He's Gone and It Must Have Been the Roses and the Scarlet Begonias that sent him Truckin'
down the road to the Blue Ridge Mountains, just minutes from Fenario. I confronted an Alligator
near Buffalo, that was Born Cross-Eyed, and I drank a bottle of Ripple and tried to establish a Deal
with him and his friends Tennessee Jed, Samson & Delilah, and Quinn the Eskimo. I decided to sleep Till The
Morning Comes. I said, Wake Up Little Suzie and took a Walk in the Sunshine and the Morning Dew, close
to the China Cat Sunflower that would Not Fade Away. Later, One More Saturday Night at Eleven, I
called the Operator and asked her what her name was. She told me that Mama Tried to get Bertha
to Sing Her Blues Away. From that magic moment, we were all Dancing in the Street, Doin' That
Rag, and the Lindy, when all of a sudden Mexicali Blues came on the radio and we all watched the
Sunrise while the Music Never Stopped. Little did we know that Casey Jones, husband of Delilah
Jones, who was the mother of twins and an old Friend of Mine, was riding with the bold engineer
to the Mountains of the Moon, makin' Good Lovin' while reading Tarot cards from France with Saint
Stephen. At a Siding, just a Dark Star away, we needed at least one Unbroken Chain to free the New
Potato Caboose and let King Solomon's Marbles roll down the halls of Franklin's Tower. We nearly
avoided the China Doll, which had been a little nervous from the fall, where Me and My Uncle
proceeded to pick up all the pieces and send them to our friend, the Candyman.
As I gazed across the Big River onto the Promised Land, it all came to me. Yes indeed, it was the
famous American Beauty in San Francisco's Golden Gate Park which caught my eye in the
Moonlight at Midnight. With no hope for tomorrow, in the setting of the sun, I proceeded toward
El Paso and Abelene doin' the New Speedway Boogie, and became the first Passenger out of
Terrapin Station. It was definitely a High Time for Me and Bobby McGee and the Other One.
Rosemary was caught in a Slipknot and a Cryptical Envelopment and had to Beat it on Down the
Line. We went Around and Around in the Cold Rain and Snow as we waited for the Black-Throated
Wind to kick up. It Hurts Me Too 'cause we were Going Down the Road Feeling Bad with cowboy Neal
at the Wheel on the bus to never ever land that was Built To Last. The Fire On the Mountain was
raging and we had those jelly roll blues while we were waiting for the Arizona Lightning and the
Box of Rain to bring Help on the Way.
Brown-Eyed Women seem to Turn On My Lovelight. Calico told us the news about the Cream Puff
War that started in Europe, back in '72, when I first became a Friend of the Devil, who was like a
Dire Wolf with the Eyes of the World. It turned out to be an ugly rumor afterall. When I checked
into the Mars Hotel I went upstairs to the Attics of My Life and rummaged through the Skeletons
in the Closet, which was like a dry dusty road with an Easy Wind. Black Peter was wading in the
Black Muddy River, Playing in the Band and singing Dupree's Diamond Blues. We saw Reflections of
Seastones and heard the Bird Song which was like Blues for Allah. After the Rolling Thunder, we
read the Tales of the Great Rum Runners, probably the Greatest Story Ever Told, and I tried to pull
an Ace from my sleeve. Silvio, Jack Straw and the Lady With A Fan were having an espresso with
Jackaroe and Cassidy. Remember, when Push Comes to Shove, keep your Day Job and don't end up
like a Wharf Rat. I get the U.S. Blues when I turn the Wheel toward the Mission in the Rain and
head down the Golden Road To Unlimited Devotion. What's Become of the Baby, I asked, and they
told me that Mason's Children lived in a Brokedown Palace on Shakedown Street, next door to the
two sisters, Ramble on Rose and Stella Blue, who I visited every year on Palm Sunday. Row,
Jimmy, I yelled out from the edge of the lake. There's a bunch of bugs, and I'm just wearing tennis
shoes. I just listened to the Weather Report with Loose Lucy, and we were doin' the Mississippi
Half-Step during the Wake of the Flood. They were like a Ship of Fools, Standing on the Moon with
Mister Charlie, better known as Cosmic Charlie, and his wife Gomorrah. If I Had the World to Give,
I'd raise my Crazy Fingers and wave them wide and high.
As always, from the Prelude to the Epilogue, You Win Again. What A Long Strange Trip It's Been!
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