Ferlinghetti Goodbye by V. Vale

Ferlinghetti … was a poet …. and a painter
Lived reclusive … in old North Beach … San Francisco
I thought he’d always…. be around …. Like, forever
But then he died …. Age 101…. Still feels unreal

Ferlinghetti … was a poet …. and a radical
Round the world He read poetry …. so dramatical
He had children… named Julie… and Lorenzo
He invented … and promoted … Autogeddon

Ferlinghetti … had a wife …. whose name was Kirby
She would visit… the bookstore …. and talk to me
This time Lawrence …. had failed … to show up
She waited …. hung around …. left in a huff

CHORUS:
But all along …. he must have known … How To Say No
Behind his words …. behind his smile … he avoided drudgery
He wasn’t a mark …. He wasn’t a shark … Just Be: Philosophy
Just only do …. And only write … What you want to

Ferlinghetti … had a partner …. who’s forgotten
Shig Murao …. ran the bookstore. …. like a martyr
From the Fifties…. to the Seventies … Shig worked day & night
Then he had a stroke …. Moved down South … Died out-of-sight

Ferlinghetti … was a dreamer … who used slogans
They were major … political, filled with emotion
He hung banners … on the bookstore… to inspire
Spoke at protests… out of outrage … and desire

Ferlinghetti … was a painter … who could draw
Not abstract … Not hard-edged … but raw
He drew Nude Models …. on messy canvas ….lots of motion
muddy colors … painted boats ….upon the ocean

CHORUS:
But all along …. he must have known … How To Say No
Behind his words …. behind his smile … he avoided drudgery
He wasn’t a mark …. He wasn’t a shark … Just Be: Philosophy
Just only do …. And only write … What you want to

• Classical
• piano
• piano solo
• punk classical
• San Francisco