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Can I Help It
Bob Crosby

[Written by Jimmy Van Heusen and Johnny Mercer]

You left one yesterday
You took my heart away
And now I dread each newborn day
Can I help it
Can I help it

Along each thoroughfair
While people stop and stare
I talk to you but you're not there
Can I help it, sweetheart

I try to sleep
My dreams are haunted
By a million stars that pry
How can I sleep
Your eyes look just that way
The day we said goodbye

I tried forgetting you
I tried to hurt you too
But now I find I still love you
Can I help it, sweetheart

Good morning, WA2K listeners and contributors.

edgar, thanks for the Bob Crosby song, Texas. Never heard that one, but I usually love Johnny Mercer lyrics.

Thinking of this one today, folks:

P.S. I Love You

by Johnny Mercer

What is there to write, what is there to say?
Same things happen ev'ry day;
Not a thing to write, not a thing to say,
So I take my pen in hand and start the same old way.

Dear, I thought I'd drop a line,
The weather's cool, the folks are fine;
I'm in bed each night at nine, P.S. I love you.
Yesterday we had some rain,
But all in all I can't complain;
Was it dusty on the train?
P.S. I love you.
Write to the Browns just as soon as you're able,
They came around to call;
I burned a hole in the dining room table,
And let me see, I guess that's all;
Nothing else for me to say,
And so I'll close, but by the way,
Ev'rybody's thinking of you.
P.S. I love you.

Ezio Pinza
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia


The Italian bass Ezio Pinza (18 May 1892 - 9 May 1957) was one of the outstanding opera singers of the first half of the 20th century. He spent twenty-two seasons at New York's Metropolitan Opera, appearing in more than 750 performances of fifty operas.





Biography

Pinza was born in Rome and grew up in Ravenna. He studied at Bologna's Conservatorio Martini. His operatic debut was in 1914 as Oroveso in Norma in Cremona.

After World War I, he debuted at Rome in 1919 and Milan's La Scala in February, 1922. Pinza's Met debut came November 1926 in Spontini's La Vestale, with famed American soprano Rosa Ponselle in the title role. In 1929, he sang Don Giovanni, a role with which he was subsequently to become closely identified. He subsequently added the Mozart roles Figaro (in 1940) and Sarastro (in 1942) to his repertoire, as well as a vast number of Italian operatic roles of Bellini, Donizetti, and Verdi, as well as Mussorgsky's Boris Godunov (sung in Italian).

He sang with Arturo Toscanini and the New York Philharmonic Orchestra as the bass soloist in the 1935 performances of Beethoven's Missa Solemnis. One of the performances was broadcast and preserved on transcription discs; this recording has been issued on LPs and CDs.

After retiring from the Met in 1948, Pinza embarked on a second career on Broadway. In April 1949, he appeared in the Rodgers and Hammerstein musical South Pacific and his operatic, expressive performance of "Some Enchanted Evening" made him a matinee idol and a national celebrity. He also appeared in the Broadway production of Fanny in 1954, opposite Florence Henderson.

Pinza died at age 64. His funeral was held at the Cathedral of St. John the Divine in New York City.

Oddly, Pinza could not sight-read a musical score. He would listen to his part being played on the piano, and having heard it, he could sing it.


Films and Television

Pinza appeared in several films, beginning with Carnegie Hall (1947), which featured a number of famous classical singers, musicians, conductors, and the New York Philharmonic Orchestra. He also appeared in a couple of MGM films (in Technicolor), including Mr. Imperium with Lana Turner and Strictly Dishonorable, both released in 1951. His final film appearance was as the famous Russian bass Feodor Chaliapin in the Technicolor film biography of impressario Sol Hurok, Tonight We Sing (1953); he sang a portion of Mussorgsky's Boris Godunov in the original Russian.

He hosted his own television program in 1951. In 1953 he appeared as the lead character Babbo Bonino, a retired opera singer, on the short-lived NBC series Bonino. He also made several live television appearances between 1951 and 1955.[1]


Recordings

He recorded extensively for the Victor Talking Machine Company, which became RCA Victor in 1929, recording primarily operatic arias as late as 1953. He made a few 78-rpm albums for Columbia Records in the mid 1940s; some of these have been reissued on LP and CD. He occasionally recorded popular songs and was featured on Columbia's original cast recording of South Pacific with Mary Martin, released on both LP and 78-rpm discs; this recording has been digitally remastered from the original magnetic tape recording by Sony for release CD. He was also featured in RCA's original cast album of Fanny.[2]

Margot Fonteyn
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia


Dame Margot Fonteyn de Arias, DBE, (18 May 1919, Reigate, Surrey, England - 21 February 1991 Panama City, Panama), the English assoluta, was considered the greatest ballerina of her time.




