Nicholas Plays the Moonlight Sonata

Nicholas Plays the Moonlight Sonata

Born on Hallowe’en, a half-blooded wizard      
His grandma was a midwife who taught him herbs and lizards
Got some mystic from Kabbalah, some God from the Mormons
And the beatniks and the Buddhists                                            And the hippies and the pagans
And he weaves it all together like a Tartan plaid 

Barely got the radio in his 1950s town                                             Just Smilin’ Ed McConnell and Buster Brown
He first heard Beethoven on their Saturday children’s show
And that’s when young Nicholas began to know
There are some things in this world that are so beautiful
 

Nicholas plays the “Moonlight Sonata” on his old guitar                  If you slow down to 30 when you pass his porch                              You can hear him from your car                                                        Out over Johnson Mountain, you can see Beethoven                         Twinkling in the stars                                                                       When Nicholas plays the “Moonlight Sonata” on his old guitar

Nicholas is a craftsman, can make anything but money
Dulcimers and marionettes, leather bags and jewelry
He was drafted in the army in 1964           
Said I like to use my fingers, but not for war
So he played the coffeehouses for15 bucks a night
He had magic in his hands, and a Celtic, mystic light
So he hammers out the swords and carves prophecies in wood
And he fits it all together ’til he see that it is good
He’s the sum total of everything he’s ever learned

     Nicholas plays the “Moonlight Sonata” on his old guitar
     If you slow down to 30 when you pass his porch                           You can hear him from your car
     Out over Steamboat Mountain, you can see Beethoven                      Twinkling in the stars
     When Nicholas plays the “Moonlight Sonata” on his old guitar

© 2006 Phillip Bimstein