Sinister: And fair Canarsie's lake we'll view

[P F]

I am on the first floor of HILLHEAD LIBRARY. It is on
BYRES ROAD in Glasgow. I came in here to attempt to
log on to the internet. Why? So that I could vote in
RUSSELL DAVIES' Greatest Lyricist Poll! Here it is, if
you are interested:
http://www.bbc.co.uk/radio2/shows/davies/

You see, today is the last day that you can vote in
the poll. The other day, Alasdair Cook heard RD's
programme for the first time. He thought it was
'educational ... *and* entertaining'. There was a
marvellous sequence called 'How To Write A Song' - a
recording from the 1940s or so during which the
performers essayed various genres across 6 minutes.
Later I met someone from Rhode Island and tried to
remember the words and the import of the song about
Rhode Island that Blossom Dearie once, or more than
once, sang. Some of you will remember it, perhaps.

If I mistype anything I cannae really blame the
computer. It is a perfectly guid wan. I had scant hope
of getting on line but a fellow at the desk with a
Saltire badge on his jacket was terribly helpful,
writing me out a VISITOR'S CARD. It is valid for a
month. He gave me more than an hour on the computer. I
was sorry because I really only wanted to vote in RD's
poll. I did not want to put this fellow to such
trouble. But he said it was no trouble. Now, I don't
want to log off too soon, a la Del Amitri, because he
would perhaps feel all his efforts were wasted.

My vote? It went to Lorenz Hart. The reason? His lyric
for 'Manhattan'. 

--

Summer journeys
To Niag'ra
And to other places
Aggravate all our cares.
We'll save our fares.
I've a cozy little flat
In what is known as old Manhattan.
We'll settle down
Right here in town. 

We'll have Manhattan,
The Bronx and Staten
Island too.
It's lovely going through
The zoo.
It's very fancy
On old Delancey
Street, you know.
The subway charms us so
When balmy breezes blow
To and fro.
And tell me what street
Compares with Mott Street
In July?
Sweet pushcarts gently gliding by.
The great big city's a wondrous toy
Just made for a girl and boy.
We'll turn Manhattan
Into an isle of joy. 

We'll go to Greenwich,
Where modern men itch
To be free;
And Bowling Green you'll see
With me.
We'll bathe at Brighton
The fish you'll frighten
When you're in.
Your bathing suit so thin
Will make the shellfish grin
Fin to fin.
I'd like to take a
Sail on Jamaica
Bay with you.
And fair Canarsie's lake
We'll view.
The city's bustle cannot destroy
The dreams of a girl and boy.
We'll turn Manhattan 
Into an isle of joy. 

We'll go to Yonkers
Where true love conquers
In the wilds.
And starve together, dear,
In Childs'.
We'll go to Coney
And eat baloney
On a roll.
In Central Park we'll stroll,
Where our first kiss we stole,
Soul to soul.
Our future babies 
We'll take to "Abie's
Irish Rose."
I hope they'll live to see
It close.
The city's clamor can never spoil
The dreams of a boy and goil.
We'll turn Manhattan
Into an isle of joy. 

We'll have Manhattan,
The Bronx and Staten
Island too.
We'll try to cross'
Fifth Avenue.
As black as onyx
We'll find the Bronnix
Park Express.
Our Flatbush flat, I guess,
Will be a great success,
More or less.
A short vacation
On Inspiration Point
We'll spend,
And in the station house we'll end,
But Civic Virtue cannot destroy
The dreams of a girl and boy.
We'll turn Manhattan
Into an isle of joy!


--

Taking of isles, of joy, Hillheid, I mean, head,
Library, is a nice place: not too warm, not too cold,
stocked with these gadgets, with reference Buicks, I
mean, buiks, etc. If one were not careful one could
spend too much time in here, like Don Paterson in the
library of Alexandria, about which he has, I seem to
remember, written too many poems.

The other day I saw Partick Thistle lose 1-5 at home.
I think it all happened because Calumn Shearer took
his pop, I mean, his paw, that is, his pa, to the
match for his (the rock's - I mean, the pop's)
birthday. They are Partick fans, even! They went to
the stand with no-one in it. It is reserved for VIPs. 
I have not experienced such vitriol and unrelieved
bitterness around me at a fitba match since the fans
started tearing up the pitch of the Valley in, I
think, 1985.

KELVINGROVE MUSEUM AND ART GALLERY has reopened with a
smashing exhibit of RECORD-BREAKING ANIMALS. For
instance, the MOOSE is very big, and weighs the same
as a football team. They didn't say which football
team. The sloth is the slowest animal, travelling at 2
metres per hour. The King Penguin is the deepest
diving bird, diving for 530 metres. The Peregrine
Falcon is the fastest of all animals! When it dives it
travels at 190 mph! And many more. I would be in that
museum now, probably, were I not doing my grateful
time on this silver machine.




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