Early life

Fonteyn was born Margaret ("Peggy") Hookham to an English father and an Irish mother who was the illegitimate daughter of Brazilian businessman Antonio Fontes. Her Brazilian ancestry explains her exotic appearance, and supplied a motivation for her eventual Latin American marriage and residence. Early in her career, Margaret transformed Fontes into Fonteyn (a surname her brother adopted as well) and Margaret into Margot; thus her stage name.

She joined the Royal Ballet (then called the Sadler's Wells Theatre) while still a teenager, after having been trained by some of the greatest teachers of the day - Olga Preobrajenskaya and Mathilde Kschessinskaya, both of whom trained under Marius Petipa himself. By 1939, she was the company's star and the inspiration for many of Sir Frederick Ashton's ballets, such as Ondine, Daphnis and Chloe, and Sylvia. She was especially renowned for her portrayal of Aurora in Tchaikovsky's Sleeping Beauty. Televised versions of Sleeping Beauty and Ashton's version of Cinderella are now available on DVD. Fonteyn also worked with the choreographer Roland Petit and later in life, Martha Graham. In 1949, the Royal Ballet toured the United States and Fonteyn became an instant celebrity.


Dancing with Rudolf Nureyev and others

In the 1940s, she and Robert Helpmann formed a very successful dance partnership, and they toured together for several years. In the 1950s, she danced with Michael Somes. But her greatest partnership emerged at a time when many (including the head of the Royal Ballet, Ninette de Valois) thought she was about to retire. In 1961, Rudolf Nureyev defected to the West, and on February 21, 1962, he and Fonteyn first appeared on stage together, in a performance of Giselle. It was a great success; during the curtain calls Nureyev dropped to his knees and kissed Fonteyn's hand, cementing an on-and-offstage partnership which lasted until her 1979 retirement. Fonteyn and Nureyev became known for inspiring repeated frenzied curtain calls and bouquet tosses.

Ashton choreographed Marguerite and Armand for them, which no other couple danced until the 21st century. They debuted Kenneth MacMillan's Romeo and Juliet although MacMillan had conceived the ballet for Lynn Seymour and Christopher Gable. Fonteyn and Nureyev appeared together in a film version of Swan Lake and Kenneth MacMillan's Romeo and Juliet, as well as Les Sylphides and the Le Corsaire Pas de Deux.

Despite their differences in background, temperament, and a 19 year difference in age, Nureyev and Fonteyn became close lifelong friends and were famously loyal to each other. Fonteyn would not approve an unflattering photograph of Nureyev. In 1967, they were arrested after a performance in San Francisco, when the police raided a Haight-Ashbury party to which they had been invited. They remained close even after she retired to a Panama cattle farm, talking on the phone several times a week even though her farmhouse did not have a telephone. When she was treated for cancer, Nureyev paid many of her medical bills and visited her often, despite his busy schedule as a performer and choreographer, as well as his own health problems (he was HIV positive and succumbed to AIDS in 1993). In a documentary about Fonteyn, Nureyev said that they danced with "one body, one soul" and that Margot was "all he had, only her." An observer said that "If most people are at level A, they were at level Z."

In the extremely competitive world of ballet, Fonteyn was renowned for her consummate professionalism and loyalty to her friends. Her dancing stood out for its lyricism, grace, and passion. Although Fonteyn was the Royal Ballet's biggest star, its director, Dame Ninette de Valois, cultivated other talents, so that the Royal Ballet of Fonteyn's day also included Nadia Nerina, Svetlana Beriosova, Lynn Seymour, and Antoinette Sibley.


Relationships

During the 1940s, Fonteyn had a long relationship with composer Constant Lambert which did not lead to marriage. In 1955, Fonteyn married Dr. Roberto de Arias, a Panamanian diplomat to London and playboy. Their marriage was initially a rocky one due to his infidelities. She was arrested when he attempted a coup against the Panamanian government. In 1965, a rival Panamanian politician shot Arias, leaving him a quadriplegic for the rest of his life.

The cost of his medical care is a reason why Fonteyn's career lasted until 1979, her 60th year, despite her suffering from an arthritic foot. Upon her retirement, the Royal Ballet honoured her with the title prima ballerina assoluta. She ended her days in Panama, remaining loyal to Arias in part because she was very devoted to his children from an earlier marriage. Because Arias's medical bills drained her finances, the Royal Ballet held a special "gala" in 1990 for her benefit. Shortly after his death, she was diagnosed with a cancer that proved fatal.

