When Elvis met Jimi
At the Lonely Waiter
Bringing him drinks
The purple was buzzing
The post was all broken
Returning to sender
Not really an option
The watch was watching
An’ time was almost saying
Excuse me while I kiss
You heartbreaking hotel
What an experience
Amongst the cutlery
An’ the crystal glintings tray
Ahead of Dr John
Reflecting on its surface
In his darker glasses
While Saint Joan
Was making passes
At the other jester
Behind the painted mirror
In the opposite corner
On the other inside
Of stained glass shades
Wrapped around
Equally coloured eyes
Like a matching pair
Of angels on fire
Hoping to light her fire
Before the wine poured in
And the flame was decanted
And she couldn’t get higher
This side of her fire
Where Neil Young never
Gets any longer older
His name is a blessing
Going with his territory
Where pearl sang the blues
She borrowed from Picasso
Before the gold rush happened
And all the haircuts
Vanished 'neath waves vanity
Where the longer is stronger
And ever so fashionable
In a Samson kind of way
Before the hairdressers
Kicked the windows in
The opposite direction
To Frank Sinatra’s hat
And that red red robin
Just kept bobbing along
In such an old fashioned
Very new kind of song
Stuck in the groove
Of fortified reverends
Heading for the exit strategy
And life on the fast track
So easily overtaken
By their Elvis impersonation
That leave the building
Very incognito ergo
It’s how they managed
Just like Rene Descartes
Used to sometimes play
In his laconic kind of way
Before he found that lost
Frank Sinatra hat
The Panama number
With a cute red band
And its jaunty angle
The geometry of stardom
He thought for a moment
Of being ahead an’ a hat of his time
An’ the stained-glass shades
Were so very existential
Tiffany’s lamps were jealous
As John and Paul used to sing
And that very lonely waiter
Only had that lonely tray
Eleanor Rigby refused used to say
Get father Mackenzie out of here
It’s his last chance to be Elvis
He’s innocent of everything
While this is still a building
The Apocalypse left a message
On his answering machine
Screaming get out of here
Architecture’s a threat to survival
There’s a whole lot of shaking
Going on everywhere upstairs
An the basement’s not much safer
Now’s a good time
To write your last letter
An’ send it to your lover
Saying that long goodbye
In the fastest time ever
(Someone cancelled the long player)
And nobody can be trusted
Not even your favourite ******
When the wind stops whispering
An’ you can’t make the distance
Say goodbye to your record collection.