Jack Newhorse

Written in mixed English and Dutch with a specific singer in mind. (Thanks to friends Rosann and Conner for checking the Dutch.)

© 2019 Tom Geller, all rights reserved.

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LYRICS

VERSE I

The sun glides low above the harbor
of the Maritime Museum
Where boats and cranes bear testament to the past
I dream of the days of the harbortimes
Of the noise and the filth and the petty crimes
Een noodzakelijk overlast.

The wind blows cold over the sailors
with a whispered “Carpe diem”
The fading sun gives way to the evening star
They dream of success in the coming days
Of the hope of a chance of a loving gaze
Als zij lopen naar de Rotterdamse Bar.

CHORUS

Rotterdamse bar by the harbor
Rotterdamse bar in de wijk
You take in every hard-working person
The sweating, sad, exhausted and cursing
Whom everyday life will verbeter or worsen
We werken allen hard, geen gezeik

VERSE II

The boats and cranes are all silent now
by the Maritime Museum
Examined only by tourists and children in from school
For each there are a thousand more
That never made it to this shore
Vergeten en nu zonder levensdoel.

Each day I walk past the quiet
of that watery mausoleum
Off to work like those sailors now obsolete
I hope that some in a future time
Will remember me as an paradigm
Zal ik gekozen worden of niet?

CHORUS

Rotterdamse bar by the harbor
Rotterdamse bar in de wijk
You take in every hard-working person
The sweating, sad, exhausted and cursing
Whom everyday life will verbeter or worsen
We werken allen hard, geen gezeik

BRIDGE

Alledaagse mensen
In de hedendaagse tijd
Alledaagse zorgen
Eeuwigdurende, eeuwigdurende strijd

VERSE III

The ghosts glide low above the harbor
of the Maritime Museum
I know that mine will join them any day
I hope they’ll see me as I am
And will welcome me to Rotterdam’s
Meest mysterieuze maatschappij

The harbor will soon be transformed again
in an endless industream
To life as it is we must say an au revoir
Our names they will almost all forget
Every day the daily sun will set
Maar wij hebben toch de Rotterdamse Bar

CHORUS

Rotterdamse bar by the harbor
Rotterdamse bar in de wijk
You take in every hard-working person
The sweating, sad, exhausted and cursing
Whom everyday life will verbeter or worsen
We werken allen hard, geen gezeik
We werken allen hard, geen gezeik
We werken allen hard, geen gezeik

Written in response to a friend’s post on FetLife — and a lifelong fascination with how our lives are affected by our bodies and how they’re seen — I wrote this song. It might be the opener for a musical that’s brewing in my head.

LYRICS

VERSE I

From a thought in a head to a dot in an egg in your mother
Then it grows and divides as its code overrides ev’ry other
Chaos springs from that initial condition
Despite all of your prayin’ and wishin’

Maybe you’ll get a start with a hole in your heart (nonmetaphorical)
Or with bowels you distrust causing howls and your life is deplorable
Ev’ry part of your anatomy delivers
Ways to baffle all your future caregivers

CHORUS I

We all come from the same place
And that place is nothing and nowhere
Occupying a distinct space
From the insect to the giant polar bear
And the taste of your tongue
How you smell when you’re young
How your muscles are strung
And how well you are hungry
For knowledge and life
Whether you want a wife
Whether you handle strife
Or will fall on your knife
Your body says
Your body knows
And in the end
Your body will be
Back to nothing

VERSE II

And when you go outside are you true? Do you hide from the masses?
Do they stare or find fault? Do they care? Is it salt or molasses?
Do you garner attention remotest?
Or complete ev’ry journey unnoticed?

And when you raise your voice, meet their gaze, make a choice, do they hear you?
When you talk, do you boom? When you walk in a room do they fear you?
Embryology defines your limits
Then the world determines your place in it

CHORUS II

We all come from the same place
And that place is nothing and nowhere
Occupying a distinct space
From the insect to the giant polar bear
And the way that they treat you
Whenever they meet you
They might try to cheat you
Or maybe complete you
They surmise your mass
To determine your class
And the brass of your sass
From your presence, alas
Your body says
Your body shows
And in the end
Your body will be
Back to nothing

BRIDGE

Temporarily healthy
Temporarily thrive
Temporarily able
Temporarily alive

VERSE III (partial) & CLOSING

From a thought in your head maybe not, then you’re dead; well, not living
Much as you will conclude, like this tune, pretty soon unforgiving
To nothing
Nothing
Nothing
Temporary life

A short song for voice and orchestra. Text is “Prayer to Persephone” by Edna St. Vincent Millay, from her 1921 collection “Second April”.

LYRICS

Be to her, Persephone,
All the things I might not be;
Take her head upon your knee.
She that was so proud and wild,
Flippant, arrogant and free,
She that had no need of me,
Is a little lonely child
Lost in Hell,—Persephone,
Take her head upon your knee;
Say to her, “My dear, my dear,
It is not so dreadful here.”