Paul Zollo
&
Don Heffington
From ANDRAS JONES: PAUL ZOLLO has been a regular contributor to our show since we started podcasting with Starburns. This time he joins his friend DON HEFFINGTON with a question about the divided nature of our nation that resonates with mine from the previous reading. The answer, a fractious medley with help from Allen Ginsberg, suggests perhaps we ought to re-calibrate our vocabulary from words like “divided” and “united” to more inclusive language such as “kaleidoscopic” and “harmony”. I am reminded of Walt Whitman’s “Oneself I Sing”…a simple separate person, yet utter the word “democratic”, the words “en masse”.
Listen to the end of the podcast to hear a demo recording of the song “Divided” I mentioned during the reading.
MEDLEY
Part 1:
PUT A KISS AND A TEAR IN YR LETTER
(Allen Ginsberg: lyrics / Don Heffington: music)
PUT A KISS AND A TEAR IN A LETTER
AND I’LL OPEN AND CRY OVER YOU
PUT A MARK FROM YOUR LIPS ON THE PAPER
AND I’LL COME WHEN I READ I’M SO BLUE
PUT A THROB OF YOUR HEART IN “YOURS TRULY”
AND YOUR NAME WRIT IN BLOOD JENNY JACK
AND I’LL OPEN MY PALM WITH A PEN KNIFE
AND I’LL SEND YOU A BUCKETFUL BACK
Part 2:
BROKEN BONE
(Lyrics Allen Ginsberg)
BROKEN BONE BONE BONE…ALL OVER THE GROUND
BROKEN BONE BONE BONE…EVERYWHERE THE SOUND
OF BROKEN BONE BONE BONE…EVERYONE BROUGHT DOWN
BY BROKEN BONE BONE BONE BONE
BROKEN BONE BONE BONE
BROKEN HEAD AND BONEY CROWN
BROKEN KING AND BROKEN CLOWN
TO THE BONEYARD I AM BOUND
BROKEN SOUL BROKEN NOSE
BROKEN HEAVEN BROKEN WOE
TO THE BROKEN EARTH WE GO!
Part 3:
ALTHOUGH THE LORD BE HIGH ABOVE
(Don Heffington)
Just Although the Lord be high above
He doth recall the lowly
And deep within thy secret heart
The Lord shall surely know thee
Although I’ll walk in trouble Lord
I know thou wilt revive me
You hold me in thy very hands
And always walk beside me
I’LL LOVE THEE WITH MINE * own true heart
Before the world I’ll praise thee
Your love was there before the START *
Thy mercy doth amaze me
If I ascend to heaven Lord
I know thou wilt be with me
and if I make my bed in hell
I know thou won’t desert me
How precious are thy thoughts to me
How great thy loving kindness
How blind the man who cannot see
That God will ease his blindness
* Words in capital correct mistakes on most cover versions
