ZEN PENCILS
59. SHEL SILVERSTEIN: The Woulda-Coulda-Shouldas
Shel Silverstein (1930-1999) was an American cartoonist, illustrator, singer-songwriter, poet, playwright, screenwriter and one of the most creative badasses I have ever read about. He worked as cartoonist for Playboy for nearly 20 years, his children’s books have sold millions of copies, he’s won a Grammy and is in the Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame for his music AND he’s written over 100 plays. He was a creative titan. The embarrassing this is I didn’t know who he was until reader Tamar submitted this quote (thanks mate!). I definitely need to find out more about him and his work. Any suggestions?
The term ‘woulda-coulda-shoulda’ has become synonymous with the dating scene (at least it has with my group of friends). I’m sure most of you know that one guy (or girl) who always comes home alone, moaning about how they WOULDA talked to that pretty girl at the bar, how they COULDA totally got that waitress’s number, that they SHOULDA definitely bought her a drink if only she glanced at him one more time. Ok Ok, I admit it, that guy was me 
My girl had to give me HER number when we first met. Argh, what a chump!
I would love to hear your own stories – are you with the love of your life because you were a ‘DID’ or are you regretting the time you ‘COULDA-SHOULDA-WOULDA’?
HOSTED BY:
If I had a shit ton of money, I’d buy all your stuff because you help make the world a better place.
I agree. I love every single one of the posters. and it looks better framed too
Thanks dudes!
this was awesome , like always .. Your work is awesome man , keep it up!
Idk if you read my previous message but i was hoping if u cud do a comic on “what a wonderful world” by Louis Armstrong .. From a 1st or 3rd person point of view , hes walking and seeing all the things mentioned in the song , and at the end you show Louis’s face , His big-smile face that everyone loves ..
thanks , if not , still got love for you..
Thanks for the suggestion Jaudat, i’ll keep it in mind
Yes! I think it’s a really good idea! I’ll wait for it!
Read “The Giving Tree”! It’s so sad, and it’s meant to be a book for kids!
Great as always! One question… is the guy in the 2nd picture doing what I think he’s doing? If he is, I’m pretty glad he remained a woulda…
As for me, I’m very much a woulda-coulda-shoulda. That’s such a satisfying phrase to say aloud haha!
His books of poetry – “Where the Sidewalk Ends” and “A Light in the Attic” (and a third whose name escapes me at this moment) – are full of hilarious kid-oriented poems and terrific illustrations. Definitely worth checking out.
Runny Babbit?
“Falling Up” is the third poetry collection (thanks, Google!). But “Runny Babbit” is quite good and funny, too.
Totally agree with this.
I agree with Dan – “Where the Sidewalk Ends” is great. Lots of them are silly or sarcastic, but poems from that book that may be your style include: “Listen to the MUSTN’TS,” “Where the Sidewalk Ends,” “Alice,” and “Traffic Light.”
I’m to young to, as a male, even a rather mature one, perceive love.
Nonetheless, I almost fell into a wolda-coulda-shoulda, but I, a non-handsome (but not ugly either), semi-narcissistic nerd, got the hottest girl my age ever.
You’re a stud Calibur!
His song “A Boy Named Sue” as sung by Johnny Cash, is well known. What isn’t is the father’s sidr of it. http://www.metrolyrics.com/father-of-a-boy-named-sue-lyrics-shel-silverstein.html
Hey, I’ve got the book “The Giving Tree” – it is a kids book with a much bigger message, yet so simply done. I’m happy to send it down to you Gavin as I’m not sure it is still available. Let me know where to send it and it’s yours
Thanks for the offer Grace, but I’ll find a copy somewhere!
I’ll second ‘Where The Sidewalk Ends’ and ‘A Light in the Attic’. We have all of his children’s books, but those two stand out as the backbone of his work. ‘Giving Tree’ is profoundly good too… I know more than one person with a Giving Tree tattoo.
Inspiring
This reminds me of one of my favorite authors, Thich Nhat Hanh. Clarity, gravity, truth. Good on you, Gavin.
Hanging out with some mutual friends, a girl and I go off and chat for a loooong time by ourselves. I give her my number. That was a number of years ago–we got married last month
My man!
