Category Archives: Poetry
Why write?
Posted by John R. Conley
I’ve been writing since I was a 12 year-old (over 30 years)…mostly lyrics to melodies in my head. When I was in college, I took maybe a years worth of guitar lessons from Barry Robbins, a graduate of the Atlanta School of Music. Then, I moved to Atlanta, got married, had children, and eventually ended up in a mix of commission-only jobs in 2011.
“Vagabond’s Rose” is just a name I thought sounded cool and I imagined the “Vagabond” wandering from town to town wearing a faded red rose on his ragged tweed jacket’s lapel all the while looking for contentment or peace or something that he can’t quite define…God, maybe?

A sculpture in iron (I guess) of Keith Richards of the Rolling Stones when I visited the Hard Rock Cafe in Honolulu circa 1991.
Until I get some of them recorded, I decided to share a few of the lyric sheets on Scribd.com just to try and get feedback. It’s been humbling… more folks than I expected actually follow me on there based on lyrics with no melodies or music at all. A “thank you” to each one of you.
I’ve also created a Zazzle store with some print-on-demand items related to my lyrics.
I just read an article related to the state of mind the author is in when he writes as being between “a mystic and madness.” This pretty much sums it up.
I put the finger on Angus! Brian Johnson and Angus Young photo above at “Guest Services” at Philips Arena. Rock On!

Posted in God, Lyrics, Poetry, Vagabond's Rose Publishing
Tags: "Barry Robbins", Atlanta, John Conley, John Robert Conley, lyricist, lyrics, Statesboro, Vagabond's Rose, writing