A dramatic image of her performing Swan Lake at the Bath Festival, Bath, United Kingdom, was captured by British photographer Des Gershon taken secretly from the high gallery of the Theatre Royal, Bath, as she danced with the corps de ballet on the day she heard that there had been an assassination attempt on the life of her husband. The stress, worry and pain is clearly shown in her face with the remarkable single frame of a moment in time. View the image at http://www.digitalrailroad.net/desegershon and also http://www.photographersdirect.com


Legacy

Fonteyn was knighted (made a dame) in 1954 at the age of 35.

She was chancellor of the University of Durham from 1981 to 1990. The main hall in the Student Union building, the Fonteyn Ballroom, is named after her.

The folk group Eddie From Ohio has a song dedicated to her.

Quotes

"The one important thing I have learned over the years is the difference between taking one's work seriously and taking one's self seriously. The first is imperative and the second is disastrous."
"Great artists are people who find the way to be themselves in their art. Any sort of pretension induces mediocrity in art and life alike."
"Life offstage has sometimes been a wilderness of unpredictables in an unchoreographed world."
"Genius is another word for magic, and the whole point of magic is that it is inexplicable."

Robert Morse
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia


Robert Morse (b. May 18, 1931, Newton, Massachusetts) is an American actor. Morse is best known for his appearances in musicals and plays on Broadway, and has also acted in movies and TV shows. He served in the US Navy in the Korean War.

Morse created the role of Barnaby in The Matchmaker on Broadway in 1955 opposite Ruth Gordon, and reprised the role in 1958 in the filmed version, this time opposite Shirley Booth. That same year he won the Theatre World Award and was nominated for the Tony Award for Best Featured Actor in a Play for Say, Darling. His most famous role was that of J. Pierpont Finch in How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying, for which he received the Tony. He also starred in the 1968 movie version.

In 1965 he appeared in the black comedy The Loved One, a movie based on the novel by Evelyn Waugh that satirized the funeral business in Los Angeles, in particular the Forest Lawn Cemetery.

Morse was in the original Broadway cast of Sugar, a 1972 musical stage adaptation of Some Like It Hot, for which he was nominated for another Tony. He won a Tony for Best Actor in Play and the Drama Desk Award for Outstanding One Person Show/Solo Performance for his portrayal of Truman Capote in Tru (1989). In 1992 he recreated his performance for the PBS series American Playhouse and won the Emmy Award as Best Actor in a Miniseries or Special.

Morse joined other performers, including Marlo Thomas, in creating the 1972 Free to Be... You and Me children's album.

Morse has appeared in numerous TV shows, beginning in 1955 with the soap opera The Secret Storm and including mysteries, comedies, and variety shows. He had a featured role in the 1993 miniseries Wild Palms. His most recent credit was the 2000 City of Angels, a minor medical drama in which he had a regular part.

In 2002 Morse was cast in the role of The Wizard in the San Francisco run of the musical Wicked but was replaced by Joel Grey when it opened on Broadway.

Morse has been married three times and has five children.

A woman's garden is growing beautifully but the darn tomatoes
won't ripen. There's a limit to the number of uses for green
tomatoes and she's getting tired of it. So she goes to her
neighbor and says, "Your tomatoes are ripe, mine are green.
What can I do about it?"

Her neighbor replies, "Well, it may sound absurd but here's
what to do. After dark go out into your garden and take all
your clothes off. Tomatoes can see in the dark and they'll
be embarrassed and blush. In the morning they'll all be red,
you'll see."

Well, what the hell? She does it. Next day her neighbor asks
how it worked. "So-so" she answers. "The tomatoes are still
green but the cucumbers are all five inches longer."

Ah, hawkman. You just gave me my first laugh of the day. Thanks, Boston Bob. I didn't guess the punch line, either.

Later on, we will have a wonderful announcement about Bob and Nair.

As usual, we will await our Raggedy to do her face feature. (maybe our Turtle will ditto her.)

Hey, listeners. We can do one song by two people.

Sam and Janet Evening by both Ezio and Perry.

Some enchanted evening
You may see a stranger,
you may see a stranger
Across a crowded room
And somehow you know,
You know even then
That somewhere you'll see her
Again and again.

