BITS & PIECES

Openers:  Merlin told the King that the people beyond the Lake of Lausanne greatly desired his help, "for there repaireth a devil that destroyeth the country.  It is a car so great and ugly that it is horrible to look on."  For one time a fisher came to the lake with his nets, and he promised to give Our Lord the first fish he took.  It was a fish worth thirty shillings and when he saw it so fair and great, he said to himself softly, "God shall not have this but I will surely give him [sic] the next."  Now the next was still better, and he said, "Our Lord may want yet awhile; but the third shall be His without doubt."  So he cast his net, but drew out only a little kitten, as black as any coal.

And when the fisher saw it he said he had need of it at home, for rats and mice; and he nourished it and kept it in his house, till it strangled him and his wife and children.  Then the cat fled to a high mountain, and destroyed and slew all that came his way, and was great and terrible to behold.\

 When the King heard this he made ready and rode to the Lake of Lausanne, and found the country desolate and void of people, for neither man nor woman would inhabit the place for fear of the cat.

So the King lodged a mile from the mountain, with sir Gawain and Merlin and others.  and they climbed the mountain, Merlin leading the way.  And when they were come up, Merlin said to the king [sic], "Sir, in that rock liveth the cat"; and he showed him a great cave, large and deep, in the mountain.

"And how shall the cat come out?" said the King.

"That ye shall see hastily," quoth Merlin, "but look you be ready to defend, for anon he shall assail you."

"Then draw ye all back," said the King, "for I will prove his power."

"King Arthur Versus the Great Cat"  (a 13th century legend from the prose romance Lestoire de Merlin, lso known as Merlin and The Vulgate Merlin, translated by Lady Wilde as "King Arthur and the Cat," evidently written in 1887 and included in Ancient Legends, Mystic Charms & Superstitions of Ireland, with Sketches of the Irish Past, 1888; reprinted in Mysterious Cat Stories, edited by John Richard Stephens & Kim Smith, 1993)

In this brief vignette, Arthur faces off against the cat, who first seized the king's spear with his mouth and broke it in half.  then the battle began in earnest, with Arthur delivering crushing blow after blow.  Even after having its legs cut off, the cat came at Arthur again and again until the final blow.  From that time on the mountain was called 'The Mountain of the Cat," and the name "will never be changed while the world endureth."

A neat and very minor Arthurian legend. (In their introduction to the story, Stephens and smith note that they "have heard of a version of this story where the cat kills King Arthur, but we have not been able to find it.")  I was impressed by Lady Wilde's prose. She was not writing a story; she was telling a story, as if it were being related by a fireplace on a cool evening.  that's the secret of legends.  They were first told, then meant to retold and retold.  That's how fiction started:  tales recounted over a fire long before writing existed, tales told to an enthusiastic and rapt audience.  i sometimes wonder if modern writers ignore the origins of Story,

Jane Francesca Agnes Lady Wilde (nee Elgee, 1831-1896) was a celebrated author in her own right but is today best remembered as the mother of Oscar Wilde.  She was an accomplished poet, collector of Irish legends and lore, an early advocate for equality for women, and a leader in literary salon circles.  She was said to have mastered ten languages by the tine she was eighteen.  She was the niece of Charles Maturin, author of the classic Gothic novel Melmoth the Wanderer.  While close to death, she asked  to see her son Oscar, then imprisoned in Reading Gaol, and was refused; her "fetch" reportedly then appeared in Oscar's prison cell as she was dying.

Incoming:

• Pete Brandvolt, four westerns from Mean Pete.  .45 Caliber Deathtrap.  "Life's been pretty good for Cuno Massey since he went into the freight business with Wade Scanlon.  That us, until Scanlon stopped off at a saloon and got shot dead by a band of outlaws.  When Massey comes upon his friend in a pine box with his freight wagon plundered and burned, he has one goal:  to find the killers.  Led by the notorious bank robber Clayton Cannady, the outlaws have raised hell across the countryside.  Now, allied with a bartender and a Chinese man whose daughter was kidnapped by Cannady's gang, Massey won't rest until his friend's death has been avenged and the outlaws have paid for their sins in blood..."  Deadly Prey.  A Rogue Lawman novel.  "Known as the Rogue Lawman, Gideon Hawk can turn from marshal to executioner with the pull of a trigger.  Even as he is hunted by the law he once worked for, Hawk will prove over and over why bad men fear him -- for none can escape the mark of his gun or the might of his purpose.  A hunted man, Deputy U.S. Marshal Gideon Hawk has retreated to his remote cabin in the San Juan Mountain, hoping to simple disappear.  But when young Catherine McCormick comes to him in the rain from the mining camp over the mountain, Hawk knows his respite is over.  A vicious gang fell on the mining camp, ravaging and brutalizing at will -- killing Catherine's ten-year-old brother.  She's willing to give Hawk anything to hunt the raiders down and dispense justice, his way.  But when evil men are concerned, the only payment Hawk needs is in blood..."  Hell on Wheels.  A Sheriff Stillman novel.  "When Sheriff Ben Stillman accompanies Judge John Bannon and friends to a wedding in sulfur, Montana, he aims to have a nice long weekend of rest and respite from gunslinging.  But Angus Wheeler has other plans.  He's just been released from prison and he's out to avenge the hanging of his cattle rustling sons -- hangings ordered by Bannon.  Backed by a gang of the most violent and vicious members of his family, Wheeler strikes when the judge takes a stagecoach back him,  Soon, Stillman finds himself fighting a wheel-bound war against a clan of killers, out for bloody revenge..."  Rogue Lawman:  Golden Express.  "Fighting the good fight is reason enough for former deputy marshal Gideon Hawk to get in one the action, but when the defenseless are involved, it gets personal for the former lawman.  Brazos got off lucky this time.  His pa, blue Tierney, saved him from receiving due justice at the hands of a hangman on Trinity Ridge.  Which means the Tierneys and their gang are continuing to roam free, spreading their terror.  What this town needs is a temporary lawman who exhibits little diplomacy when it comes to doling out justice -- and Gideon Hawk is that man.  Not everyone is sure of him though, especially a hard-nosed yet fetching schoolteacher and some shady businessmen.  Like most hardened outlaws, the Tierneys don't take kindly to getting pushed out of their territory, and they put up a damned good fight.  But Hawk won't back down until he has them strung up from the gallows they once escaped..."
• [Max Allan Collins], Nathan Heller:  A Mysterious Profile.  A curiosity.  "The 'perfect private eye' looks back on his career among Chicago's famous and infamous in this profile by the Shamus Award-winning author (Daily News, New York)  As a ghostwriter settles in for a series of interviews with the semi-retired Nathan Heller -- who in his long career as a cop and a private detective has dealt with famous cases and colorful characters, from Al Capone to Amelia Earhart, and Jack Ruby to Jimmy Hoffa.  Fans of the mystery series by New York Times-bestselling author Max Allan Collins (the aforementioned ghostwriter) get to know this classic character, his A-1 Detective Agency, and the man who created him a little better."  