This is only half the truth. No matter how confident or badass or handsome (or all of the above) the guy is, he WILL fail a bazilion times. These kinds of quotes are not of help, for after the failure the guy will blame the advice and his motivation will go back to zero.
That’s a shame because failure is what most successful people go through before making it…
The quote is not about fail/success it’s about having the balls to try.
Plus if the guy never tries, he fails ultimately, because he doesn’t give success a chance.
This one’s Funky Zen!
Awesome!
This reminds me of the novel Saturnin from Zdenek Jirotka. One of the protagonist, Doctor Vlach, is dividing people based on imaginary situation of them sitting in a coffee shop with bowl of donuts before them. The first group will sit there, drink coffee and eat the donuts, the second group would do the same but would be entertained by imagining what would happen if they stood up and started to throw the donuts on oblivious customers of the coffee shop, starting a donut-war. The third group would stand up and do it. The main protagonist, servant Saturnin is from the third group and has rather British kind of humor.
As I was raised by people who are either the second or the third group and Saturnin is a must-read in my family, I can tell you that I was always DID, silly one, but happy. :]
Nice work on the comic, I always love to see more from you.
I think Saturnin was translated to English, I recommend it wholeheartedly :]
Shel Silverstein’s work has a permanent place on my bookshelves and I read his poems and stories to my son (who’s now 24).
I’m a “did.” While I can’t say that all of my choices have been good (read: smart) ones, I don’t regret most of them. Life’s too short to work with a safety net.
Met my wife playing volleyball. I bet her dinner that the loser had to buy. She said I was asking her out. I say I was too shy to ask her out but this way if she said no she was rejecting my bet and not me.
Bearman, u sneaky son of a gun
My story is pretty much like yours… I waited about two weeks to ask my girl out…She got tired of waiting and asked me haha
Gosh… I’m from Brazil and was going to buy the “Invictus” tomorrow! If you can solve the importantion problem tell us =( I’ll think of something
Victor, I’m from Brazil and just today I placed an order for some Zen Pencils’ prints. Society6 accepted my order and my credit card was duly charged without any problem. I’ll try to update this post when I receive my prints (what may take several weeks, as you probably know).
Yes, please let me know how it goes Ricardo. I’ve had lots of Brazilian readers say they don’t ship there. Thnx
Oh, good to know!
Thanks. To bad I lost the free shipment though.
I am baffled as to how the brill Shel Silverstein got co-opted into something so sexist.
How is this sexist? The one guy is sexist, but the whole thing is not.
Is brill even a word? Oh, dictionary.com says… a European flatfish, Scophthalmus rhombus, closely related to the turbot.
You mean how did he get co-opted into writing and cartooning for Playboy? Or were you thinking of some other sexist thing…
I read a lot of Silverstein’s kids stuff (Where the Sidewalk Ends and another collection, plus my favorite The Giving Tree) and was shocked (but entertained) by his adult-centric stuff when I was older.
Me, I’m the super shy guy that never knew what to say (coulda-shoulda-woulda). But at the school sponsored high school graduation party a girl I knew and I made a connection, thanks to her actions. Then two days later I moved. We kept in touch for a bit, writing all the time, and I visited that Christmas. But then she let me know she was seeing someone else. I was devastated. But, I had another relationship that lasted nearly two years and a much shorter lived one that ended up with me being guilted into getting married. That was 8 years after graduation. Then three years later, I get a call from the girl from high school (mind you, I’d moved 4 times since high school, to two different states). She flew out to see me and a little more than a year later we were married. That was 10 years and four children ago. We’re still happy
Wow, now that’s a love story Michael. That could be a rom-com movie plot!
Don’t know if anyone has suggested it, but if you only ever read one thing from Silverstein, it must be his book “Where the Sidewalk Ends”. Just my two cents.
here’s a cool animation of one of his books, hope you like it http://youtu.be/MCmZ2jrQooE
Cool, thanks Jundi
Love it! Good Spirit!
Ok, so I need to find ‘The Giving Tree’ and ‘Where the sidewalk ends’. Thanks for the suggestions
Falling Up is another one you absolutely have to read.
