The Ghost of 1955

The Ghost of 1955 He was headed East of Eden, But he never did arrive, For he had to die so he could live In nineteen fifty-five. He was heading toward Salinas On that highway all alone. He was dying, trying hard to find The peace he’d never known. Now he was a famous actor Living every part he played, Like a rebel with a cause That somehow had to be obeyed. He just threw his helpless body In behind that steering wheel, And they found him sometime later In that coffin made of steel. The Ghost of Nineteen Fifty-five, September 30, ‘Fifty-five, The Ghost of Nineteen Fifty-five. Now he tried his best to be a man, But he was still a boy, And he threw away his future, Like it was a broken toy. But he left behind a legend No man’s ever equaled yet. And he had to die to win That fame he never lived to get. And he looked inside of people From a pair of lonesome eyes, Like a saint who knows he’s going to sin, No matter how he tries, And we dressed and looked the way he did, I guess we felt the same, And enough of us remember, So we’ll keep alive his name. The Ghost of Nineteen Fifty-five, September 30, ‘Fifty-five, The Ghost of Nineteen Fifty-five.