They have been around since 2006, and are constantly honing and improving their craft. Their line up, consisting of punk-folk acoustic guitar, vocals and drums (with a little piano thrown in for good measure) is certainly not your average indie-rock band and audiences are often taken by surprise at the intensity and quality of the sound created by such a minimal arrangement. The Haiku show that the acoustic guitar does not have to be a quiet instrument.
Each and every show is an energetic performance of incredibly personal songs, which somehow manage to speak to each individual member of the audience. Anyone who’s ever loved and lost; or been disillusioned with the state of the world; or been frustrated with the unfairness of life; yet enjoyed the feeling of hope for the future, will understand and appreciate what The Haiku have to offer.
Their work ethic is pleasantly different, and you'd be hard pressed to find a band around today who put more effort in. Regular interaction with fans is something the band take very seriously, and they are acutely aware that without people to listen, the band means nothing. Thankfully, people do want to listen, now moreso than ever.
The differences don't stop with the music either. The band are highly professional about how they manage themselves, and are more than happy to remain independent from the standard “record company” route, to which many bands aspire. Doing it their own way allows them more room to express themselves without compromising, and importantly they can stay close to their fanbase. Every single CD you can buy from their self maintained website, (www.thehaiku.co.uk) - or from one of their numerous gigs around the country, is hand made and often personalised.
Taking Control
The Haiku Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
So I've stopped walking
And yet you're trying to drag me across
Back to your territory
Well you don't have control anymore
You gave it up
And now it's mine and I've turned around
And I'm heading off in a new direction
So come on now, commit the crime and do the time
And don't complain
Don't take offence at what I say
Come on now, it's time for you to make this right
And leave with your tail between your legs
So you can't manipulate me anymore
You can't control my emotions
I'm stronger than that
I'll be my own man
And happy about it
Just leave me alone.
So come on now, commit the crime and do the time
And don't complain
Don't take offence at what I say
Come on now, it's time for you to make this right
And leave with your tail between your legs
So come on now, commit the crime and do the time
And don't complain
Don't take offence at what I say
Come on now, it's time for you to make this right
And leave with your tail between your legs
So come on now, commit the crime and do the time
And don't complain
Don't take offence at what I say
Come on now, it's time for you to make this right
And leave with your tail between your legs
Leave with your tail between your legs
So c'mon, leave with your tail between your legs
In the song "Taking Control" by The Haiku, the lyrics depict a situation where someone is trying to control the singer, but they have decided to take charge of their own life. The first verse notes that crossing the line is easy when you can't see, indicating that when you are blinded by someone's control or manipulation, you may not even realize that you are being taken advantage of. However, the singer has now stopped walking and is heading off in a new direction, taking control of their own life.
The chorus urges the person who was previously controlling the singer to take responsibility for their actions and make things right. They ask this person to "commit the crime and do the time," meaning that they should take responsibility for what they have done and suffer the consequences. The singer is done being manipulated and controlled, and they want this person to leave them alone and take their tail between their legs, indicating that they should be humbled by their actions.
Overall, the lyrics of "Taking Control" are empowering and encourage listeners to take charge of their own lives and not let others control them. The chorus is particularly powerful, as it urges people to take responsibility for their actions and make things right.
Line by Line Meaning
Crossing the line is easy when you can't see
It's easy to make mistakes when you're unaware of where the boundaries are.
So I've stopped walking
I'm not going to keep making the same mistakes.
And yet you're trying to drag me across
You keep trying to pull me into the same problems.
Back to your territory
Back to where you have control and I don't want to be.
Well you don't have control anymore
You used to have power over me, but not anymore.
You gave it up
You relinquished your authority.
And now it's mine and I've turned around
I'm in control now and I'm going in a different direction.
And I'm heading off in a new direction
I'm going to try something different, with my own choices.
So you can't manipulate me anymore
You can't control me or trick me.
You can't control my emotions
You don't have the power to influence my feelings.
I'm stronger than that
I have the strength and resilience to resist you.
I'll be my own man
I'm going to be independent and self-sufficient.
And happy about it
I'll enjoy this new freedom and control.
Just leave me alone.
Stop trying to intervene in my life.
So come on now, commit the crime and do the time
Take responsibility for your actions and accept the consequences.
And don't complain
Accept the situation and don't protest.
Don't take offence at what I say
Don't get upset at my words.
Come on now, it's time for you to make this right
It's your turn to fix the situation.
And leave with your tail between your legs
Be humble and contrite when you leave.
Leave with your tail between your legs
Don't be arrogant or defiant, just admit defeat.
So c'mon, leave with your tail between your legs
It's time for you to go and to do it gracefully.
Contributed by Camilla I. Suggest a correction in the comments below.
BUKCOLLECTOR
Very much enjoyed your your poems and reading. I, too, am a
Poet but specialize in Japanese forms: i. e. haiku, tanka, haibun, kyoka, senryu.
I hope you don’t mind me sharing a tanka and my haiku tribute poem to Matsuo Bashō’s frog with commentary by the late AHA founder and poet Jane Reichhold who considered my poem among her top 10 haiku of all time. What an honor.
