Chapter 16, "Desolation Angels"

from Jack and the Blues (1997) for soprano and piano by Thomas Oboe Lee

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lyrics

Ah yair, and when
I gets to Third and
Townsend,
I'll ketch me
the Midnight Ghost
We'll roll right down
to San Jose
As quickly as you can boast
Ah ha, Midnight,
midnight ghost,
Ole Zipper rollin
down the line
Ah ha Midnight,
midnight ghost,
Rollin
down the line
We'll come a blazing
To Watsonville,
And whang on through
the line
Salinas Valley
in the night,
On down to Apaline
Whoo Whoo
Whooee
Midnight ghost
Clear t'Osbispo Bump
Take on a helper
and make that mountain
and come on down the town
We'll rail on through
to Surf and Tangair
and on down by the Sea
The moon she shines
the mid-night ocean
go-in down the line
Gavioty. Gavioty,
O Gavioty,
Singin and drinkin wine
Camarilla, Camarilla,
Where Charlie Parker
went mad
We'll roll on to L. A.
O Mid-night,
midnight,
midnight ghost,
rollin down the line,
Sainte Teresa
Sainte Teresa, don't you worry,
We'll make it on time,
down that mid-night
line

And that's how I figure I'll make San Francisco in 12 hours,
ridin the Midnight Ghost,
under a lashed truck,
the First class Zipper freight train,
zooam, zom, right down,
sleeping bag and wine,
a daydream in the form of a song.

credits

from Jack and the Blues (1997) for soprano and piano, released January 31, 2018

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about

Thomas Oboe Lee Cambridge, Massachusetts

Thomas Oboe Lee was born in China in 1945. He lived in São Paulo, Brazil, for six years before coming to the United States in 1966. After graduating from the University of Pittsburgh, he studied composition at the New England Conservatory and Harvard University. He has been a member of the music faculty at Boston College since 1990. ... more

thomasoboelee.com

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