This is a flash in the pan buy, a small book of 63 pages, part of a series of "Mysterious Profiles," published between 2022 and now,  covering 31 literary creations from best-selling authors.  Each, it appears to have been written by the authors themselves -- a claim that I look on with askance (the book about Spenser credits Robert B. Parker as author and was published in 2022, 12 years after Parker had died).  I picked this up online and have not had a chance to look at it yet, but I suspect it's a quick cut-and-paste cash cow.  **sigh**
• Brian Garfield, Bugle and Spur.  Western.  "He was the best soldier Fort Dragoon ever had, but the colonel was out to break him.  Colonel Mallory loved busting young lieutenants like dried sticks.  so when he arrived at Fort Dragoon, he gave every low-down, scum-eating duty in the outfit to Lieutenant Ben Hannibal.  The colonel's orders were to ge t he Apache chief Togomachai dead or alive.  But Mallory and Hannibal knew that they'd be looking down each others' gunsights before that..."
• Lee Goldberg, Ashes Never Lie.  A Sharpe and Walker mystery, with guest appearances from Eve Ronin and Duncan Pavone.  "Vacant homes in a new housing development are erupting into flames in broad daylight with no apparent cause.  It's a perplexing mystery for dogged arson investigator Walter Sharpe and his restless new partner, Andrew Walker, an ex-US marshal who craves action.  but as they puzzle over the blazes, another home miles away burns to the ground, leaving a man's corpse in the ashes, and homicide detectives Eve Ronin and Duncan Pavone demanding answers.  The burn patterns and charred body tell Sharpe a bizarre story that only creates more questions for Eve.  So the four detectives team up to find the answers.  Their investigation into the two unrelated cases leads to one shocking discovery after another."  Goldberg's novels never fail to delight and combining his Sharpe and Walker series with his Ronin and Pavone series is a treat for his many fans.  Also, since this marks the end of my read of all of Lee Goldberg's novels, it was time to move on to something else; namely, his non-fiction.  Goldberg is also a very successful television writer and he has published three books that no reader steeped in television of the past should ignore:  The Best TV Shows That Never Were, a look at oddball television shows that never got off the ground (previously published as Unsold Pilots:  The Greatest TV Shows You Never Saw, and as Unsold TV Pilots:  The Almost Complete Guide to Everything You Never Saw on TV), Unsold Television Pilots:  1955-1989, and Television Fast Forward:  Sequels and Remakes of Cancelled Series, for those who want to know if Marcia Brady ever married, or if the Million Dollar Man and the Bionic Woman ever hooked up for good (previously published as Television Series Revivals).  All three of these books look to be great fun.  I also picked up four books that contain some of Goldberg's early articles and interviews with filmmakers:  The James Bond Films 1962-1989:  Interviews with the Actors, Writers, and Producers, Science Fiction Film Making in the 1980s:  Interviews with Actors, Directors, Producers and Writers (with Randy L'Officier, Jean-Marc L'Officier, and William Rabkin), The Dreamweavers:  Interviews with Fantasy Film Makers of the 1980s (with Randy L'Officier, Jean-Marc L'Officier, and William Rabkin), and The Joy of Sets:  Interviews on the Sets 1980 Genre Movies.  Goldberg was also, with Max Allan Collins, the founder of the International Association of Media Tie-In Writers, and he edited the following for that organization:  Tied In:  The Business, History and Craft of Media Tie-in Writing.  Those should keep me busy until the next Sharpe and Walker book comes out...