Here’s the Bashō poem and commentary:
Bashō,s frog
four hundred years
of ripples
- -Al Fogel
“At first the idea of picking only 10 of my favorite haiku seemed a rather daunting task. How could I review all the haiku I have read in my life and decide that there were only 10 that were outstanding? Then realized I was already getting a steady stream of excellent haiku day by day through the AHA
forum.
The puns and write-offs based on Basho's most famous haiku are so
numerous I would have said that nothing new could be said with this
method, but here Al Fogel proved me wrong. Perhaps part of my delight in this haiku lies in the fact that I agree with him. Here he is saying one thing
about realism–ripples are on a pond after a frog jumps in, but because it refers back to Basho and his famous haiku, he is also saying something about the haiku and authors who have followed him. We, and our work, are just ripples while Basho holds the honor of inventing the idea of "the
sound of a frog leaping is the sound of water".
As haiku spreads around the world, making ripples in more and larger ponds, its ripples are wider–including us all. But his last word reminds us all that we are only ripples and our lives are that ephemeral. It will be the frogs that will remain”.
And my tanka:
returning home
from a Jackson Pollock
exhibition
I smear my face with paint
and turn into art
—All love in isolation
from Miami Beach,
Florida.
Al
Ronald Daniel
No Earth no Sky yet still it snows.
The Hibiscus by the road. My horse ate it.
The Mother I never knew- Every time i see the ocean. Every time.
The pass at Izuzu - Best to use horses.
Having no talent I long for sleep.Noisy birds.
The English translation of these classic Haiku show that we are mostly ignornat of the cultural and historic context. What we are missing as well is the wonderful sounds of the original language.
In the West we are scolded for trying to follow the rules of 5 7 5 and they are correct. We are failing to use the wonderful sounds we can make with English words.
An extra word 5 7 6 or 5 8 5 perhaps would make our Haiku sing. I propose we create Haiku20 poems using no more than 20 still with 3 lines so that our language can be put to the form. Examples below with 5 7 5
then Haiku20.
5 7 5 forced this...
Starship lies derelict
Half buried in Martian sands
A Dread thing waits there.
Haiku20
The Starship lies derelict
Half buried in the sands of Mars.
A Dread thing waits there.
5 7 5 forced this...
Deep Woods. Now the rain.
Warm my tent boots off lights off.
Day break the mountain.
Haiku20...
Deep Woods. Now the rain.
Warm in my tent boots off lights off.
Tomorow the mountain.
Just a suggestion to make our own Language sing.
Ronald Daniel
@ASAHI🧚🏻 if you have a subject i will try ..
along the postroad
pistol in hand dark eyes bright
the highwayman waits
you make a visual in your mind then write lines..
High above these walls
faded flags wave in the wind
ghosts of kings reign here
see the castle describe the place.
corn aged in charred oak
pride of Kentucky pure gold
bourbon you are king
subject is whisky
try to write about something that you see a dog a shoe a butterfly.
try to write one you will love it.
I see a bird..
the red wing blackbird
at my window watches me
with grandfather's eyes
Petty Blue
Writing haikus really does give pleasure. You feel like you have created something out of things that were already there for everyone.
John Valdez
He's speaking with such an honest and self-aware mind. You can perceive that he went through a long process of self-reflection, which happened just by choosing the words that were really meaningful to him.
shutupcharli
I really love how honest this guy is, it really drives his message. I had to write some haiku for my creative writing class and I hated the restriction at first, but when I was done I saw how rich the words and message were. I might start writing daily ones too cause things like gratitude are so important.
Slay A Forever
shutupcharli I think haiku's are fun to write... I write a lot of story's and one day I hope my story's can be published! My Grandma tells me that my story's could make a lot of money and they could be popular! My family knows me as the artist. Because I'm pretty good at everything I do. I've invented many cooking recipes, I've done really good art and paintings, I'm super good at writing story's and I'm good at schooling. I could be many things but four things I've really considered becoming is, an artist, a writer, a YouTuber or an emotional therapist. I'm what my friends call a gemstone in the rough, because I can relate to everyone I meet and I know a lot of people, I'm a good emotional support person. You could have the worst day ever and I would be there for you... And I think haiku's are something that I could make a hobby because they are so interesting to write. You could make a sentence so much more interesting and in depth by using a haiku! But the point is haiku's are awesome, and I think that people should give it a chance and try to make a a fun little hobby. :)
Zezan Tam
Thank you!
IRAN FILMS. tehran
Lisa Ann Markuson 😍wow
IRAN FILMS. tehran
Vipin Kanoujiya happy to see a indian in this comment 😍👍👍🌎🇮🇳
IRAN FILMS. tehran
love you ഖിൽബെ 😘👏👏👌💚🌎
Maxime L
His daily training,
clearly has paid off, great talk
Thank you very much
his daily training,
cementing his thought pattern,
changes his whole life.
TruthTales
I love leaving a
piece of me behind, something
to reflect back on