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| Pete Atkin sings
Uncle Sea-Bird (original version) by Clive James and Pete Atkin, [Much more at www.peteatkin.com] |
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| LYRIC: | |||||
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Uncle Seabird was an action man He made the scene before the scene began The first cat to drop acid in the Haight He understood the lyrics of The Weight When Fillmore West was still a carousel And the chick to know was Luria Cantrell The man to meet already was long gone Leaving Kesey and his ilk to struggle on Uncle Seabird, Uncle Seabird had the word Uncle Seabird, Uncle Seabird had the word Uncle Seabird, Uncle Seabird led the herd A feature of those gentle early days That time and circumstance cannot erase Was Uncle Seabird trying to be nice When Berry Gordy asked him for advice “There's a new group down a hole you ought to hear” Said the telephone in Brian Epstein's ear “But let's not haggle now about my fee Tom Parker handles these affairs for me” Uncle Seabird, Uncle Seabird had the word Uncle Seabird, Uncle Seabird had the word Uncle Seabird, Uncle Seabird led the herd When Uncle Seabird wrote for Rolling Stone A generation felt much less alone His footloose odyssey went so far back He recalled not having heard of Kerouac He represented youth in all its force For evolution has to take its course When the children streamed to hear the Grateful Dead His wheelchair glittered somewhere up ahead Uncle Seabird, Uncle Seabird had the word Uncle Seabird had the word Uncle Seabird led the herd Uncle Seabird was the guru of the young He spoke their tight and unresisting tongue By steady work he pruned the language down To an article, an adverb and a noun When a snot-nosed little kid called Zimmerman Was seeking a new surname that would scan Uncle Seabird filled his lungs with hash And “Weberman” he muttered in a flash Uncle Seabird had the word Uncle Seabird had the word Uncle Seabird led the herd He led the herd The last and greatest festival of all Was Uncle Seabird's acid test and ball They say one row of people passed a joint From Yasgur's Farm clear to Zabriskie Point Crosby, Stills and Clapton, Young and Nash Bob Dylan, Joni Mitchell, Johnny Cash They all backed Yoko Ono while she sang And Elvis Presley read from R D Laing Uncle Seabird, Uncle Seabird had the word Uncle Seabird, Uncle Seabird had the word Uncle Seabird, Uncle Seabird led the herd When Uncle Seabird wheeled onto the stage He was crowding eighty-seven years of age “We are stardust, we are ... (croak)” he cried And the children yelled his name out as he died “Uncle Seabird!” | |||||
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