Great Man Singing

from Timothy Bailey & the Humans by Timothy Bailey & the Humans

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lyrics

Great Man Singing

On Marlon Brando’s island we drank wine from human skulls
while we played lawn darts
on the beach.

We took shots at helicopters full of
European journalists who’d come to take
the great man’s measure.

At night we watched old training films about
safety in the sawmill.
Marlon laughed at all the
bad fake blood.

We took our meals in silence
like two monks aboard a spaceship,
going nowhere and hideously bored.

The island was a dream,
but Marlon didn’t say much
‘til he hit me with a club to watch me bleed.

He said, “You give a guy a pass

when he’s good at playing creepy
or when he makes you laugh,

he works you like a dummy.

When staring in his eyes
is like staring at still water

you become a great
white flower, and

a newborn baby’s cry

ricocheting off the mountains
can’t capture your attention

when you hear the great man singing.
You think the song’s about you,

when even if it is,
it’s still a murder ballad.

But you give the guy a pass

when he’s good at playing creepy.
He wants to make you cry,

but you long for his comfort.
He understands your horror

since after after all, he made it —

like a god who’s gone to seed
and demands perverse devotions.

You give the guy a pass
when he’s good at playing creepy.”

credits

from Timothy Bailey & the Humans, released September 30, 2022

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Timothy Bailey & The Humans Richmond, Virginia

Where darkness seeks light

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