Patti

Finally, after two and a half years of trying I finally got my interview with Patti Smith. She was in Amsterdam last week and agreed to do just one interview. Lucky me!
We met at noon in the dining room of her hotel. She was a bit sleepy, but very kind. On my way to the hotel I had bought her a guitar pick and a box of bandaids. She seemed especially happy with the bandaids.
Why these somewhat strange presents? Well, the other night I had seen her cut her finger by playing the accoustic guitar without a pick. ,,My husband Fred always told me to play with a pick'', she told the audience on that occasion. ,,And then I always said: ,,But I don't wanne use a pick!!... I guess the moral of this story is: Sometimes you have to listen to your husband.''

We talked for almost two hours. Sometimes forgetting that we were working. But that was okay, she seemed to enjoy my company. She is really something, this Patti Smith. Very true, very real, very warm and strong. I am happy to have finally met her.
She asked me if she could play me a song at the concert she was doing later that day. Knowing that that would be an accoustic show again, and knowing that the song I had in mind was not easy to do accoustic, I hestitated. But then I did tell her what my favourite Patti Smith song is.
,,You're right, that one is not easy'', she said. ,,But I will play it. For you.''

That afternoon at the Paradiso's Upstairs again she was amazing. After a few songs she suddenly raised her finger for everybody to see. It had a bandaid wrapped around it. ,,I want to thank Richard!'' And because no-one but me knew what the hell she was talking about, she added - smiling: ,,Uh, that was it...''
A couple of songs later she held promise. I heard Lenny Kay starting a guitar version of that breath taking intro. I couldn't help shedding some tears.

Every night before I go to sleep
Find a ticket, win a lottery,
Scoop the pearls up from the sea
Cash them in and buy you all the things you need.

Every night before I rest my head
See those dollar bills go swirling 'round my bed.
I know they're stolen, but I don't feel bad.
I take that money, buy you things you never had.

Oh, baby, it would mean so much to me,
Oh, baby, to buy you all the things you need for free.

I'll buy you a jet plane, baby,
Get you on a higher plane to a jet stream
And take you through the stratosphere
And check out the planets there and then take you down
Deep where it's hot, hot in Arabia, babia, then cool, cold fields of snow
And we'll roll, dream, roll, dream, roll, roll, dream, dream.
When we dream it, when we dream it, when we dream it,
We'll dream it, dream it for free, free money,
Free money, free money, free money,
free money, free money, free money.

Every night before I go to sleep
Find a ticket, win a lottery.
Every night before I rest my head
See those dollar bills go swirling 'round my bed.

Oh, baby, it would mean so much to me,
Baby, I know our troubles will be gone.
Oh, I know our troubles will be gone, goin' gone
If we dream, dream, dream for free.
And when we dream it, when we dream it, when we dream it,
Let's dream it, we'll dream it for free, free money,
Free money, free money, free money,
Free money, free money, free money,
Free money, free money, free money,
Free money, free money, free money,
Free money, free money, free money,
Free money, free money, free money,
Free money, free money, free money,
Free money, free money, free money, free.

Thank you, Patti. I love you.