Some enchanted evening
Someone may be laughin',
You may hear her laughin'
Across a crowded room
And night after night,
As strange as it seems
The sound of her laughter
Will sing in your dreams.

Who can explain it?
Who can tell you why?
Fools give you reasons,
Wise men never try.

Some enchanted evening
When you find your true love,
When you feel her call you
Across a crowded room,
Then fly to her side,
And make her your own
Or all through your life you
May dream all alone.

Once you have found her,
Never let her go.
Once you have found her,
Never let her go!

Good Morning WA2K. Oooh, an announcement! Hooray.

but, Sam and Janet evening. YIKES!

I'll have you know, I made a special effort to get here very early - there's a turtle around here threatening my position as No. One "doing my thang" Photographer at WA2K. One has to be on one's toes these days, you know.

Ah, dar she is. (my mom used that expression)Raggedy, I thought you weren't going to be in our studio yesterday and I asked the turtle to sub for you, honey, but none of us objected to looking at the ape man twice.

Today our pretty pup has featured Margot, Ezio, Perry, and Robert. Great stills, PA. and we are delighted with your quartet.

Here's a song that I wrote in the sixth grade and it will be perfect for the upcoming nuptial announcement.

When my Dreams Come True.

When my dreams come true,
I'll be the luckiest gal in the happiest way,
And I'll have you in my arms to stay
For keeps,
When my dreams come true.

When my dreams come true,
I'll be walking around with my head in the clouds
And my feet on the ground
But I won't see the crowds for you.
When my dreams come true.

So far it's only a dream,
Just idle thinking of you.
But though it's only a dream,
Some day you may dream, too.

When my dreams come true.
We will walk down the aisle with a promise for two
And the preacher will smile as we say
Yes, I do love you.
When my dreams come true.

Sorry folks. This isn't one of my modest days.

When I Need You

When I need you
I just close my eyes and I'm with you
And all that I so want to give you
Its only a heartbeat away

When I need love
I hold out my hands and I touch love
I never knew there was so much love
Keeping me warm night and day

Miles and miles of empty space in between us
The telephone cant take the place of your smile
But you know I wont be travelin' forever
Its cold out, but hold out, and do I like I do
When I need you
I just close my eyes and I'm with you
And all that I so wanna give you babe
Its only a heartbeat away

Its not easy when the road is your driver
Honey that's a heavy load that we bear
But you know I won't be traveling a lifetime
Its cold out but hold out and do like I do
Oh, I need you

When I need love
I hold out my hands and I touch love
I never knew there was so much love
Keeping me warm night and day

When I need you
I just close my eyes
And you're right here by my side
Keeping me warm night and day

I just hold out my hands
I just hold out my hand
And I'm with you darlin'
Yes, I'm with you darlin'
All I wanna give you
Its only a heartbeat away
Oh I need you darling

Writers: Albert Hammond & Carol Bayer Sager
Performed by Leo Sayer

You know, Rex, I think the most important thing in any relationship is to have someone there when you need them. Words mean nothing if you have to go it alone in times of trouble and deprivation, right? Thanks for the song, however.

I like this one, folks, because it is in a minor key, and there is something about "major to minor" that is hauntingly beautiful.

One of my favorite Beatles songs.

The Beatles - Michelle


Michelle, ma belle
These are words that go together well
My Michelle

Michelle, ma belle
Sont les mots qui vont tres bien ensemble
Tres bien ensemble

I love you, I love you, I love you
That's all I want to say
Until I find a way
I will say the only words I know that
You'll understand

Michelle, ma belle
Sont les mots qui vont tres bien ensemble
Tres bien ensemble

I need to, I need to, I need to
I need to make you see
Oh, what you mean to me
Until I do I'm hoping you will
Know what I mean

I love you

I want you, I want you, I want you
I think you know by now
I'll get to you somehow
Until I do I'm telling you so
You'll understand

Michelle, ma belle
Sont les mots qui vont tres bien ensemble
Tres bien ensemble

I will say the only words I know
That you'll understand, my Michelle

L.O.V.E.

L is for the way you look at me
O is for the only one I see
V is very, very extraordinary
E is even more than anyone that you adore can
Love is all that I can give to you
Love is more than just a game for two
Two in love can make it
Take my heart and please don`t break it
Love was made for me and you

Instrumental

L is for the way you look at me
O is for the only one I see
V is very, very extraordinary
E is even more than anyone that you adore can
Love is all that I can give to you
Love is more than just a game for two
Two in love can make it
Take my heart and please don`t break it
Love was made for me and you
Love was made for me and you
Love was made for me and you

Artist Nat King Cole (peak Billboard position # 81 in 1964-seven months after the Beatles hit the Ed Sullivan show)
Words by Milt Gabler and Music by Bert Kaempfert

Well, folks, thanks to Rex and his Nat Cole song, I did some research and found out that Bert Kaempfert is from Hamburg, Germany. What a surprise.

