The Day Lee Morgan Died -rewrite

Following a performance - The Day Lee Morgan Died has been rewritten.

To Sidewinder

Here’s a story ‘bout this tune called Sidewinder
written by a young man name of Lee Morgan
Back in ’64 he had a hit, made it big
With his hard bop sound
Life was pretty damned good
but he had a thing for older women.
Still he was happy with Helen, or so he said.
There he was making money on the grand concourse
but then he goes and falls for this sweet young thing,
and you know what musicians are like
when the cocaine is melting
and you start loosin’ your groovin’
Next thing you know,
he’s on his way to a gig
and he totals the car
but still he walks away from death
though the snow has turned to ice,
or something like that.
Now he gets to the gig,
and she's got the piece,
not the bitch he came with,
but Helen, yeah the long time girlfriend.
‘Fore you know it he hears this adrenalin burst of fireworks
the sound of the gun,
and there’s slugs on third street avenue c
the slow motion world spinning out of control.

Sweet Baby Jesus, he cries
As the blood seeps slowly from wounds in his chest,
His stomach, his legs.
And the pain is hot, as it sears through sinew
Bones grind, muscles twitch
A brief dance of invincibility,
an iron taste in his mouth.
The mellifluous music of death;
A pounding backbeat
and he’s drowning now as the air rasps
Through his blood-filled throat.
And here the ground is warm.
The earth presses soft against his skin;
concrete brushes his cheek
as he wishes it open to receive him.

The flowers his mother will bring to the grave,
and the tears she will cry for her man-child.
Sweet Lord save me now,
he asks of a God half-remembered,
but not with his voice, nor his trumpet,
but with his mind, vaguely aware of the bright bird song,
the plane over head, the heat of the day,
the crowd gathering round as his life ebbs away.

Yeah, dying from loss of blood
Don’t you mess with me the woman had said.
Lesson learnt. One bullet. You’re dead.
Don’t never mess with an older woman.

And talkin' to the man - it's Helen's ritual
the way it was the day Lee Morgan died.

They said, she said who knows what anyone said.
He said, she said – don’t matter much when you’re dead
Had a hit with this tune,
but it didn’t do him no good
The snake bit off more than he could chew
Oh ain’t that right,
glory days ain’t comin’ round again
Not with the sidewinder sneaking up on you
from who knows where
The day Lee Morgan died.

We all goin’ to die, maybe not the way Lee Morgan died, but we all goin’ die just the same. You, me, everyone here. It ain’t such a bad thing, oh no. It’s kinda cool or so they say. What do they know? What does anyone know? Lee Morgan didn’t know and he wasn’t no age, no sir, but that snake it slithered up and ‘fore he knew what hit him… pow… he ain’t never goin’ to mess with that again. My God, the man was only 33.
The day Lee Morgan died.