Even if we’re not together (and i have to admit i’m not looking for a relationship right now) and our dating has ended, i had some very beautiful and intense weeks with a real beauty working at my favourite record store. First time I saw her she blew me away and we talked like ages. Second time I saw her I worked up the courage to ask her out after work and we shared a nice evening in the park. Third time I saw her we ended up kissing in the very same park. The next weeks were fantastic. Feels great to not have to ask yourself “what could have been”.
Love your work man. Very inspiring. The cartoon reminded me of that girl. Thanks for that.
Greetings from Germany!
No problem Marvin, good on you!
Nothing better than Shel in his own words – howabout “Sarah Sylvia Cynthia Stout”?
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tvNhhEtUGJY
First aired on Dr. Demento.
Gav,
I’ve been following your work for a while now and I am always consistently impressed with your final product. You truly have a gift for graphically conveying poignant messages in a beautiful, yet simplistic way. Your taste in quotes is excellent and I look forward to seeing many more of your pieces.
-A
Weirdly enough, Silverstein was also the main songwriter for comedy rock band Dr Hook and the Medicine Show. I came across his name while reading the book “I Hate Myself and Want to Die – The 52 most depressing songs of all time”; apparently listeners in 1971 weren’t ready for his brand of humour and took the song “Sylvia’s Mother” at face value.
Now I am in love because I did. There is sign on my zippo lighter – “carpe diem”, which means – “catch the moment”. And all the time it makes me remember that life is short, but you can always make it really interesting)
That one little not woulda shoulda coulda is a boss.
I think this comic is shit but my shit I’ll tell you why, because those men who are drinking will never be with a real woman like her because they are fucking damn dogs at all I SHIT ON THEM! bye.
Shel was a huge inspiration to me as a child, the giving tree…what a classic!
Hello, I just wanted to thank you. I’ve learned about so many people through your comics, probably if anyone tried to make me read poems or quotes I wouldn’t have found them this beautiful. Your illustrations give them more life and go so well the themes its almost impossible not to be moved by the whole composition itself. So thank you for all your hard work!
this poster very much speaks to me, was wondering if you are turning this into a print anytime soon. thank.
I don’t think so Paul, the poem is still copyrighted
I am such a fan of your work. I’m planning to get your prints for everyone on my xmas list this year
And I have to recommend one of my favorite books EVER, written by Shel Silverstein. It’s called The Missing Piece Meets the Big O. It is, ostensibly, a kids book, but i discovered it as an adult. It perfectly describes my entire dating/heartbreak/love/romance history. It is UNCANNY and it makes me cry every time I read it… they’re happy tears now that I’ve finally met my own personal “Big O”
Thanks for the recommendation and support Rebecca!
Fans of Shel should find a copy of a biography by; Lisa Rogak called “A Boy Named Shel”. I found mine a Goodwill, and learned a lot about the man and his creative process. Being a writer myself it was a great inspiration to me.
Shel’s childrens books and poems are great, but he wrote some fantastic hit songs that I as a DJ had played on the radio for years and didn’t have any idea that he had written them. Songs like; A boy Named Sue, by Johnny Cash, Sylvia’s Mother, by Dr. Hook, Cover of the Rolling Stone, By Dr. Hook and many others.
I’m so happy that I stumbled upon ‘Zen Pencils’…
hahahaaaaaaa amazing!
I just love your visualizations. I spent hours reading all the post, quite addictive they are.
Please make one poster for this poem too.
“Draw a crazy picture,
Write a nutty poem,
Sing a mumble-grumble song,
Whistle through your comb.
Do a loony-goony dance
‘Cross the kitchen floor,
Put something silly in the world
That ain’t been there before.” by “Draw a crazy picture,
Write a nutty poem,
Sing a mumble-grumble song,
Whistle through your comb.
Do a loony-goony dance
‘Cross the kitchen floor,
Put something silly in the world
That ain’t been there before.”
today ive first encountered your work and fall in straight away! so inspirational. thank you
I was a “DID” when I approached my bf, we had a great relationship together … but when he began to deteriorate, I lost hope and I finally gave up on him; by then I was a “COULDA-SHOULDA-WOULDA” … I should have done my part more and I could have saved him, and I would if I could …
I would recommend reading all of Shel Silverstein’s work, but Where the Sidewalk Ends would be a great place to start
Definitely give “The Giving Tree” a try. I still have that book on my shelf