Book of Blues by Jack Kerouac Page B

breasted vest
    and a Derby hat
    and striped trousers
    English shoes, black,
    very pointed, they were
    Hannah Shoes
    People on Broadway’d turn
    and look at me
    The worst is yet to come
    I had a pince nez
    with a long black ribbon
    to my buttonhole
    And I wore a carnation
    white or red
    Boy did I look like somethin

37TH CHORUS
    VII
    A year later I got caught
    I was dressed differently
    and everything
    But boy that mustache
    and that pince nez
    was really out of this world
    I used that outfit six months
    I finally had to pack it in
    because it was too well-worn
    Pince nez was in a coat
    I stole
    Mustache I grew in the
    sanitarium
    While taking one of my
    numerous drug cures
    My mother’d come to see me
    She says “Oh No!
    Cut it off!”
    â€œI’m just havin a little fun, mother”

38TH CHORUS
    VIII
    Took it on the lam
    And went to Canada
    late at night I’m fulla
    morphine and I come down
    fulla goofballs too
    This guy had ventriloquist doll
    And he gave out this Texas Guinan
    Routine “Hello Sucker, we
    like your money as well
    as anybody else’s—s matter
    of fact the bigger your roll
    the more we take ya”
    He used to get everybody
    interested with the doll
    and cutout silhouettes
    put stripes in your tie
    Wound up in his room
    gave him a shot of morphine

39TH CHORUS
    IX
    Out on the highway I thumbed a ride
    into Buffalo and I put the bum
    on the guy for something to eat
    â€”’Eat in my drugstore’—
    So we went in the back
    And he had corn on the cob
    And boiled potatos, ‘Say fellow
    I always hear people talk
    about morphine, what’s it look
    like?’—he shows me—he
    had a key a cabinet and
    he had bottles of hundreds
    quartergrains halfgrains
    pantapon delauddit everything
    and soon as he tended
    the customers I emptied the
    bottles—got outa there pretty
    quick, bought a safety pin
    in Buffalo and took a shot
    in the toilet

40TH CHORUS
    X
    Come out and saw a fellow
    shaving, his coat hanging there,
    hung my own coat and gave
    his coat a brush of my hand,
    felt his wallet, washed my hands,
    and went out and took off
    with the wallet
    So I started out on a shoplifting
    campaign in Buffalo
    wasnt very experienced at it
    Started out with a topcoat
    and I sold it in a taxicab stand
    Next day I decided to get myself
    some suits
    and I went up
    I had a suitbox
    I walked about & put the suitbox
    in one of the dressingrooms
    Looked & fooled in the mirror
    Went out, I hocked those two

41ST CHORUS
    XI
    Next day like a damn fool
    go out to the same store
    but I got a newspaper
    instead of a suitbox
    thought I’d try
    a new routine
    Two guys kinda watchin me
    I went in wrapped myself up
    two suits
    went in the elevator
    bottom gentleman
    tapped me on the arm
    â€˜Will you come with me
    please?’
    And the County Jail they ate
    breakfast and got oatmeal
    with one spoonful of molasses,
    for lunch stew, mostly bones,
    Graveyard Stew, and for supper
    dinner at night
    Beans—and you couldnt smoke

42ND CHORUS
    Kayo Mullins is always yelling
    and stealing old men’s shoes
    Moon comes home drunk, kerplunk,
    Somebody hit him with a pisspot
    Major Hoople’s always harrumfing
    Egad kaff kaff all that
    Showing little kids fly kites right
    And breaking windows of fame
    Blemish me Lil Abner is gone
    His brother is okay, Daisy Mae
    and the Wolf-Gal
    Ah who cares?
    Subjects make me sick
    all I want is C’est Foi
    Hope one time
    bullshit in the tree
    Hmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm
    I’ve had enough of foolin me
    And making silly imagery
    Harrumph me katt
    I think I’ll take off
    For Cat and fish

43RD CHORUS
    Well & well well, so that’s
    The ancient fainter, the painter
    Who tied up blue balloons
    â€”Globas azul—and threw
    Them asunder in the thunder
    Of the ul—Ur—Obi—Ob-
    Fuscate me no more travails,
    Pardy hard, this rock mine
    We’re workin’ll yield up diamond
    hard
    And then we’ll cut thru