The Time Being | Steve Kilbey

hello my devotees
i know ya missed me yessaday
cmon
do ya think the reason i boycotted tuesday
was because my comments have dwindled
DOWN TO 18 ?
is it because im spoilin ya with these 24 carrot
pearls of wisdom
i am casting
before the internet swine
who do nae have the decency to
worship me with florid comments
like
oh steve…youre just the best
at everything….

it should at least be as goode as that
and please people
“oh you olde genius…how do you do it?”
just dont really cut it any more
i told ya
run to the dictionary
praise me eloquently
or not at all
actually
i am not seeking yer praise
i am jus’ doin’ this to turn ya on
an hour outta my day baby
for you
because i need to tell you all this
it has to be here
time distance
have necessitated this
now
the germans are giving uninvited like ze clouds
a critical thumbs up
(i knew i was safe when fang-dooren
that learned deutsch sage
said he liked the drums on block)
yep
you got it right stefano bouy
block is a great sounding song
i cant believe wallies are out there fuckin complainin’
well if you liked somethin else better
listen to that
cmon
im waiting on bondi beach tonite
midnite
between the sharks and bluebottles
to personally fucking pummel anyone
who dares critize goode yon ye olde blocke
i like it
thats all i really care about
and it rocks baybee
cmon chrissie the groupie
(which one is you?)
(sorry is it with a k?)
(sorry do you really know i mc c?)
(if so, wow)
i know block is appealing to ya
i know its rockin yer whirled fer six.
tell em
aw i know
i m preaching to the converted
i know yall love it
any way
i been doing interviiews
these last 2 nites
with germany
the guys i talk to said they really like the new record
there you go
and the germans no dummies baby
these guys actually listen to the record !!
(dont take that for granted)
they ask provocative questions
most of em know more english words
than yer average pom yank or aussie
(sad but true)
these not fickle english dudes
worried about yer haircut or whatever
pushing some gormless hopeless youth club band
for ten minutes at number one
(hello mansun fans……hello?)
god bless em
they burned bright
they did well
what a career
what a day
or kingmaker?
however
i do like a goode shoegazer thing
like ye olde ride and mbv
the last great sonic revolution in rock?
i reckon vapour trail by ride
to be one of the best songs ever
and the guy who wrote it is playing bass
in oasissy
go figga that fiendss
theres no just desserts
the pleasure is the pleasure
the race is the prize
i make my music
the way i write this blog
random
with love
quick
but
slow
i try for ya
i never ever talk down to ya
i expect that you expect the best
i dont wanna pour a load of tired olde tripe
on ya
yer too busy
and
too intelligent for that
so although i do fail
i am
after all
only half human
but you know i INTEND
to do something goode
i dunno
where was i?
who turned out the lights?
yes
now i remember
i was gonna tell ya
that ive run
outta time
see yer soon
sk

