Penny Whistle Blues

He sold penny whistles From inside the little sack Slung over one shoulder And hanging down his back And he filled them full of magic So for one whole day Anyone who bought one Learned how to play And he taught them to dance And he taught them to sing And he taught them jazz And he taught them to swing And each penny whistle knew One hundred tunes and songs So each whistle player Never got a note wrong And when they were happy And had their timing right He’d pick up his sack And disappear into the night And not one of them remembered What they had seen And not one of them remembered That he’d ever been But they kept the music Though they didn’t understand When or where or why or how Each held a penny whistle in his hand And he’d walk away unnoticed Still carrying on his back One million penny whistles Loaded carefully in his sack