Guess we had better dedicate this to hbg and Walter.

Artist: Bert Kaempfert Lyrics
Song: Strangers In The Night Lyrics

Strangers in the night exchanging glances,
Wond'ring in the night what were the chances
we'd be sharing love before the night was through.

Something in your eyes was so inviting,
Something in your smile was so exciting,
Something in my heart told me I must have you.

Strangers in the night two lonely people we were.
Strangers in the night up to the moment when we said our first hello.
Little did we know love was just a glance away,
A warm embracing dance away and ever since that night we've been together,
Lovers at first sight in love forever.
It turned out so right for strangers in the night.

Pure Prairie League - Jazzman Lyrics


Like that sweet thing sugar loose
Well you can call me when I'm clean off the one way juice
Honey I'm a jazzman with the sunnyland blues
Just off the streets and tryin' a trick or two
A trick or two... a trick or two
Honey I'm a jazzman tryin' a trick or two

Ya hold me up and ya let me fly
Givin' me a sweet kind spirit to swing by
Honey won't ya call out your train time
[Jazzman lyrics on http://www.metrolyrics.com]

Cause I'm waitin' on you for your one slow ride
One slow ride... one slow ride
I need to know your train time to catch your eye

Well for now I'm wired and beat
Once ya put it to use and then ya put it to sleep
Red hot and ready and light on my feet
I'm easy to get to and I'm easy to keep
I'm easy to please... easy to please
When you're a jazzman you get easy to please
A trick or two... a trick or two
Honey I'm a jazzman with the sunnyland blues

You know, dys, Carl Sandburg wrote a poem about Jazzmen. Probably the worst thing that I have ever heard. Can't be good all the time, I guess.

So, our cowboy thinks that there is no better place to watch the sunset than the west, and Willie agrees.

When evening chores are over at our ranch house on the plains
And all I've got to do is lay around
I saddle up my pony and ride off down the trail
To watch the desert sun go down

Ridin' down the canyon just to watch the sun go down
A picture that no artist ever could paint
White faced cattle lowin' on the mountain trail
I hear a coyote whinin' for its mate

Cactus plants are bloomin' sagebrush everywhere
Granite spoires are standing all around

I tell you folks it's heaven to be ridin' down the trail
To watch the desert sun go down.

and, folks, a GREAT poem by Carl.


Prairie Waters By Night


Chatter of birds two by two raises a night song joining a litany of running water--sheer waters
showing the russet of old stones remembering many rains.

And the long willows drowse on the shoulders of the running water, and sleep from much music;
joined songs of day-end, feathery throats and stony waters, in a choir chanting new psalms.

It is too much for the long willows when low laughter of a red moon comes down; and the willows
drowse and sleep on the shoulders of the running water.

Carl Sandburg

Very interesting, thanks for the insight Letty.

Always some serendipity, folks. As I looked for one of my favorite poems on "insight", I came across this gem. William Stafford is one of my favorites, and the following is a brief commentary on one of his observations.

Poets are athletes of the mind; but the performances they put on do not take place in stadiums or on television. The performances take place in books, and the quality of the performance depends almost wholly upon the existence of an educated and willing reader; for the art of poetry is pre­eminently an art of reading.
A lovely little poem about the contract between writer and reader is the poem "This Book," by William Stafford. "This Book" is the prefatory poem for his most political collection, Allegiances, published by Harper and Row at the height of the Vietnam War. Although the poem does not say so explicitly, it presents reading as a political act. The speaker is a book.