good morning you rascals
probly just a short one today
many rivers to cross
been listening to goats head soup
i actually a fan of this
blacknblue
and its only rocknroll
mid period stones
i used to be obsessed w/ the stones
once upon a time
i remember once in 1965
our teacher mr ferguson said
hands up who likes the beatles
almost every hand goes up
much gigglin’ and self congratulatin’
then olde fergo says
and who likes the rolling stones
my hand goes up
nobody else in class 5a in 1965 in canberra
liked olde rubber lips
they all groan and go yuck!
but olde crafty young sk is learning a lesson
hmmm theres some real power in this stuff i thinks
i immediately grokk more about rocknroll then
in that there instant
than most people understand in their entire life
i thought micknkeef, drugs, hedonism, danger
wow !!, jaggers film
i read every book i could on the stones
i saw performance
that was how i wanted to live my life
in a darkened huge terrace house
in a boheemian neighbourhood
psilocybin growin in the bark yardy
2 girlfriends
maybe a desperate crim in the basement
i s not so sure about that bit
but i was sure i could manage the rest
so yeah i had a big stones thing
you probably dont see it much in the hcrhcu
peter says i dont have a black bone in my body
he means i dont have much funk
or soul
or jive
well thats ok
i dont have much country and westin neither
and its better that way
still
i love the stones
a friend o mine was doing a doco
on the stones back in the 90s
he had a copy of cocksucker blues
the stones film
made on their notorious 72 tour of us
its all in there
all the salacious stuff you cant believe youre seein’
mick taylor aged about 19 walks into this hotel room
theres a roadie in there
plus a totally naked chick shooting up the gear
micks going wow
the chicks going wow its mick taylor
you wanna see how i shoot up?
and
keef chuckin tellies out windows
nodding off in groupies laps
mick j testin’ the different brands of cocaine
being proffered by an endless line of deelahs
acting like hes fucking princess anne or somethin’
or supervising someone elses headjob
in the cabin of the stones jet
its all there if ya wanna see it
trouble is, but
when the rs saw this film
they(understandably) tried to have it squashed
the judge agreed
but due to some tiny loophole
it is allowed to be shown
once a year
in some cinema in olde new york
i dunno when or witch
so do nae ask me
i only saw it accidentally
its probably out there now anyway
on ebay or somethin
this was not actually what my blog was gonna bee about today
son of a gun
there you go
i was gonna tell you about gio from sardinia
my film making friend
and his excellent knowledge of whats art
and what isnt.
he says more arty words in one sentence
than the average aussie male gonna say in a lifetime
how do these italians do it?
they are a good looking race
they know EVERYTHING about art, painting and opera
however
rocknroll is not necessarily their strong point
but at least better than the french
who dont have a clue
(but poetry they are the best)
the swedes have a decent go
(the best at english in europe)
the germans have had some great fucking bands
can, neu, amon duul, kraftwerk etc
but some absolute shockers too
nothing is worse than rocknroll all going wrong
with a germanic overtone
the dutch
the dutch are the coolest people in europe
no contest
i would live in amstadamn in a flash
hey p k is half dutch
ploogy was totally dutch
the dutch have had some moments
norway gave us black or death metal
oh, thanks guys..
denmark gave us hans christian anderson
finland musta given something to someone
cmon
you know its a tie between the us and uk
for no 1 rocknroll nation
the states started it
but england had the fuckin beatle boys baybee
i cannot decide between em
not even counting the millions of
amazing bands both those countries have thrown up
(and both also having the very worst)
australia has to go equal third with canada
they had neil young
australia had the hcurhc
both too precious to even begin to
pontificate
there you go
sorry if you lived in one of the less highly rated r n r
countries
nevermind
you probably export a lot of mohair
see ya later
you turkeys and geese
sk

