Brute Hill
Ula La was a frycook
at Joy DuVeeve's saloon.
Rusty Naylor was a gambler
who overshot the moon.
Two Gun Shogun smoked his long stemmed pipe;
his katana made no sound.
Little Mort the Undertaker put
old Rusty in the ground.
Loup Garou and Bill McKinley
passed Brute Hill on the high noon train
to catch a bite at Joy DuVeeve's
before the plague coach came.
Heart of lead
and heart of black fade out without a sound.
and heart of black fade out without a sound.
Heart of gold
and heart of green still laugh and still beat on.
and heart of green still laugh and still beat on.
~June 2017
Optional Musical Accompaniment
Images: Going West, 1934-35, ©Jackson Pollack. Fair Use.
The Women Friends, 1917, by Gustav Klimt. Public Domain
Oh, very cool. Saloons, gunslingers and a plague train. Loved it.
ReplyDeletewell that was a welcome diversion. I think I met Ula La before but was too bashful to speak. ~
ReplyDeleteThis is really great, and I love the painting too.
ReplyDeleteIt sounds a lot like the old Western songs, which I love. Not country music per se, as they predate that. The songs I'm thinking of are from the 1800s. My late father had a whole song book full of them.
Wonderful! This lyrical ballad is rooted in the folk lore and cultural history of a nation, with a pinch of darkness and a hint of redemption.
ReplyDeleteLove this! Is 'Brute Hill' a play on Boot Hill? I do enjoy a ballad and I haven't seen a Western ballad in a long while. Brings to mind Dylan's 'Lily, Rosemary and The Jack of Hearts'. There's also a Neil Young reference with 'Heart of Gold'.
ReplyDeleteJoy DuVeeve! Cruella Deville'e nicer sister, I suppose? What a wonderful piece of nonsense this is! I believe!
ReplyDeleteI love this especially; "Heart of lead and heart of black fade out without a sound" and oh "Heart of gold and heart of green still laugh and still beat on." Beautifully executed.
ReplyDeleteThe names in this are FANTASTIC. Joy DuVeeve is my favorite.
ReplyDeleteBrute Hill is a winnowing scythe, separating riffraff from gilt distaff. I loved the characters here - Ula La and Joy DuVee, Little Mort and Loup Garou — the whole bony carnival here, though only the yaya gold-guled sisterhood survives. Ahem and amen.
ReplyDeleteThis poem is music played by horse hooves, danced by booted feet under dusty hats. I love the visuals, the beat, the place your poem opens up for us...
ReplyDelete