself, maybe while listening to this.

[@skyworks6153]

+KingFluffs RIP Ian

[@georgerebic1240]

Jack is America. Jack is ours. Jack is the one that represents us. We love him. Learn from him. Listen to him!❤❤❤❤❤❤

[@larrywhite9806]

My Dad studied poetry at the Jack Kerouac school of disembodied poets. The poet Ezra Pond put it best. When an ANIMAL no longer transmits stimuli the animal ATROPHIES and dies. LIKEWISE when a nation looses it's literature it ATROPHIES and dies this happened in our country. I hope this generation gets hip. As ever Larry White

[@MrDanty64]

Larry White There is beauty in decay, my man, beauty in decay.

[@dustinsimpson9876]

literature in this country is thriving

[@PlayIt4MeAgainSam]

One of the greatest works by Kerouac; even better hearing him read it.

[@MMusic91]

Can't stop listening to this. Hear something new and enticing every time

[@cooper482011]

The "beat" man. Kerouac was heavily influenced by black jazz legends such as Charlie "Bird" Parker and Cab Callaway.

[@realmisteranderson]

Also influenced by booze and reefer....or, so I have heard.

[@timkjazz]

Amphetamines also.

[@benmoore701]

@@realmisteranderson nothing wrong with that, seemed to have worked for him, until he let it work him instead him doing it..

[@MrDanty64]

@@realmisteranderson let's not forget he was an avid Buddhist for a number of years before he threw that costume away... The main thing to know there is that he was searching for him Self... Yes he had his freakiness and was waCk and that's why Ferlinghetti sent him down to his cabin in Big Sur , to clean himself up...but at the same time, there he went, writing an even more impressive poem at the end of Big Sur than the book itself, which at least in my eyes was like a horror story of a domestic dispute ... Point being is that there is a spirit underneath all of this that is so overlooked it could make you pound a table to no end whether you were lit or high..he was a hippy in the truest sense with out trying Operative word sense. Heck you almost want to say F U Herb Caen but not entirely... Kerouac and everyone he ran with were Searchers more than Beatniks...they were searching and finding things that led to art that led to what the influences us and influenced others back in the day.

[@borkfork3163]

Rest easy cousin Jack. See you later...

[@mralftupper1234]

thank you,,,read jack since my teens,now in late 50's, still wonderful.

[@NathalexSan]

The "ian" in Debian, forever remembered. Rest in Peace, Ian Murdock...

[@programmernerd4527]

R.I.P Ian Murdock. His legacy is impressive and will be remembered forever.

[@tehapu7358]

Does Ian Murdock have something to do with Jack Kerouac? Asking for a friend..

[@jaredawashburn]

Just read On the Road, again, this summer...first time reading the book in many years. It reinvigorated my love for the beats, especially Kerouac. Everything Kerouac is pure amazement.

[@gardenboydon]

Wow, what a way with words. Made my day better

[@screaminskullpress2714]

Best writing I have ever experienced, and I have experienced much!Tony Nesca

[@JoshuaDyeActor]

AHHHHH Life!!! ONce Again absorbed in the freshness of the DREAM!!!

[@sneezepal]

A fine example of Kerouac's poetry and how his use of language sings.

[@samnic1998]

this album was the soundtrack to my lockdown

[@mistergormsby]

Jawbreaker brought me here. I'm glad they did.

[@johnnylame3355]

Rest in Proxy Ian Murdock - a case like this made me realise how fragile one life can be, even that of a upper class man in his fourties.

[@tehapu7358]

Ian Murdock? I don't get it.

[@johnnylame3355]

I wrote this comment 7 years ago. Alas I forgot how this is related to Ian Murdock, who died in 2015. @@tehapu7358

[@charliesierra6919]

Kerouac was so adept at putting me behind someone else's eyes. The new perspectives (to me) were a revelation.

[@Xscott1000]

Kerouac is my spirit animal.

[@brittneypierce8731]

Rest well Ian Murdock, we won't forget.