Blow Winds, and Crack Your Cheeks!  Rage, Blow!:  The affects of Hurricane Helene will be with us for the foreseeable futures...lives obliterated, homes lost, families displaced, whole areas destroyed...a stark reminder of the power and the callousness of nature.  Climate change, so long denied by meretricious politicians, is expected to bring more and greater storms in the future as Earth readies its defenses to strike back at humanity.

Here are some of the worst recorded hurricanes to hit the United States:

• Katrina, 2005.  It overwhelmed the levees of Lake Pontchartrain and the storm surge covered 80% of New Orleans.  While the rest of the nation watched in horror, at least 1,245 people died in the hurricane and its aftermath while officials bungled the response, making it the nation's worst hurricane since 1928.  You did a heck of a job, Brownie.
• Galveston Hurricane, 1900.  The port city of Galveston was the largest city in Texas when this storm hit.  Approximately 8,000 people were killed and 3,600 building were destroyed in this community of 40,000.  It remains the deadliest storm on record to hit America.  Memorialized in the folk song "A Mighty Day."
• Great Miami Hurricane, 1926.  Miami was the fastest growing city in America when this storm hit its downtown.  The damage (in 1926 dollars) was estimated to be $105 million.  The official death toll was 373, but it is believed that 800 people actually died.  The storm effectively ended the economic boom in southern Florida.
• Florida Keys Labor Day Hurricane, 1935.  An estimate 408 dead, most of them World War I veterans working to build a railroad connecting the Key to mainland Florida.  With winds at 185 miles an hours, this was the most intense storm to hit the United States until Gilbert in 1988.
• Superstorm Sandy, 2012.  The largest Atlantic hurricane ever, with winds spanning 900 miles, Sandy affected 24 states, but most of the damage was to New York and New Jersey.  It was the strongest hurricane to hit New York since at least 1700.  The East River overflowed, flooding Manhattan and many subway stations.  160 people were killed, over 100,000 homes damaged or destroyed, and more than 2 million were left without power.
• Harvey, 2017.  Harvey has the distinction of being the wettest storm to make landfall; it was tied with Katrina as the costliest storm ever, with some $125 billion in damage to the Houston area.  Some 30,000 residents were displaced and an estimated 68-107 people died.
• New England Hurricane, 1938.  The storm made landfall on Long Island, earning the nickname "Long Island Express."  Approximately 600 people were killed, 8,900 buildings were destroyed, and left 63,000 people homeless.  It flattened more than 2 billion trees.  Hear from some of the survivors eighty years later:        https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jFDLo4VuilM&t=46s
• Hazel, 1954.  Hazel roared through Haiti first, killing about 400 people, before it hit the United Stated and swept up the coast, killing another 95 people.  She reintensified and traveled directed over Toronto, Canada -- a city unprepared for a hurricane -- and killed an additional 81 people.
• Maria, 2017.  Maria caused the worst natural disaster in Puerto Rico's history, with over $91 billion in damage to an already struggling economy.  More than one-third of the island's homes were destroyed.  The official government death count was 64, but a Harvard University research team later placed it at about 4,645, with one-third of the deaths due to delayed or interrupted medical care.  Donald Trump tossed paper towels, after calling the mayor of San Juan an "ingrate" for criticizing the government's response to this tragedy.
• Camille, 1969.  Thought to have created the largest storm surge until Katrina, Camille was the second most intense storm -- and one of only four Category 5 hurricanes -- to make landfall in the US.  With an official storm surge of 24 feet, Camille flattened nearly everything along the Mississippi coast.  The storm killed more than 259 people and caused more than $1,42 billion in damages ($11.8 billion in 2013 dollars).
• Diane, 1955.  Diane caused intensive flooding from North Carolina to New York, but the worst damage was in Connecticut, where the state was effectively cut in two by the storm surge.  Diane killed at least 184 people and was the first hurricane to cause more than a billion dollars in damages (1955 dollars, equal to some $11 billion today.  After the storm the name "Diane" was removed from the list of future hurricane names.
• Andrew, 1992.  When Andrew slammed into Florida, it destroyed 763,000 homes and damaging an additional 110,000 in Dade County alone, causing the state to later strengthen its lax building requirements.  There was over $1 billion in agricultural damages, making it the costliest hurricane until Katrina.  Oh...and Andrew also claimed 23 lives.
• Betsy, 1965.  "Billion Dollar Betsy" swept up the Florida coast and eventually landed on Lake Pontchartrain, causing flooding in New Orleans' 9th Ward, causing water to reach up to attics and drowning residents trying to escape.  With a highest wind of 140 mph, Betsy caused a recorded 81 fatalities and nearly one and a half billion dollars in damage (1965 dollars).
• Agnes, 1972.  Barely a hurricane when it made landfall in Florida, Agnes grew strength as it travelled up the East Coast, causing flooding from Virginia to New York, resulting in 128 deaths.\ and $2.1 billion in damage.  The major damage was in Pennsylvania, where the Susquehanna and Lackawanna rivers flooded, causing major damage to the Wilkes Barre/Scranton area.  In Pennsylvania and New jersey combined, some 43,594 structures were destroyed or significantly damaged.
• Okeechobee Hurricane, 1928.  The Cat 4 storm had already killed 1,500 people in the Caribbean before it hit Florida.  In Florida, the storm surge overwhelmed the dykes on Lake Okeechobee sending s torrent 10 feet high and 75 miles across over the lowlands.  The official death toll, many of them migrant workers, was 1,836, later to be revised to over 2,000; he exact number will never be known because many of the bodies were washed out into the Everglades, never to be recovered.
• Ian, 2022.  A Category 5 storm, Ian was the deadliest storm to hit Florida since 1935, killing 150 residents.  It was the costliest storm to hit Florida and the third-costliest hurricane to hit the United States.
• Florida Keys Hurricane, 1919.  Also known as the Atlantic Gulf Hurricane.  It sank ten ship in the Florida straits before causing massive damage to Corpus Christi, Texas, which was flooded by the 12 foot storm surge..  The official death toll was 287, but the actual count may have reached 600.
• Audrey, 1957.  Audrey is believed to have killed more than 400 people in Louisiana.  It flooded an area of 1.6 million acres.