strange morning
but
more of the same
its one of those dark warm brooding mornings
until the obvious olde sun showed up
ruining the mystery
and undoing all the delicate potential
the morning had possessed
like a “straight” at a boheemian party
the sun tried to chat up the clouds
who were uninvited themselves
and eventually all the guestsnghosts
fled this fiery boor
(like a liberal supporter on crystal meth and beer)
and left me
yer humble disappointed hero
holding the pieces in my hands
oh well
thats what im here for
at 8 oh clock
i arouse
and took eve
and aurora
and jazzy wm
(virtuallythe 3rd doodle, who was havin a sleepover)
out in my borrowed car
to cruise the eastern suburbs of sydney
early sunday morning style
while it was still warm and overcast
anyway we came to this park
a big plateau over looking the harbour
we jump out
walk thru some nice little arbours
oh dear
some nasty “kidss” have left like
20 empty bottles of vodka and lemonade
some smashed
cmon “kidss” thats not nice now
take it from a booring olde fuddy daddy
like me
i hope yer hangovers are a’throbbin’ goode
ye imbeciles
see ya at an a a meetin’ in 10 years time
anyway
on the plateau
you can see the oprah house
the hubba bridge
the yachts baybee
just like in night sequence
look at those housies
look at that reel estate
this bit of sydney
werth more money than all
the rest of austy put 2gether
you can have the eastern subs
or all the rest
plus tasmania
and papua/ng
and / or
nz
and
canada?!
no youre stickin’ with the eastern subs
goode t’inkin’
course mell-bin is a nice city too
but its nothing like sydney, darlin’
im sorry
but its true
anyway
(sydnees badde bits amongst worst in whirled)
the kiddiwinks play amongst themselves
sk feeling reflective
lookin at the city et al
as sundae morning heaved itself in to the sky
sitting here
all alone
except for
a fat old beagle hound
of indeterminate sex
with a name tag of charlie
this dog comes over
and commiserates with me
sort like one olde fella to another
brrrr feel the winter in the air olde been
not gettin’ any younger.woof.how are you?
mustnt grumble charlie…not too bad
that your pups over there is it?
i nod.
what all 3 of em?
yeah charlie i got triplets
charlie gives a little growl
allows me to fondle his ridiculously big ears
and then snorting to himself
he plonks himself down
and goes to sleep
next thing i know
busloads of japanese tourists show up
like aliens exploring earth
all of em listening intently
to their leaders
young handsome samurais in pinstripe suities
giving em the guff on syddanee in nipponese
after they are tired of gushing and posing
against the syd skyline
they spot me and charlie
me in my shorts boots and cowboy hat
big white beard and suntanned brown
and fucking charlie
i bet they just dont have dogs like charlie
in tokyo
somehow
anyway
these crazy jap tourists think they got some kinda
arch aussie stereotype photo opportunity here
even the biggest ninny in the world coulda seen it
olde fella and his doggy juxtad against
the ultra modern skyline of syddnee
surrepticiously they all creeping around
snapping me and my erstwhile canine comrade
one quite attractive middle aged lady comes over
she smiles at me
and pets charles
she shoulda done it the other way around
she aint charlies cup of human at all
he sniffs aristocratically
refolds his paws
goes back to sleep
the cheeky jappies are now boldy clicking me
and my triplets
i start to leave this joint
the kids spot me leaving
and start to run
i start running too
charlie doesnt though
he cant be arsed to run
he hasnt for years…
we jump in car
we have argument over who is gonna sit where
oh please please please evie can i sit there?
ok dad…i guess you are driving after all…
we head off to a lovely harbour beach
altho we dont have our swimmers
we arrive the kidss play
we walk up away from beach
up the side to a hill
another little woodland park
running down to cliffs and then the sea
dad cant you do yer chi gong while we play
yeah ok
but its hard with all that screaming and yabbering
down to a strange little beachie
on a tiny little like island bit
the kidss play with shells n stuff
im sitting there in this wild luxuriant little bay
all around incredible mansions
w/ luxury launches
stud the shoreline
swimming pools
movie stars
sydneys olde money
one place has a fairy tale tower added on
all have beautiful tree lined gardens
sloping down to a private dock
and boathouse
wow
overcome by pure envy
i sit bathed in its poisonous rays
the girls start screamin’
even louder than usual
theyve found this big ball of green matter
impossible to say what it is
its washed up
and the everpresent ants are attacking
and it moves
its moving around
in the universal language of agony
i get a cupple of sticks
and try to roll in gently into the sea
a wave comes and collects it
as it hits the water
it emits a huge inky explosion
of pure purple
its a big sea slug
is this some kind of relative
of the sea snail that the ancient phoenicians
extracted the purple dye from?
it took thousands of those critters
to dye one roman senators togas hem..
any way we were quite shocked
i hope it got away safely
ya see somethin new every day
there ya go
that was my morning
see ya later
sk

