Saturday, May 31, 2008

THE START OF SOMETHIN' BIG

Original lyrics by Stan C. Countz

Who knew and who could predict
We'd get our kicks on Route Sixty Six?
Who knew? Who could truly see?
Who blew the bugle in Company B?

Sometimes, to find the truth, you have to root around and dig
Who knew and who could predict that a little frog and a pig
would be the start; the start of somethin' big?
Open up your heart; you just might have the start
The start of somethin' big

Who could see the rise of Ol' Blue Eyes
But Blue Hawaii had me hypnotized
Boy were we all surprised to see
The rise and fall of Doctor King
Lucille Ball and Bob and Bing
But as for mom and me
we still bowed before the King

He was great in Heartbreak Hotel
Played guitar like a ringin' a bell
The King could sing from a jail cell
Captain Hook was chasin' Tinkerbell
We didn't kiss and tell and that was just swell with us

We liked Ike and Dick Van Dyke
And rode our Schwinn bike or took a bus to school
Every night they tucked us into bed
While we were watchin' Mr. Ed
and Francis the Talking Mule
Taught us to do what the Bible said
and to follow the golden rule
or they took us behind the wood shed
Or made us sit in a corner on a stool

Whenever we could and when we were able
we prayed together round the kitchen table
and thanked the good Lord for our daily bread
We wore PF Flyers and Keds
Didn't take so many meds
And the communists were the Reds
Not the Feds or so they said
Today our heroes are all dead

Before Tivo, satellite and cable
Our heroes were guys like Clark Gable
Peter Pan and Anne of Green Gables
Charlie Chan and Betty Grabel
They were more than just fables
It's time we turn the tables

We watched Red Skelton and Milton Berle
Dudley Do Right always got the girl
Ma and Pa Kettle and Minnie Pearl
and Rocky the Flying Squirrel

For math in class we used a slide rule
No one had a cell or a swimmin' pool
Our phone was still owned by Ma Bell
Slip and Slide kept us pretty cool

Bob and Bing did their road show thing
Jerry and Dean were still sharin' the screen
Chuck Berry was singin' bout his ding a ling
Jan and Dean really made the scene
Dylan could write but he could barely sing
The Beatles never missed a beat
Couldn't stop groovin' and movin' our feet
We were livin' in a Yellow Submarine
James Dean crusin' in his death machine
toward his last and best and final scene
We loved Beanie and Cecil and Mr. Green Jeans
Shoulda seen what we paid for deisel and gasoline
Cassius Clay became Mohammed Ali
I'll be a Monkee's uncle
We loved Simon and Garfunkle

When we were barely learnin' how to drive
We loved The Motown sound and the Jackson Five
The Fab Four and the Dave Clark Five
The Bee Jees were just Stayin' Alive

Cartoons at the matinee
Babe Ruth and Willy Mays
Our kids would be amazed that's for sure
My memory's a blur but they were
Amazing Days

Danny Thomas and Danny Kay
Jed Clampett and Ellie May
Charlie Chan and Sam Spade
Lucille Ball and Doris Day
Lou Rawls and Marvin Gaye
Do you recall the day they shot JFK?

He ain't heavy, he's my brother
The Nutty Professor and Flubber
And who could forget Scarlett and Rhett
and Bambi's mother?

They had a certain grace and style it's true
But when the King would sing in his blue suede shoes
We'd be dancin' in the aisles not singin' the blues
Everyone would smile to see a wild toehead child
Dancin' in the aisles, wouldn't you?

Sometimes, to find the truth, you have to root around and dig
Who knew and who could predict that a little frog and a pig
would be the start; the start of somethin' big?
Open up your heart; you just might have the start
The start of somethin' big

That little kid was me, way back in Sixty Three
I was only eight, but even I could see
Those days were great and there will never be
Anything quite like those Amazing Days

And who could forget Phyllis Diller and Carol Burnett
They were the craziest girls we'd ever met
but they made us laugh and smile, at least for a while
and who could forget Scarlett and Rhett
Cruisin' in our Chevy Chevette and Gomer Pyle?

Boy was I surprised by the rise and fall
of Gumby and Pokey and Bogey and Bacall
We all loved Lassie, Lucy and Monty Hall
No one had a fortune cookie or a crystal ball
Who knew a fortune could be made with a Wookie?
Who had even heard of a shopping mall?
Who could see that we'd be watchin' housewives on TV
Who knew a little mouse would one day run ABC?

Mom and dad were pretty frugal
No swimmin' pool in our back yard
Who knew one day we'd search on Google
and buy our food with a credit card?

Sometimes, to find the truth, you have to root around and dig
Who knew and who could predict that a little frog and a pig
would be the start; the start of somethin' big?
Open up your heart; you just might have the start
The start of somethin' big

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