Bootleg hooch infected with ergot
Possibly peyote distilled by Coyote
Mexican mescal mixed in Coca-Cola –
Put it down to Prohibition
‘Penn Beach Blues’ now sounded psychedelic
(Words like sounds hang around to be invented)
A suite of sublime disintegration…
Outside harmonies emerged as soloists diverged
Only Eddie Lang who locked
Rhythm like a steady-rolling freight
Stringing plangent notes for ornament
Retained his stillness of a hummingbird
Back at the hotel Joe Venuti and his pals
Pushed a piano through an upstairs window
Making bets on its dominant
Inherent note before it hit the ground
Life on the road gets tedious sometimes
.
Bernard Saint
Illustration: Claire Palmer
.