good morning
well actually its the afternoon
are ya such a stickler for the truth?
or are ya fickle with it
do you take things literally
i know i do
i know sometimes its hard to reelax
let that meaning course thru ya
oh my
so much trouble caused by taken things literally
for not glimpsing the subtext
for not recognising a parable when you see it
or not knowing an aphorism if it bit ya on the ..
well you know
i dont believe any good stuff
happens ONLY on the surface
you have to imagine if its ever been translated
or retranslated
that people living in other times
had other ways of saying things
as you know
i speak a bit of swedish
and just between these 2 very similar languages
so much room for error
that is
the swedes and the engish frequently
get the wrong end of the stick
with whats really being said
so ya gotta imagine how some really foriegn language
from millions o years ago
comes to be translated by some dude
in the 18th century
maybe thats it
the only version extant
how many people at any one time speak sumerian?
if you find a vase in the ruins of ur
you gonna have to ask one of this small number
to translate
what if he puts his own thing into it
he got an agenda of his own
etc etc
etc
you see where im going
frinstance
the story of adam and eve
a pet preoccupation of mine
does any sane living persson
really think that the author(s)
of this storymythfable
EVER
intended anyone
to take it literally?
i really dont think so
its like emerald haunt in overdrive
you sposed to not understand it
yer sposed to understand it
you get a feeling of velocity
thru some green continuum
as if youve left yer body
and you were blowing thru some venusian/underwater forest
whatever the f@#k that feels like
howard i no
any way
the point is this
there is no real point
the point is legion
according to the viewpoints
of every individual soul
its all relative
it depends baybee
it depends on everything else
i do not believe there was an a and e
that they got kicked outta paradise
for eating an apple
persuaded by a snake?
cmon
thats a tall tale
its a yarn
its a story representing an idea
someone had
but that still doesnt mean it isnt true
necessarily
on some other level
in some other way
thats the trouble
with us westerners
we think that there is the truth
and thats that
one truth
sometimes thats true, too
sometimes however
the thing cannot be defined that way
like for example
how this all got to be here
nowadays they fobb ya off with the big bang
oh yeah mr scientist
there was a big bang
everything exploded to just right
wow that was lucky
one degree to the left
and there goes summer and winter
gee if was spinning a little slower
and if saturn swung in our way
and if the water was saltier, even just a bit
and hang on
you telling me this whole shebang
was a big bang
and out came the fishies and the birdies
and the aminals and the human beens
and music and love
and the summer sky and wine
and children
and beautiful things
just all came outta a huge explosion
isnt that just a little unlikely
but you see
this is a human
and very western problem
to have to see a start and an end
what if it didnt start like that kinda way
i mean
if it wasnt like
there was nothing
suddenly there was everything
the hindus say vishnu dreams these universes
they float out of the pores of his skin
while he sleeps in the causal ocean
there you have another way
of getting the idea across
and the universe is a dream
and youll wake up too
one day and see that
thats how the magic is done you see
some people are awake within this dream
they seem to be doing all kinds of stuff
i dont care if you laugh
ive seen it
ive felt it
but just like in a dream
you can do whatever you want
if only
you realise youre in a dream
thats the hard part right there tho
would be witches n warlocks
its fucking hard to wake up
people try their whole lives
most dont even know theyre asleep
thats why a karate man
can punch thru concrete
why a sadhu can drink poison
why harry houdini
could hold his breath for nearly 7 minutes
submerged in ice
why saviours can be crucified and resurrected
its possible
if you understand not only how
but why
some scientist says god is dead cos he discovers some
chemical or whatever
yes
maybe he has stumbled upon one of gods physical mechanisms
hooray
of course god must use a physical means on a physical plane
if christ turned water into wine
if that happened
of course some druid can always says
that blah blah blah happened to the water
causing blah blah blah
there you go
now you dont need jesus
cos yon boffin has explained it all in
an equation…
or what?
we know hardly anything
even about ourselves
every hundred years a new scientific paradigm comes along
completely replacing what we think
we know
what we think we know
ha ha
anyway dont clog up my comments page
with yer stats and sci fi baloney
the indian sages
many many
many
thousands of years ago
intuited this whole fucken thing
yes they did
they understood that all is vibration
that there is nothing solid or “real”
that its all in yer mind
these guys had the siddhis people
they could levitate
heal
disappear
whatever the hell they wanted actually
they understood the idea of
what we call relativity
both physically and metaphysically
while europeans
were probably still hitting their women with clubs
i dunno
i aint got the facts straight
nobody does
nobody really knows what happened a long time ago
and if they tell ya they do
its just pure bullshit
so imagine
this is all vibration
you can be anyone you like
vishnu
oh that beautiful perfect blue
genius
hes even there in yer heart
keeping yer soul company
whether you know it or not
it doesnt matter
keep yer atheistic moans to yerself
surrender to it
cmon
yeah
but a little more, please…
ok can you feel it?