Late, at the beginning of cold,
you push your breath toward home.
Silence waits at the door.
You stamp, go in, start the fire­
from any part of the room I suddenly say
"Hello," but do not get in your way.
Quiet as all books, I wait, and promise
we'll watch the night: you turn a page;
winter misses a stride. You see
the reason for time, for everything in the sky.
And into your eyes I climb, on the strongest
thread in the world, weaving the dark and the cold.

for some reason i've had this paul simon tune running through my head all day

Something So Right
Paul Simon

You've got the cool water
When the fever runs high
You've got the look of lovelight in your eyes
And I was in crazy motion
'til you calmed me down
It took a little time
But you calmed me down

When something goes wrong
I'm the first to admit it
I'm the first to admit it
And the last one to know

when something goes right
Well it's likely to lose me, mm
It's apt to confuse me
It's such an unusual sight
Oh, I can't, I can't get used to something so right
Something so right

They've got a wall in China
It's a thousand miles long
To keep out the foreigners they made it strong
And I've got a wall around me
That you can't even see
It took a little time
To get next to me

When something goes wrong
I'm the first to admit it
I'm the first to admit it
And the last one to know
when something goes right
Well it's likely to lose me, mm
It's apt to confuse me
because it's such an unusual sight
Oh, I swear, I can't get used to something so right
Something so right

Some people never say the words "I love you"
It's not their style
to be so bold
Some people never say those words "I love you"
But like a child they're longing to be told, mm

When something goes wrong
I'm the first to admit it
I'm the first to admit it
And the last one to know
when something goes right
Well it's likely to lose me, mm
It's apt to confuse me
because it's such an unusual sight
I swear, I can't, I can't get used to something so right
Something so right

hmmmmm, ooohhhhh,
Something so right

They're selling postcards of the hanging
They're painting the passports brown
The beauty parlor is filled with sailors
The circus is in town
Here comes the blind commissioner
They've got him in a trance
One hand is tied to the tight-rope walker
The other is in his pants
And the riot squad they're restless
They need somewhere to go
As Lady and I look out tonight
From Desolation Row

Cinderella, she seems so easy
"It takes one to know one," she smiles
And puts her hands in her back pockets
Bette Davis style
And in comes Romeo, he's moaning
"You Belong to Me I Believe"
And someone says," You're in the wrong place, my friend
You better leave"
And the only sound that's left
After the ambulances go
Is Cinderella sweeping up
On Desolation Row

Now the moon is almost hidden
The stars are beginning to hide
The fortunetelling lady
Has even taken all her things inside
All except for Cain and Abel
And the hunchback of Notre Dame
Everybody is making love
Or else expecting rain
And the Good Samaritan, he's dressing
He's getting ready for the show
He's going to the carnival tonight
On Desolation Row

Now Ophelia, she's 'neath the window
For her I feel so afraid
On her twenty-second birthday
She already is an old maid

To her, death is quite romantic
She wears an iron vest
Her profession's her religion
Her sin is her lifelessness
And though her eyes are fixed upon
Noah's great rainbow
She spends her time peeking
Into Desolation Row

Einstein, disguised as Robin Hood
With his memories in a trunk
Passed this way an hour ago
With his friend, a jealous monk
He looked so immaculately frightful
As he bummed a cigarette
Then he went off sniffing drainpipes
And reciting the alphabet
Now you would not think to look at him
But he was famous long ago
For playing the electric violin
On Desolation Row

Dr. Filth, he keeps his world
Inside of a leather cup
But all his sexless patients
They're trying to blow it up
Now his nurse, some local loser
She's in charge of the cyanide hole
And she also keeps the cards that read
"Have Mercy on His Soul"
They all play on penny whistles
You can hear them blow
If you lean your head out far enough
From Desolation Row

Across the street they've nailed the curtains
They're getting ready for the feast
The Phantom of the Opera
A perfect image of a priest
They're spoonfeeding Casanova
To get him to feel more assured
Then they'll kill him with self-confidence
After poisoning him with words

And the Phantom's shouting to skinny girls
"Get Outa Here If You Don't Know
Casanova is just being punished for going
To Desolation Row"

Now at midnight all the agents
And the superhuman crew
Come out and round up everyone
That knows more than they do
Then they bring them to the factory
Where the heart-attack machine
Is strapped across their shoulders
And then the kerosene
Is brought down from the castles
By insurance men who go
Check to see that nobody is escaping
To Desolation Row

Praise be to Nero's Neptune
The Titanic sails at dawn
And everybody's shouting
"Which Side Are You On?"
And Ezra Pound and T. S. Eliot
Fighting in the captain's tower
While calypso singers laugh at them
And fishermen hold flowers
Between the windows of the sea
Where lovely mermaids flow
And nobody has to think too much
About Desolation Row

Yes, I received your letter yesterday
(About the time the door knob broke)
When you asked how I was doing
Was that some kind of joke?
All these people that you mention
Yes, I know them, they're quite lame
I had to rearrange their faces
And give them all another name
Right now I can't read too good
Don't send me no more letters no
Not unless you mail them
From Desolation Row


Bob Dylan
Desolation Row