WHAT IT TOOK FOR ME TO LISTEN TO CHARLEY PATTON AT FIVE A.M. SUNDAY NIGHT (a brief, provisional and non-comprehensive Historical Outline):

-the initial existence of existence
-earth; chemical and geological transformations; life.
-evolution produces the human ear which senses physical vibrations and interprets them as "sound."
-human beings develop language; human beings HAVE EMOTIONS.
-agriculture, the domestication of animals, tribe, cities, civilizations, etc. etc. blah blah blah.
-religion, rum, slavery, floods. at some point,
-someone discovers the guitar.

-charley patton discovers the guitar.
-i forgot about electricity. electricity.
-charley patton's heart beats.
-charley patton pushes air out of his lungs etc. to make "sounds";
-charley patton shapes sounds into syllables, like smoke rings, with the mechanisms of his mouth.
-charley patton gets increasingly good at this;
-charley patton gets the blues. (or at least,)
-charley patton sings the blues.

-the inevitabilities of thomas edison; (later,)
-grooves cut into wax, or whatever else. records.
-think of the needle as a finger, reading braille. (later,)
-LASERS; plastics. compact discs. (or, to put it another way,)
-a line approximately .5 microns (1 micron = 1 millionth of a meter) wide spirals out for approximately 3.5 miles on a thin disc with a diameter of 4.8 inches. (3.5 miles of a ghost of)
-charley patton's voice.

-i'm born; later, i get the blues. on a sunday night
-i drink heavily.
-i collapse, but not before calling up charley patton.
-i fall asleep drunk.
-i don't even really know what i'm listening to
-but it seems to make sense.