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One Night With the Mjq (For Sue M)

It was a night I'll always remember,
I've told this tale so oft,
Sometimes I forget, and on my 3rd repeat
My friends think my mind has gone soft

But it's way back, maybe "69,
I was but a teenager hanging out,
My young new wife and another couple
Just sitting, lounging casually about

When from the kitchen radio
An advertisement we did hear
The MJQ (Modern Jazz Quartet) was playing that night
It's true, I tell you true!!

Now to put this in perspective
So it makes some sense to you,
And I do here swear
That what I say is true!
Let me enumerate some facts...
See, I was a young aspiring musician
My neighbor a well established one
Percy Heath, bassist of the world famous MJQ
My best friend then was his son

He used to listen to our jams
no choice i guess he had,
Our music sometimes too loud
For that I now feel sad...

So we looked at our financial state,
Not too impressive, be assured
$20 here,$10 there,maybe she has $5, $10 had the last,
It'd be tough to manage this, we knew
But at this point our determination was well cast

We managed to take a cab,
To the NYC Rockefeller Centre, and up,
to the classy Rainbow Grill
The atmosphere so different
It really seemed a thrill!

But, see, we were like country bumpkins
For this elite wealthy NY crowd
Well heeled, well dressed, well mannered,
Well moneyed, most important, they were,
Easily at home here, well above the highest cloud

Now the Maitre d' did quickly size up
Here we would not fit in,
So he'd show those sophisticated others his wisdom
But to me it seems a sin

He seated us behind a thick pole
With the band so hard to see
We struggled with the 2 drink minimum
How embarrassed we should be

But once in awhile the losers win
And God in heaven smiles
For stuck-up rich old morons,
Under "losers" they he files

For when the MJQ took their break
They all came over and sat with us!
My pride, my gratitude, my "up-yours!" wish
Came to us without a fuss

So now you should remember
Don't preen and think you're cool,
Cause once in a while,
The tables turn,
And you become the fool!

Copyright © Tom Bell | Year Posted 2007

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