i can

im safely back from the future
wow
its rough out there, kiddo
try to enjoy now
as much as ya can
cos its never gonna be this way again
if youre a childe
dont be in any hurry to grow up
being an adult(erer) is harde graft
if ya olde like me
relax and enjoy it
you gonna be young a million times over
again
cmon
it aint so badde
being senile deaf and blind
hobbling round
tryin to strum mah bass
stryin to croak out a tune
for ya
and speakin of which
the 1st of april
the sando
me
on my own
stripped bare
in a way youve never imagined
an evening with me
just you and me
and some people called the ordience
please come a long
otherwise i will feel pathetic in the empty venue
singin my maudlin tripe
to no one
except maybe ditch peter
and the cap’n
and dp is a smart arse anyway
i remember one night
i was guest appearin with the crystal set
i was gonna be doin
from now on
(which is actually a beautiful song fiendss)
this was maybe 1983?
84?
i step up on stage
i hear a big gale o laughter
its d.p.
he screams out
at the top of his lungs
CAPTAIN PAISLEY!!!!
and thereby ruined this kinda frank sumatra
thing i had going on in my head
thanks dee pee
(you little c@#t)
im glad you were there that nite!
you totally fucked up my song…
never mind
that was a long time ago fiendss
even i dont bear grudges that long
i put the grudge down
then i pick it back up again when i need it
in fact
chez kilbey
has a whole room
which is devoted to grudges
that i won in grudge matches
i thought i was gonna be big in 92
when nirvana came out
i thought it was grudge rock
i thought pearl jam was seaman
i thought teen spirit was a casper film
i thought a lot about you lately baby
you were always on my mind
so
be at the sando
prepare to adore me
prepare to applaud me
prepare to throw your bras at me
the only trouble really is
that
although i am goode at many things
and the best at others
unfortunately
standing there with an acc guitar
and singin’ by myselves
isnt one of them
cmon
we can admit it
ah go on say it
im not much chop at it
no folks
this aint false modesty
its just that
it aint my thing
never really was
i came into music the other way
playing the bass
singin with a band
i never even tried to do a gig like this till 1989
the limelite club or something
in l a
the first time ever
age 36
so its weird for me
like drivin a car on the wrong side o the road
i can do it
but i cant relax
if something upsets the apple cart
im all at sea
you see….
so please come along
how often can you see a gen u ine
renaissance manne
in the flesh
in newtown on satday nite
all fooles day
for 15 aust bucks
even if im not very goode
its still a bargain
im tryin to think of somethin different
but i probably wont be able to
it’ll just be me
fucking up almost wid you
or something
listen
i cant be good at everything
i had to pay a price in some areas
for my expertise in others
so whattya got
the best lyricist in the world
but he cannae strum n sing so well
if ya happy with that
you got it
bring yer money
smoke a spliff
drink some plonk
have a laugh
and prepare to gush
in case yer not goode at gushing
ive written a sample gush
which you can base yours on
if ya like
ahem
stevie k hit the stage at the sando
on satday nite and slew the sell out crowd
of tertiary educated boheemian celebs
with his virile good looks
his soothing warm sexy voice
his ineluctable songs
and his lyrics
which are simply the best
in the whirld.
there you go
something like that
get out yer dictionary
look up some big adjectives
throw em out at the hoi polloi
theyll never understand that
you dont have a fucken clue
just look at me
ululating like enki
and persicknetty ulladullas
whatever you gooseballs
see ya round
sk

this is not fiction
this is prediction
in 2034
when i am 80
when i should have been eighty
when i will be 80
indonesia
with its billion people
with its natural disasters
with its islam au go go ruling party
has done the only logical thing
invaded australia
coming down from darwin
the australians have appealed to our goode buddies
you know
the goode guys
the cavalry
the usa
england was no longer interested
imploding thru MEMORY abuse
hooliganism
and hilarious inflation
the now monarchy-less little dump
was in no position to assist her former colony
especially after the latest nut cutlet scandals
so our president worm
(aust now republic)
went to your prez
jehovah bush
the latest in a solid dynastic line
and says
jay baybee
we aussies have helped you
in all yer wars since time immemorial
fer fuck sake wontcha bail us out now
cmon jay, this is seriously serious
j bush jnr says
lemme make some calls…
go wait out there you worm

a few hours later bushy calls
the grovelling prez of austy
back in the ovarian room
well itsa like this worm….
and in a nutshell the deal was this
we will see those sonafabitches off for ya
but ya gotta become the 52 state
(theydd already got n.z.)
and do it all the american way
money, drivin on the other side o the road
cops uniforms
voting food
laws
the whole fucking she bang worm…
are ya readin’ me loud n clear?
worm realises better hollywood
than gado gado every nite for din dins
the yanks ride to austs aid
they see off the indos easily
they play smaltzy girlie ballads from
the early 2000s
projected with massive loud speakers into their camps
plus
they drop big macs on them
after one week indos so dispirited and sick
they piss off home again
now
the real task of rebuilding aust
in the us’s image
from the ground up
here in this chaos and turmoil
as australians learn to drive their right hand cars
on the left
when they have to get used to all yankee money being green!!
(our money coloured to take out guess work)
when they get used to state of the union addresses
and zip codes
hot flashes
the larry gibbons show
grid iron
and all the rest
in these broiling and roiling times
i am still fighting the goode fight
in the frontline
hooked on MEMORY and marijuana (still!)
i have outlived pm turnbull
i have outlived pm garret
i have even outlived pm minogue our first female
when the job of president becomes available
thousands of bohemians demand that
it should go to me
for the first time
open conflict has broken out
against each other
against the east and the west
as boheemians and “straights” prepared
for the final showdown
now imagine yerself running down an alleyway
in what used to be surry hills
youre jonesing for jazz
you need some MEMORY
any MEMORY
xcept yer own
we meet up outside billy franklins
hes not answering the door
the feds are hovering overhead in gyrokoptas
the M fiendss in the street descending on us
like vultures
the storm water in the gutters corrodes our metal shoes
whos gonna rescue ya?
who ya gonna call?
thats right
sk

