Honor to the Poet - Giorgio Toschi

Down by the river junior year Walking with my girl, And we came upon a place There in the tall grass where a couple Had been making love And left the mark of their embrace. I said to her, "Looks like they had some fun." She said to me, "Let's do the same." And still I taste her kisses And her freckles in the sun When I play the poet game. A young man down in hill country In the year of '22 Went to see his future bride. She lived in a rough old shack That poverty blew through. She invited him inside. She'd been cooking, ashamed and feeling sad, She could only offer him bread and her name - Grandpa said that it was the best gift A fella ever had And he taught me the poet game. I had a friend who drank too much And played too much guitar - And we sure got along. Reel-to-reels rolled across The country near and far With letters poems and songs. But these days he don't talk to me And he won't tell me why. I miss him every time i say his name. I don't know what he's doing Or why our friendship died While we played the poet game. The fall rain was pounding down On an old New Hampshire mill And the river wild and high. I was talking to her while leaves blew down Like a sudden chill - There was wildness in her eyes. We made love like we'd been waiting All of our lives for this - Strangers know no shame - But she had to leave at dawn And with a sticky farewell kiss Left me to play the poet game. I watched my country turn into A coast-to-coast strip mall And I cried out in a song: If we could do all that in thirty years, Then please tell me you all - Why does good change take so long? Why does the color of your skin Or who you choose to love Still lead to such anger and pain? And why do I think it's any help For me to still dream of Playing the poet game? Sirens wail above the fields - Another soul gone down - Another Sun about to rise. I've lost track of my mistakes, Like birds they fly around And darken half of my skies. To all of those I've hurt - I pray you'll forgive me. I to you will freely do the same. So many things I didn't see, With my eyes turned inside, Playing the poet game. I walk out at night to take a leak Underneath the stars - Oh yeah that's the life for me. There's Orion and the Pleiades And I guess that must be Mars - All as clear as we long to be. I've sung what I was given - Some was bad and some was good. I never did know from where it came And if I had it all to do again I am not sure I would Play the poet game.

The end The songwriter's dead The blade fell upon him Taking him to the white lands of Empathica Of Innocence Empathica Innocence The dreamer and the wine Poet without a rhyme A widowed writer torn apart by chains of hell One last perfect verse Is still the same old song Oh Christ how I hate what I have become Take me home Getaway, runaway, fly away Lead me astray to dreamer's hideaway I cannot cry 'cause the shoulder cries more I cannot die, I, a whore for the cold world Forgive me I have but two faces One for the world One for God, save me I cannot cry 'cause the shoulder cries more I cannot die, I, a whore for the cold world My home was there 'n then Those meadows of heaven Adventure-filled days, one with every smiling face Please, no more words Thoughts from a severed head No more praise, tell me once my heart goes right Take me home Getaway, runaway, fly away Lead me astray to dreamer's hideaway I cannot cry 'cause the shoulder cries more I cannot die, I, a whore for the cold world Forgive me I have but two faces One for the world One for God, save me I cannot cry 'cause the shoulder cries more I cannot die, I, a whore for the cold world Whore for the cold world Whore for the cold world Sparkle my scenery With turquoise waterfall With beauty underneath The Ever Free Tuck me in beneath the blue Beneath the pain Beneath the rain Goodnight kiss for a child in time Swaying blade my lullaby On the shore we sat and hoped Under the same pale moon Whose guiding light chose you Chose you all "I'm afraid, I'm so afraid Being raped again, and again, and again I know I will die alone, but loved You live long enough to hear the sound of guns Long enough to find yourself screaming every night Long enough to see your friends betray you For years I've been strapped unto this altar Now I only have 3 minutes and counting I just wish the tide would catch me first And give me a death I always longed for" Second robber to the right of Christ Cut in half, infanticide The world will rejoice today As the crows feast on the rotting poet Everyone must bury their own No pack to bury the heart of stone Now he's home in hell, serves him well Slain by the bell, tolling for his farewell The morning dawned, upon his altar Remains of the dark passion play Performed by his friends without shame Spitting on his grave as they came Getaway, runaway, fly away Lead me astray to dreamer's hideaway I cannot cry 'cause the shoulder cries more I cannot die, I, a whore for the cold world Forgive me I have but two faces One for the world One for God, save me I cannot cry 'cause the shoulder cries more I cannot die, I, a whore for the cоld world Whore for the cold world Whore for the cold world "Today, in the year of our Lord 2005 Tuomas was called from the cares of the world He stopped crying at the end of each beautiful day The music he wrote had too long been without silence He was found naked and dead With a smile in his face A pen and 1000 pages of erased text" Save me Be still, my son You're home Oh when did you become so cold? The blade will keep on descending All you need is to feel my love Search for beauty, find your shore Try to save them all, bleed no more You have such oceans within In the end I will always love you The beginning

This is what you give me to work with Well honey, I've seen worse We're going to turn this sow's ear into a silk purse We'll have you washed and dried Primped and polished till you glow with pride Trust my recipe for instant bride You'll bring honor to us all Wait and see, when we're through Boys will gladly go to war for you With good fortune (and a great hairdo) You'll bring honor to us all A girl can bring her family Great honor in one way By striking a good match And this could be that day Men want girls with good taste Calm, obedient, who work fast paced With good breeding and a tiny waist You'll bring honor to us all We all must serve our Emperor Who guards us from the Huns A man by bearing arms A girl by bearing sons When we're through You can't fail Like a lotus blossom soft and pale How could any fellow say "no sale" You'll bring honor to us all There, you're ready Not yet An apple for serenity A pendant for balance Beads of jade for beauty You must proudly show it Now add a cricket, just for luck And even you can't blow it Ancestors, hear my plea Help me not to make a fool of me And to not uproot my family tree Keep my father standing tall Scarier than the undertaker We are meeting our matchmaker Destiny, guard our girls And our future as it fast unfurls Please look kindly on these cultured pearls Each a perfect porcelain doll Please bring honor to us- Please bring honor to us- Please bring honor to us- Please bring honor to us- Please bring honor to us all!

He was an old time cowboy Don't you understand? His eyes were sharp as razor blades His face was leather tanned His toes were pointed inward From a hanging on a horse He was an old philosopher of course He was so thin I swear You could have used him for a whip He had to drink a beer To keep his breeches on his hips I knew I had to ask him About the mysteries of life He spat between his boots And he replied "Faster horses" "Younger women" "Older whiskey" "More money" He smiled and all his teeth were covered with tobacco stains He said, "It don't do men no good to pray for peace and rain" Peace and rain is just a way to say prosperity And buffalo chips is all that means to me" So, I told him I was a poet I was looking for the truth I do not care for horses Whiskey, women or the loot I said I was a writer And my soul was all on fire He looked at me And he said, "You are a liar" "It's faster horses" "Younger women" "Older whiskey" "More money" Well, I was disillusioned If I say the least I grabbed him by the collar And I jerked him to his feet There was something cold And shiny laying by my head So I started to believe The things he's saying Well, my poet days are over And I'm back to being me As I enjoy the peace And comfort of reality If my boy ever asks me What it is that I have learned I think that I will readily affirm "Son, it's faster horses" "Younger women" "Older whiskey" "More money" "Faster horses" "Younger women" "Older whiskey" "More money" "Faster horses" "Younger women" "Older whiskey" "More money" "Faster horses"