" Get Down On Dignity"

I remember watching Laurel & Hardy cartoons as a kid. I didn’t really get into silent films until much later. Off the Wall Cinema in Central Square, Cambridge was one of my favorite hangouts when I first got to Boston in the early 1980s. It was there that I was introduced to Buster Keaton, Harold Lloyd, Harry Langdon, and many others. Of course, Chaplin was frequently featured. This song pays tribute to those silent comedians. I recorded it for my Reruns tape.  

Current listening: A Partridge Family Christmas

Get Down On Dignity

© 1985 Brian Hutzell

Little tramp

Baggy pants

Makes a laugh

Makes a man

Feel the fool

Lose his cool

Golden rule:

Spill the soup

Get down on dignity

A cream pie in the face of a royal flush

Get down on dignity

The comic crimson shade of a royal blush

Get down on dignity

Chewing gum on the seat of the royal pants

Get down on dignity

Anything to make ‘em look like a royal ass

Keystone cops

Keep the law

Kick the gods

In the crotch

Try to act

Matter of fact

Aristocrat

On the mat

Get down on dignity

A cream pie in the face of a royal flush

Get down on dignity

The comic crimson shade of a royal blush

Get down on dignity

Chewing gum on the seat of the royal pants

Get down on dignity

Anything to make ‘em look like a royal ass

Make ‘em laugh

Get down on dignity

A cream pie in the face of a royal flush

Get down on dignity

The comic crimson shade of a royal blush

Get down on dignity

Chewing gum on the seat of the royal pants

Get down on dignity

Anything to make ‘em look like a royal ass

“December Blues 2”

Brian Hutzell

from December Blues

Part 12 of MMXIII Variations

"See Nothing"

There is also a “See Nothing III,” which is strictly instrumental. All three appear on my 1986 tape, Reruns. The original “See Nothing” grew out of another short instrumental called “Something Cool.” I wrote a lot of those early instrumental ditties while watching MTV, to which I was totally addicted when it first came on the air.

Current reading: Robert Middlekauf, The Glorious Cause: The American Revolution,1763-1789

See Nothing I

© Brian Hutzell 1985

See nothing

What is there to see?

Do you see anything worth watching?

The TV shows are dull

And the theaters are full

Of motion pictures void of any sense

The time it takes to open

My eyes to see who's spoken

Could very well, I'm sure, be better spent

See Nothing II

© Brian Hutzell 1985

See nothing

The screen is blank

See nothing

See nothing

“December Blues 3”

Brian Hutzell

from MMXIII Variations

"Fallen Angel"

This was inspired by a glimpse of the abandoned Holyoke T Station, just outside Harvard Square in Cambridge, MA.It appears on my 1986 recording, "Reruns."

Fallen Angel

© 1985 Brian Hutzell

A subway stop no longer used

Perfect for our rendezvous

Here we can't be seen or heard

But we can see the people stirring

In the cars as they fly by

A motel room in tame compared to this

Did you bring the child for me?

Perfect for the final scene

Is she willing, does she know

Pelvis high and profile low

Another year she'll be too old

It'll be a cinch to mark her sold

Fallen Angel

You could be my daughter or my wife

Drugs will keep you happy as you sacrifice your life

Fallen Angel

On the bright side, you could be a star

Think about your family life

You're better where you are

Fallen Angel

Don't be a stranger

Fallen Angel

Don't forget who made you

Honey, they all want to see

A child lose her virginity

Could it be that we're too late?

Already caught you masturbating

You just need encouragement

And your performance makes the cameras wet

Fallen Angel

You could be my daughter or my wife

Drugs will keep you happy as you sacrifice your life

Fallen Angel

On the bright side, you could be a star

Think about your family life

You're better where you are

Fallen Angel

Don't be a stranger

Fallen Angel

Don't forget who made you

We didn't teach you anything new

We gave you your film debut

As you mature, you outgrow

Those of us you left below

I read about you in the gossip columns

Gee, it makes me proud

It's nice to know you're doing well

Now we could use a little help

We possess the negatives

It seems you've no alternative.

Beauty, talent on the screen

Cocaine in your limousine

You afford these luxuries

Maybe we should increase our fee

Meanwhile critics sing your praise

And fans compete to guess your middle name

Fallen Angel

You could be my daughter or my wife

Drugs will keep you happy as you sacrifice your life

Fallen Angel

On the bright side, you could be a star

Think about your family life

You're better where you are

Fallen Angel

Don't be a stranger

Fallen Angel

Don't forget who made you

Fallen Angel

Don't be a stranger

"Rose"

Brian Hutzell

"Delays"

This is from my 1986 recording “Reruns,” which is still one of my favorites. I remember arranging the drum parts for the Roland TR-808 on the Boston T Red Line and on the 94 bus to Medford. If I could go back to give my 1986 self some advice, it would be, “Stay the course! You’re on the right track! Don’t give up!” Even though I’m in a totally different place in my life now, doing totally different things, and pursuing very different goals, the advice I should give to myself is still the same.

Delays

© 1985 Brian Hutzell

The argument goes on and on as always

And the delays and the questions are still with us

Pretty soon, it'll be pretty soon

I keep telling myself no more waiting

It's the end of the honeymoon

I keep telling myself no more delays

The fantasy is still alive but fading

And the days of deciding are frightening

Pretty soon it'll come to an end

I'm not holding my breath but losing patience

Push it back one more week, not again

I keep telling myself no more delays

The expectations rise then fall

They stumble

And the fear of failure grows greater

"Did I make final cut, did I break?"

Won't believe it until I see contracts

Losing faith, but I can't lose it all

Keep telling myself no more delays

"1983 Islands"

Brian Hutzell