billy franklin was a MEMORY dealer
he lived in a shadow between the Verdant Parks
and the burnt ruins of the Maze
i.d been to see him plenty, fiendss
i met plenty of other M addicts at his place
we’re all waiting around downstairs
in that dark spiderwebbed and creaky house
while billy and his missus
rhonda
theyre up there weighing up the fuckin M
squabbling and hassling
and carrying on
thatss too much for him…
no i owed him some….
fucken bullshit rhonda…
their bickering hissed into a whisper
we downstairs strained our ears to hear
it had gone quiet up there
this was a badde sign for us jonesin’ ninnies
down below
it meant they were kissing and “making uppe”
and or
they were sampling their own goodes
which was very badde for us
i recognised namen turner there
the famous actor
remember
he was the guy who played napoleon
in that special on the hustler channel
he also used to go out with the chick
in the gillette commercials
who o.d.ed on m and e and h and c
the alphabet heiress or airhead
trumpeted the daily muck
a reputable gossip-paper
who printed all those lies about
me
about my crazed rampages
and subsequent arrests
anyway
turner caught my eye
goodaye sk, ya been waitin long?
turner proffered a limp pale hand
i ignored it
he was jonesin’ bad
i felt nothing for him
shooting MEMORY had fucked up my compassion
i didnt care if turner waited here all day
im next namen
i said in a dry voice that crackled and fizzed
when they come down, theyre lookin after me
yeah no problem
said the little wimp
oh yeah hey sk
i gotta my own band now
you should come and see us
we’re playing the leather martini
next tuesday, putcha name onna door?
dont bother i said
i aint coming
the last thing this whirld needs
is another fuckin actor strummin a geetar
and comin on all indy..
fuck you kilbey
turner snarled
youll see…
suddenly with much stumbling and wheezing
franklin and rhonda came back down the stairs
the M fiendss gathered round
like a pack of pidgeons round an olde lady
with breadcrumbs
pecking and squawking at each other
billy tossed me my lil packet contemptuously
you dont get much for 500 these days mate
i gazed in disbelief
at the tiny little bit of MEMORY
hed given me
i looked up
if you dont like it go to hell
turner smirked at me
well look what i got here
he held up his bulging packet
now both of you get the fuck out of my house
billy pushed us to the door
turner nipped off into a waiting taxi
and sped outta site
but i knew where that little fiend lived
mercury towers
down the end of merlin street
i took an elektrotram down to the docks
from there on foot
to mercury towers
graffitied to read:
MEMORY towers
i went up to turners floor
i came here once years ago
to a party and someone had said
thats namen turners place…
i banged on his door
like a foole he opened it
he was loaded like a dice
he was ethered like a salmon
he was as spliced as a bad film
i grabbed him
turner, can i just lend a little M off ya?
he lurched backwards into his hall
he hadda a load of pre-war era stuff on the wall
i began pushing my hands thru his pockets
looking for the fucking stuffe
he grabbed a knife from somewhere
and slashed my forehead
you little bastard i hissed
then he sank it deep into my heart
my life passed before my eyes
i watched it all second by second
all slowed down and exploded
multi angled and precise
yet incredibly fast
and it was over
there was an ineffable freedom
it was the release i’d always imagined
to go everywhere
or just be nowhere
it lasted for a million years

when i opened my eyes
i was surprised to see billy franklin
squinting down at me
man you better take it easy with this stuff
youre onstage in 2 minutes…
hey billy..
i struggled to talk
is my lute in tune….?