I saw Willie Mays
At a Scotsdale Home Depot
Looking at Garage Door Springs
At the the far end of the 14th row
His wife stood there beside him
She was quiet and they both were proud
I gave them room but was close enough
That I heard him when he said out loud
This was my country
And this was my song
Somewhere in the middle there
Though it started badly and it's ending wrong
This was my country
This frightful and this angry land
But it's my right if the worst of it might still
Somehow make me a better man
The sun is unforgiving
And there's nobody who would choose this town
But we've squandered so much of our goodwill
That there's nowhere else will have us now
We're pushing line at the picture show
For cool air and a chance to see
A vision of ourselves portrayed
As younger and braver and humble and free
This was our country
This was our song
Somewhere in the middle there
Though it started badly and it's ending wrong
This was our country
This frightful and this angry land
But it's my right if the worst of it might still
Somehow make me a better man
I've started something I can't finish
And I barely leave the house, it's true
I keep a wrap on my sores and joints
But yes, I've had my blessings too
I've got my mother's pretty feet
And the factory keeps my house in shape
My children, they've both been paroled
And we get by on the piece we've made
I feel safe, so far from heaven
From towers and their ocean views
From here I see a future coming across
What soon will be beaches too
But that was him, I'm almost sure
The greatest centerfielder of all time
Stooped by the burden of endless dreams
His and yours and mine
He hooked each spring beneath his foot
He leaned over then he stood upright
Testing each against his weight
For one that had some play and some fight
He's just like us, I wanna tell him
And our needs are small enough
Something to slow a heavy door
Something to help us raise one up
And this was my country
This was my song
Somewhere in the middle there
Though it started badly and it's ending wrong
Well, this was God's country
This frightful and this angry land
But if it's his will, the worst of it might still
Somehow make me a better man
If it's his will, the worst of it might still
Somehow make me a better man
(h/t Zippy)
8 comments:
No notes, perfect. :)
Say Hey. That was amazing.
Very cool. As I live in the SF Bay Area, we sure are feeling his loss. If you don't know about it yet, Chuck Prophet has a song that he often ends his main set with called "Willie Mays Is Up At Bat" and it's on my favorite album of his titled, "Temple Beautiful." Worth seeking out.
paulinca
"Temple Beautiful" is my favorite Chuck, as well.
In 1955, Willie led the league in home runs (51) AND triples (13). Jim Rice was the only other player to accomplish that feat.
Randy
Thanks for bringing this to my attention. Beautiful.
Willie Mays was always the hardest baseball card to get.
paulinca - I first came across that Treniers song on Dylan's Theme Time "Baseball" show. Great stuff.
Also celebrated via song on that show: Joe Dimaggio, Jackie Robinson, , and of course Dan Newcomb. It's a real fun listen, dig it up if you can.
Say hey, my my
Willie Mays can never die
In 1966 I went to a Dodger-Giants game with my friend Sandy's church youth group. They were called the Calvinettes, a Calvinist version of the girl scouts. We sat in the cheapie bleacher seats in right field. Well, it just so happened that on that day Mays was playing right field, not center. We yelled from the stands to get his attention. He had a great smile and flashed it our way. He said something but we couldn't make it out. The Dodgers got trounced and shut out that day. At one point we went to get Dodger dogs. You had to leave the pavilion cheap seats and go to the main part of the stadium to score them. We were returning to our seats, traveling from left field to right, when Willie hit a homer to left. It bounced once and then landed in Sandy's hot dog box. After the game she wanted to get the ball autographed. But the uptight church chaperones said they needed to get us home at a certain time because it was a weeknight. Sandy ended up giving it to her brother Vic, who was a baseball maniac. And a really good player too. He made it to the pros but never got out of the minors.
I like Chuck Prophet's Willie Mays song better than Joe Henry's. If you're gonna use Mays as a metaphor I'll take Chuck over Henry's dirge any day. I mostly don't get Henry. Saw him live early on and he was boring. I know he's supposed to be important but the guy's kind of a drag.
VR
Great lyrics!
I saw the Say Hey Kid play a twi-night doubleheader at Connie Mack Stadium. You have to be of a certain age to know what any of that means. All I remember is that Willie didn't hit a home run, and the Phils were losing one game so badly they had second baseman Cookie Rojas pitch the ninth inning. I still have a few of his baseball cards... yes, they're in a shoebox.
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