You may have notice a preponderance of storms hitting Florida.  The state appears to be not only God's Waiting Room, but God's Target area.  More hurricanes have hit Florida than any other state of territory in the United States, and even when it comes to Category 4 storms -- contrary to Bill Crider's mantra -- Texas does not lead the way; Florida has had 14 Cat 4 storms since 1851 (the first recorded Cat 4 hit Florida in 1900), compared to Texas, which had only 8.  Other states and territories with Cat 4 landings include Alabama - 1; Georgia -1; Louisiana - 5; North Carolina -1; South Carolina -3; Hawaii -1; Guam -  (cyclones); Northern Marian Islands - 2 (cyclones); Puerto Rico - 3; and United States Virgin Islands -2.  This list does not include California, New Mexico, or Arizona due to reporting and categorization problems and due to the fact that I was too lazy to look up each individual flipping storm.

The fact remains that severe storms -- whether tropical storms or more sever hurricanes -- will be with us for a long. long time.  The good news is that with proper warnings, communications, and preparation -- both short- and long-term -- damage can be minimized and lives saved.  The question is whether our leaders have the courage, common sense, and moral fortitude to do so.  Time will tell.

The Old Mill:  Here's a Disney cartoon from 1937 featuring with a violent storm.  No matter wgat, life goes on.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MYEmL0d0lZE

Today's Joke:  What did 2 tell 4 when they saw that 6 was acting like and idiot?  "Don't worry about him -- he's just a product of out times."

Ask a Stupid Question:  Today is Ask a Stupid Question Day.  It is also Blasphemy Day, so you know what to do when someone asks you a stupid question.

Mulled Cider:  The timing is great because we are about to head into October.  (drum roll, please)  It's also Mulled Cider Day today!  It's pretty hard to screw up making mulled cider, but there are many, many ways of making it.  Here's some hints:

https://www.acouplecooks.com/mulled-cider/

Henry:  625 year ago Henry IV was crowned King of England.. I don't know if the ever made a song about him, but they sure did about a guy whom I suppose was one this dude.  From 1911, here's Harry Champion:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GeUl6s073RA.

The Hoover Dam:  n this day in 1935 the Hoover Dam was dedicated.  And because we all need a rap song about the Hoover Dam, here it is, DearJohn :  A Song About the Hoover Dam, from Jmes Lawrence:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Vm45DWqNZto

What It Was, Was Football:  85 years ago today, NBC broadcast the first televised American football game.  That's all the excuse I need to revisit this Andy Griffith classic:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oNxLxTZHKM8#:~:text=Andy%20Griffith's%20famous%201953%20stand-up%20monologue%20about%20college%20football.%20It

Happy Birthday:  Among the many celebrating birthdays today are:

• German composer Johann Sebastiani, 1622-1683 (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7i7Vjsq1AhY)
• French composer Jacques Aubert, 1689-1753 (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QdSo5YEE-MI&list=RDEMU_63NG_2Uyq5wKsFtVjNkA&index=1)
• Ann Jarvis, 1832-1905, who co-founded Mothers Day
• Irish composer Charles Villiers Stanford, 1852-1924 (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=prB8HN4djhM)
• Hans Geiger, 1882-1945, co-inventor of the Geiger counter
• Silent film actress Renee Adoree, 1898-1933 (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x6ojVQ3D7x0)
• Bandleader Thelma Terry, 1901-1966 (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ac9qj2pNceE)
• Singer, actor, and not the R2D2 guy Kenny Baker, 1912-1985 (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ctqa7kAdAvI)
• Segregationist and Alabama Governor Lester Maddox, 1915-2003 (Ptah!)
• Drummer Buddy Rich, 1917-1987 (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9esWG6A6g-k)
•  Ukrainian-Russian violinist Elizabeth Gilels, 1919-2008 (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EhsnPVjhgfI)
• Soprano Patricia Neway, 1919-2012 (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xKXdOwRP8cQ)
• Legendary film actress Deborah Kerr, 1921-2007 (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Vlx6gQWfjp0)
• British composer of Tolkien's The Road Goes Ever On and one-half of the comic duo Flanders and Swann, Donald Swann, 1923-1994 (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N2SZw9EBlus&list=PLvInjZgihFikfvhKTQg68ZRvEZPmgvQu3)
• Novelist Truman Capote, 1924-1984 (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yY5PX5TK2k8 -- WARNING:  NOT THE REAL CAPOTE)
• Nobel Laureate Elie Weisel, 1928-2016 (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Igjj870VMts)
• Actress Angie Dickinson, b. 19e31 (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TZLMAdI8TgU)
• Singer Cissy Houston, b. 1933 (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Wzbv0IqfP7k()
• Austrian-Swiss singer/songwriter Udo Jurgens, 1934-2014 (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PPGEGxBI-Ko)
• Singing legend Johnny Mathis, b. 1935 (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NEH3uqbpsm8)
• Ukrainian composer and pianist Valentyn Silvestrov, b. 1937 (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NEH3uqbpsm8)
• Tony-winning actor and Blue Bloods regular (and another actor I worked briefly with in my theater days) Len Cariou, b. 1939 (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6nn4U7rJwyQ)
• Gone too soon singer Frankie Lymon, 1942-1968 (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E9PNVUpI19A)
• Singer Marilyn McCoo, b. 1943 (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Us5XR4tOrAg)
• Singer-songwriter Deborah Allen, b. 1953 (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=56qpMwBcwYY)
• Polish singer-songwriter Basia, b. 1954 (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x7Fv7qEshw8)
• Brady Bunch kid Barry Williams, b. 1954 (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3NGPtWsvdDE)
• Irish musician Frankie Kennedy, 1955-1994 (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a2Wuroc8DQU)
• Country singer Marty Stuart, b. 1958 (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CtLn4S2agwc)
• Singer Crystal Bernard, b. 1961 (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qBQS4tAMCy8)
• Rapper Marley Marl, b. 1962 (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yvKxRuES_64)
• French actress Marion Cotillard, b. 1975 (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UlQ5d9bEYH8)
• Blues singer Nick Curran, 1977-2012 (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ljvZlDOjQ2w)
• Party of Five and Hallmark actress Lacey Chabert, b. 1982 (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Nnsa4vIXtUM)
• Actor Kieran Culkin, b. 1982 (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Af4gKBNGZTY)
• Rapper T-Pain, b. 1984 (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rxRvDpF2FDA)
• YouTuber Trevi (formally Trevor) Moran, b. 1998 (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GAVbB6K4Z6A)

Happy birthday to all.  Actually, to all but one, who is currently burning in Hell.  you know who are, Lester.

Today's Poem:

A Mighty Day

I remember down in Galveston,

When storm winds swept the town,

The high tide from the ocean, Lord,

Put water all around.

[chorus]

Wasn't that a mighty day? (a mighty day)

A mighty day.  (A mighty day)

A mighty day, great God that morning

When the storm winds swept the town

The winds began to blowin'.

The rains began to fall.

The lightning shafts were cracklin', Lord,

And the thunder started to roll.

[chorus]

The trumpets warned the people,

They better leave this place.

But never meant to leave their homes,

Till death was in their face.

The seas began to rollin'.

The ships they could not land

I heard a captain crying, God,

Please save this drownin' man.

[chorus]

The trains they all were loaded

With people leavin' town.

The tracks gave way to the ocean, Lord,

And the trains they went on down.

The waters like some river,

They went a-rushin' to and fro.

I seen my father drownin', Lord,

And I watched my mother go.

[chorus]

Now Death, your hands are icey.

You've got them on my knee.

You took away my mother now,

You're coming after me 

[chorus]

-- Milt Okun