In memory of Keith Reid
october 19th 1946- march 23rd 2023
lyricist of Procol Harum. He didn't wear hats it seems, but he didn't just write the lyrics to "homburg" but also to this one:
Long gone geek
Weird goings-on at the county jail
Prisoners reading the sheriff's mail
He's strapped down to a swivel chair
Trying to swivel right out of there
Pin-striped sweet's in cell 15
Convinced his self it's all a dream
He's got a pet black tabby cat That carries a gun and wears a stetson hat
The door flies open, in strides geek
Looking like the front page of newsweek
He says to lou in a voice of glee,
'what's the matter, ain't you glad to see me? '
Lou's on the floor 'cause he can't stand up
As green as a leaf in a tea-cup When on to geek's back jumps a stetson-hatted cat
Which breaks geek's neck like he was a rat
Long gone geek!
For "homburg" alone he deserves a place in the pantheon. "A whiter shade of pale" gets him even a few steps higher.
I was researching Texas Hatters and ran across this gem in the Lounge posted originally by @bbshriver .
"Manny's Hat Song"
Manny was a maker of hats, Manny was much more than that
He was the kind of guy, you and I would want for a friend
Manny was a regular guy, with an old soul look in his eye
He was a man of word, and true to himself to the end
Chorus:
Manny liked to laugh and share a good story or two
If he's a making you a hat, he needs to know some things about you
He'd say, "Set yourself down, tell us what you're thinking about
Your hat says something about you, before you even open your mouth"
Manny had a funky hat shop, south of town where everyone stopped
To sit and chat, get a hat, and maybe get a new attitude
He loved to sit up front and greet folks
Take their measurements and laugh at their jokes
You couldn't stop by without staying there all afternoon
His wife Norma she sat in the back,
Sewing sweatbands in all of his hats
She listened to the radio, some times I'd sing her a tune
Chorus
He made hats for a lot of great men
But none were finer then he made for a friend
He made 'em the old way, steamed, and creased 'em by hand
He'd take your old hat and make her brand new
He'd shape it any way you wanted him too
He'd fix it up fine with a porcupine-beaded hatband
You know his hats were worn all over the world
By real cowboy, women’s and pearls
He even made one for me he jokingly called "the old friend"
Bridge:
Well when old friends disappear, I sometimes wonder where
I'd like to think maybe there just somewhere round the bend
But Manny's in heaven I bet, I'll go you one better yet
I'll bet money John B. and Manny are talking God into a hat
Old Manny used to take me aside,
He’d say Jerry Jeff you know how to write
Why don't you make up a hat song and do it just the way that you do
Well now that old Manny has gone,
I finally made him up Manny's hat song
'Cause it's the best way to keep your old friend alive in a room
Chorus
Manny was a maker of hats, Manny was much more than that
He was the kind of guy, you and I would want for a friend
Can one wear uncanny hats?
Can one weather hats? Can
One wear feather hats?
Concentrate on irate hats
Radiate from hats. When
Sated, vacate hats
Doors of open water
Elicit ooh & ahhing. Can
The wet attract a hat?
Can hats favour fire? Can
A hat aspire to higher things?
Can one pit hats against
Vicious things?
Pernicious things?
Liquorice fish with wings?
Can hats favour fire? Can
A hat aspire to higher things?
Can one dismiss hats as
Simple things?
Vapid things?
Scant, evanescent things?
Drop of a hat she's as willing as
Playful as a pussy cat
Then momentarily out of action
Temporarily out of gas
To absolutely drive you wild, wild
She's out to get you
In case you haven't been inundated by the recent Amazon Prime commercial.
Queen -- "Cool Cat"
'Cause you're a cool cat
Tapping on the toe with a new hat
Ooh just cruising
Driving along like the swing king
Feeling the beat of my heart, huh!
Feeling the beat of my heart
Johnny Fedora And Alice Blue Bonnet (1946) - The Andrews Sisters
Johnnie fedora met alice bluebonnet
In the window of a department store.
'twas love at first sight and they promised one night
They'd be sweethearts forever more.
Johnnie would serenade alice,
Too-ra-lay, too-ra-lye, too-ra-loo!
He sang of a beautiful palace,
Of a beautiful hatbox for two
But johnnie fedora lost alice bluebonnet
To a patron of the department store.
Her beauty was sought by the girl she was bought by
For twenty-three ninety-four.
Johnnie, oh johnnie!
Your alice bluebonnet
Will always be waiting for you.
So don't give up hoping and don't give up dreaming
For true love will come smiling through.
Johnnie fedora was lonely and stranded
In the window of the department store.
When lo and behold he was suddenly sold
And his heart became gay once more
Johnnie sang out like a robin,
Too-ra-lay, too-ra-lye, too-ra-loo!
To strangers he'd come up a-bobbin'
"oh! i thought you were someone i knew."
He looked for her uptown and 'cross town and downtown,
From the brooklyn bridge to the jersey shore.
It all seemed in vain, till he heard the refrain
Of the song alice sang of yore.
Johnnie, oh johnnie!
Your alice bluebonnet
Will always be waiting for you.
So don't give up hoping and don't give up dreaming
For true love will come smiling through.
Johnnie kept yearning, he kept on returning
To the window of the department store.
His voice became hushed, he was literally crushed,
And it started to rain and pour.
Each place he went he kept calling,
Too-ra-lay, too-ra-lye, too-ra-loo!
His spirits kept falling and falling
For his alice was nowhere in view.
But hey nonny nonny, an ice man found johnnie
And he cut him to fit on his horse's ears.
'twas done without malice for beside him was alice
And they lived on for years and years.
You johnnie fedora's, you alice bluebonnet's,
Whenever you find yourself blue.
You'll find it's june in december if you'll just remember
That true love will come smiling through.
Sheriff Paul was sleepin', his hat off in his lap
When he got a package that woke him from his nap.
He unrolled a poster, couldn't help but frown
Jesse with the long hair hangin' down.
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