Interesting alternative there - at least Jack had a happy life, I suppose.
Beautifully written - thanks Ariel.
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| Old Jack's Charm http://www.the-cbb.co.uk/viewtopic.php?f=14&t=7180 |
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| Author: | ChubbyMonkey [ Sat Jan 09, 2010 8:40 pm ] |
| Post subject: | Old Jack's Charm |
Please excuse this - plot bunnies have been nibbling at me ever since I got the song, so I decided to write it. It's an AU where Jack doesn't return during the war. Lyrics from 'Old Jack's Charm' by Marc Almond - X - It was in the tattoo parlour, Where he had engraved their names, Words a winding round his shoulders, Remind him now he's older. In the magic of the parlour, Down his arm unwinds a story, Love and hate and mum and dad, In flames of hope and glory. It was difficult to keep track at times, with all the places that he'd been and people that he'd met. Sometimes a face would come floating back to him, but he wouldn't be able to place it; it could have been in an old Arabian port or closer to home in Europe. Quite often it would come back to him days later as someone that he'd served on a ship with, or under, and he'd chuckle to himself into the silence. Of course, he just needed little reminders, sometimes, so that he could tell the people in the pub he frequented of what he'd seen in his life. A mermaid and a schooner Tells us he was once at sea, A heart pierced by an arrow Tells us once more in love was he, And a dragon spitting fire, He's forgotten what that's for, But tattooed on his mind is a reminder of the war. Of course, his memory had always been bad after his accident. During those days when he was tossed and turned by the tides he had stopped remembering the home that he must have had before, because he hadn't always been in the Navy. There were flashes of his childhood, and a young girl with a laughing face. And he was always plagued by dreams of a woman with black hair coiled over her head, in the mountains – which made no sense, because he'd never been to the mountains. Always at sea, that was him. He'd fought in the war and kept on fighting; fighting men in pubs when he was drunk and comrades when he couldn't find anyone else, fighting old age and fighting, always, for his memory. He gave up tattooing lovers, Where no room for any others, A line through every sweetheart, With another etched below. In every port a stormy girl, They loved him and he loved them so, Each one for all to see adorned With cupids and with bows. But the ladies loved him, that was true. Especially as he grew older, and saltier – there was something about him that fascinated them, something so honest yet mysterious. Even now he prided himself on being able to leave with the youngest girl in the room on his arm and everyone behind him smiling as they called him a dirty old man. There had never been anyone serious, the only woman who ever stayed with him was the one that came every night and always made him smile when he thought of her black eyes and honest face. He hadn't even meant to get the first tattoo, but his ship mates had encouraged him, until it became a long running dare that at every port there would be a new name on his skin, a new girl in his entourage, etched forever into his memory. They made up for something that he'd lost. A mermaid and a schooner Tells us he was once at sea, A heart pierced by an arrow Tells us once more in love was he, And a dragon spitting fire, He's forgotten what that's for, But tattooed on his mind is a reminder of the war. The dragon was one that everybody liked to ask him about. He'd got it just after the British side rescued him, he remembered that. It was something someone said about his family, and he shook his head because he couldn't remember. Or was that the other tattoo, on his back? He was old now, death was seeping slowly from the corners, more insistent every day. Men were allowed their mistakes at his age. And the dragon, although it always puzzled him, was always his favourite tattoo. He'd nicknamed it Joey. In the magic of the parlour, Swapping laughter, swapping stories, Where the words are often hard And the air is always blue. He remembers all his mates from then, He lost a couple, maybe ten, Their headstones on his forearm as a crucifix tattoo. The list of names was nearly as long as that of the girls on his arms, probably old women now like himself. He could have settled down with one of them, had a family, a couple of smaller versions running around his feet and always plaguing him. Men had always been encouraging him to, and every time he watched one of them die he thought about it more seriously. Some of them left grieving widows and children