John Berryman Drowned In The Mississippi River (1 Viewer)

[rockaction]

We drink and we dry up and then we crumble into dust
We get wet and we corrode and then we're covered up in rust

Sing it like ole Frankie, baby. 

Drowned in the Mississippi River 

Hoist a few for me, fellas. 

 

[Northern Voice]

'I've surrounded myself with doctors
And deep thinkers.
But big heads with soft bodies
Make for lousy lovers.'

 

[rockaction]

My algorithm has moved...

First my earworm, then I ran with the boys from L.A. 

Up in San Francisco where the forest meets the bridge 
I thought I saw you standing there and then you fell into the well 
But that was many years ago and I am so much older now
My brother is a soldier now I can't see him anyhow on hilltop in the wind

And you -- swimming up tide or just tuning in radio stations
I left my love in San Francisco

That's okay, I was bored anyway
I left my love in the room
That's okay I was bored in L.A. 

 

[rockaction]

My algorithm has moved...

First my earworm, then I ran with the boys from L.A. 

Up in San Francisco where the forest meets the bridge 
I thought I saw you standing there and then you fell into the well 
But that was many years ago and I am so much older now
My brother is a soldier now I can't see him anyhow on hilltop in the wind

And you -- swimming up tide or just tuning in radio stations
I left my love in San Francisco

That's okay, I was bored anyway
I left my love in the room
That's okay I was bored in L.A. 

 

[rockaction]

Shakey dog stuttering...

I'm on the floor like "Holy ####!"...
Watching my man Frank get busy...I'm scared 

Frank screaming blowing shots in the air
Missing his target off the Frigidaire and grazed my ear
Killed that bull#### pit ran to the back room but first 
Put two holes in the door man's Sassoon...

To be continued...

 

[Mister CIA]

My algorithm has moved...

First my earworm, then I ran with the boys from L.A. 

Up in San Francisco where the forest meets the bridge 
I thought I saw you standing there and then you fell into the well 
But that was many years ago and I am so much older now
My brother is a soldier now I can't see him anyhow on hilltop in the wind

And you -- swimming up tide or just tuning in radio stations
I left my love in San Francisco

That's okay, I was bored anyway
I left my love in the room
That's okay I was bored in L.A. 

I prefer the boys from a better land.

 

[rockaction]

Oh, ffs. 

This is an otb special in my algorithm. 

The day being clear
The sky being bright
He came up on the left
Like a streak of light
Like a drunken ####
On a Saturday night
Up came the Bottle of Smoke

Twenty ####### five to one
My gambling days are done
I bet on a horse called the Bottle of Smoke
And my horse won

https://youtu.be/B_giKJLdfqk?list=RDMM

 

[rockaction]

I prefer the boys from a better land.

Holy ####, that was track five. 

Liberty Belle was seriously in the algorithm

 

[rockaction]

Algorithm of Wimpy Rutherford (my alter ego):

The Hold Steady - Stuck Between Stations
Foxygen - San Francisco 
Ghostface Killah - Shakey Dog 
21 Savage ft. J. Cole - a lot 
Fontaines D.C. - Liberty Belle 
Fugazi - KYEO 
Jean Grae - Kill Screen 
Touché Amoré - Skyscraper 
The Zombies - Remember You 
Kanye West ft. Paul Wall - Drive Slow 
Weezer - Say It Ain't So 
Flosstradamus - Rollup (Baauer Remix)

 

 

[Mister CIA]

Holy ####, that was track five. 

Liberty Belle was seriously in the algorithm

They're tight.  Remind me of one of my 80s favorites, The Godfathers.

ETA: First time hearing Liberty Belle.  Fantastic!

 

[Eephus]

Up in San Francisco where the forest meets the bridge 

Forests in San Francisco?  Must be an old song.

 

[Mister CIA]

Forests in San Francisco?  Must be an old song.

Bonsai forest, perhaps.

 

[rockaction]

Forests in San Francisco?  Must be an old song.

https://genius.com/1568321

 

[Mister CIA]

I can't resist dropping this tune hear.  Hope this does not upset the algorithm.

Born Asleep

 

[El Floppo]

saw the thread title and immediately thought of Jeff and this song.

 

[woodstock]

saw the thread title and immediately thought of Jeff and this song.

I always thought he committed suicide. That's just awful. 

Berryman did commit suicide. 

 

[Northern Voice]

By the second verse, dear friends
My head will burst, my life will end
So I'd like to start this one off by saying
Live and love

I was young and at home in bed
And I was hanging on the words some poem said
And thirty-one
I was impressionable, I was upsettable

I tried to make my breathing stop, my heart beat slow
So when my mom and John came in I would be cold

From a bridge on Washington Avenue
The year of 1972
Broke my bones and skull
And it was memorable

It was half a second and I was halfway down
Do you think I wanted to turn back around
And teach a class
Where you kiss the ### that I've exposed to you

And at the funeral the university
Cried at three poems they'd present in place of a broken me

I was breaking in a case of suds
At the brass rail, a fall-down drunk
With his tongue torn out
And his balls removed

And I knew that my last lines were gone
While stupidly I lingered on
Other wise men know
When it's time to go and so I should too

And so I fly into the brightest winter sun
Of this frozen town
I'm stripped down to move on
My friends, I'm gone

Well, I hear my father fall and I hear my mother call
And I hear the others all whispering, come home
I'm sorry to go, I loved you all so
But this is the worst trip I've ever been on

So hoist up the John B. sail
(Hoist up the John B. sail)
See how the main sail sets
(See how the main sail sets)

I've folded my heart in my head
And I wanna go home
With a book in my hand
In the way I had planned
Well, this is the worst trip I've ever been on

I feel so broke up
I wanna go home

 

[El Floppo]

I always thought he committed suicide. That's just awful. 

Berryman did commit suicide. 

it's tragic, either way. went for "a spontaneous evening swim" fully clothed, hit by the wake of a passing boat and never surfaced? lots of questions. but drown in the Mississippi river, he did.

eta: from wiki... Buckley's autopsy showed no signs of drugs or alcohol in his system, and the death was ruled an accidental drowning. The official Jeff Buckley website published a statement saying that his death was not mysterious and was not a suicide.

 

[woodstock]

it's tragic, either way. went for "a spontaneous evening swim" fully clothed, hit by the wake of a passing boat and never surfaced? lots of questions. but drown in the Mississippi river, he did.

eta: from wiki... Buckley's autopsy showed no signs of drugs or alcohol in his system, and the death was ruled an accidental drowning. The official Jeff Buckley website published a statement saying that his death was not mysterious and was not a suicide.

It's incredibly tragic either way. I didn't mean to imply that it wasn't. I just always assumed. I'm taken aback. 

 

[El Floppo]

It's incredibly tragic either way. I didn't mean to imply that it wasn't. I just always assumed. I'm taken aback. 

oh... sorry- didn't mean to project that you were being glib or otherwise there.  tbh, I always kind of assumed it was suicide too... but happy to hear that it doesn't appear that way. tragic family... and such a loss musically. the song I linked above still rips me apart when I listen to it- in good and heartbreaking ways...