[@nativepangea]

His rhythm is a aural inward spiral perfect for vinyl.

[@angel-composer]

Good bye Ian, we are grateful to you for your efforts to make the world free.

[@boombaby1900]

This is true poetry in the motions of life

[@WilsonEricThomas]

I see you in my cat’s eyes Jack. I hear you in the morning sun rays crushing down onto the grass in late July. And we speak, oh do we speak late at night in the basement around the half empty bottle of loving liquor. The world, this world, is a taste of future infinity; a self-made paradise that seals us in a sphere of ecstasy or a box of despair. You’ve shown me how to grasp either fate. Thank you Lowell Prophet and thank you friend.

[@MrBojangles788]

Yes yes yes! Old holy soul Jack watching over us from manana sipping port wine with Pooh bear : )

[@robinwitting2023]

I remember reading the Beats in my English Council house youth. The only iplace n Britain you could buy the Beat poets was at Compendium Books on Camden High Street in London so I'd get the train. Reading On the Road, Beats criss-crossing America like lost souls, voluptuos Bohemian women and authentic jazz. I love classic jazz albums from the 50's an 60's, Coltrane's sheets of sound and classy Miles Davies. Trying to be something that I am not, I guess. Jack was a lost soul, just like the rest of us. Robin Witting England

[@marknewton6984]

I saw him in Florida'68 at a bookstore. He was reading Henry Miller. I introduced myself. Then fled. 😎

[@O_Towne_Bear]

Life and Jazz were the influence, amphetamines were the fuel for his hands (typing) to keep up with the frantic mind. And we here get to be humbled by all it's beauty.

[@muonx9649]

Rest in peace, Ian Murdock. You will be missed.

[@daysturn1971]

The piano complements it.

[@RedstoneCraftPL]

RIP Ian Murdock :( Czeemuu :(((

[@wojciechgrochowski2360]

+RedstoneCraft Better don't ask why

[@screaminskullpress2714]

Just had to comment on this - just had to - but suddenly I got nothing to say - 'cept for, "wow", just wow - Tony Nesca

[@jordanwolfcastle7387]

Kerouacs prose feeds my soul like no other

[@calroth8649]

Dynamic to static in a heartbeat...goodbye.

[@bigguy8906]

rip in peace ian murdock 20916

[@deadyoo00]

R.I.P Ian

[@SWOgottaGO]

Ian Murdock Never forget

[@Gaish]

I've listened to this so many times. Walking on the street enjoying the afternoon sun or simply sitting down at a bench eating my breakfast. It makes me feel okay with being alone. I could never just sit on a bench and enjoy watching people passing by before, but the second I put on this piece I feel like life's too short not to be able to enjoy these kinds of things. It might sound silly to some but this piece and the entire album have made my life a little easier.

[@StephenDedalus74]

I dig what you do :) Personaly I like to read the book "Lonesome Traveler" and especially those beautiful pages (first from the chapter or story 3, "Railroad Earth") when I go out for a long walk in the sun and I find a cool place like a beach with a lot of sand, the sea and nobody but me :) The fun fact is that I read the french translation (because I'm french, but I can read english too and I have Jack's poetry in english and french), and believe it or not, I just found out last week (thanks to this terrific video !) that Kerouac recorded those pages that I adore !!! :) Oh, man, what a cool surprise !!!!!! :)

[@Gaish]

@@StephenDedalus74 Thank you for sharing this, it inspired me to finally get the book! I'm really excited to read it and take it with me on my walks :)

[@StephenDedalus74]

@@Gaish You're welcome, friend ! I'm sure your "literary walks' will be super cool ! :)

[@TwentyTwenty90]

I love how it has a little tremolo effect on the end of it, it must be the recording, decayed over time. So beautiful.

[@Alex-373]

this is sublime

[@coryknight7669]

this song is really beautiful RIP

RIP Ian Murdok. Hope justice Justice is done so you can Rest In Peace.