behind, and they were the hardest because their sorrow affected somebody else. After a while he concluded that he was best how he was – like other men he'd talked to, there on his skin, all he wanted was to die at sea and have a couple of the lads remember him from time to time. Now he leans upon the bar, With a mysterious air, And the ladies gather round, To view his decorated arms, He'll tell them of each scroll and line, And other scars not so fine, And they always want to see, A little more of old Jack's charms. The Navy had politely suggested that he leave a few years back. They'd offered to take him to any port he wanted, hinted that maybe England would be best so that he could try and find out about his history. He'd said no, though. His favourite port was one in South America, so he got on a ship to there. Now he'd found an old bar, always coiled in smoke and with a free whiskey now and then from a young woman at the bar who'd wink and come over to join him. The joke was that he only ever left his barstool when he was supported by a pretty young one. A mermaid and a schooner Tells us he was once at sea, A heart pierced by an arrow Tells us once more in love was he, And a dragon spitting fire, He's forgotten what that's for, But tattooed on his mind is a reminder of the war. His life had turned out just as he wanted, in the end. During the initial fighting it had been hard to see how he could possibly get what he needed from it, and at first he'd been plagued by doubt, by the nagging feeling that there was something he should remember. That had left him, though, as he learnt all over again what it meant to be at sea. The dirty songs on the high waves, the ever changing life and vast quantities of alcohol despite strict discipline. He'd seen it all and done it all, and that was far better than a quiet life with a woman and a few children, always stuck doing the same thing. No, he was happy enough. |
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| Author: | Abi [ Sat Jan 09, 2010 9:11 pm ] |
| Post subject: | Re: Old Jack's Charm |
Interesting alternative there - at least Jack had a happy life, I suppose. Beautifully written - thanks Ariel.
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| Author: | abbeybufo [ Sat Jan 09, 2010 10:14 pm ] |
| Post subject: | Re: Old Jack's Charm |
Gosh what a different scenario - but as Abi says, beautifully done 
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| Author: | Miss Di [ Sun Jan 10, 2010 1:43 am ] |
| Post subject: | Re: Old Jack's Charm |
SO well done, thank you. |
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| Author: | Elle [ Wed Jan 13, 2010 10:14 pm ] |
| Post subject: | Re: Old Jack's Charm |
That was lovely, I really enjoyed it, thanks. |
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| Author: | Carolyn P [ Thu Jan 14, 2010 11:31 am ] |
| Post subject: | Re: Old Jack's Charm |
How different for him. |
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| Author: | Clare [ Sun Jan 17, 2010 2:59 pm ] |
| Post subject: | Re: Old Jack's Charm |
That was great, thank you. What an alternative lifestyle for Jack! |
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| Author: | Finn [ Wed Feb 02, 2011 11:29 pm ] |
| Post subject: | Re: Old Jack's Charm |
How did I miss this? Brilliant! It makes me think of the song 'Amsterdam'  Thank you! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kNLZ-DQe4Wo |
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| Author: | Elder in Ontario [ Wed Feb 02, 2011 11:48 pm ] |
| Post subject: | Re: Old Jack's Charm |
What a wonderful alternative life for Jack - I don't know the Marc Almond song (ducks for cover) but I certainly know that a sailor was popularly said to have a girl in every port! I rather like the idea of a tattoo for every girl, though I'm not sure if Jack would have had any 'bare' skin by the end!! I see why it reminded you of 'Amsterdam', too, Finn. Definitely different and very well written, Ariel. Thank you. |
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| Author: | roversgirl [ Thu Feb 03, 2011 7:58 am ] |
| Post subject: | Re: Old Jack's Charm |
That very well-written thanks. Interesting alternative but nice to see he hadn't forgotten everything - naming his tattoo Joey. Thanks
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| Author: | chris84 [ Thu Feb 03, 2011 4:26 pm ] |
| Post subject: | Re: Old Jack's Charm |
That was wonderful, love Jacks alternative life. Thank you.
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| Author: | PaulineS [ Thu Feb 03, 2011 4:44 pm ] |
| Post subject: | Re: Old Jack's Charm |
Thanks a very different take on Jack's life. |
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