Only The Shadow Knows

Those Amazing Days

2008-06-11T10:51:00.001-07:00

Those Amazing Days
Whatever Happened to Captain Kangeroo
Happy Days are Gone With the Wind

HEROES, FOES AND VILLAINS

2008-01-30T23:59:00.001-08:00

by Stan C. Countz

VERSE 1
Back in the day, my mamma'd take us to see the Saturday movie matinee
We watched Danny Thomas + Danny Kaye; Rock Hudson + Doris Day
They had a certain grace and style but when The King would sing
Everyone would smile to see a wild toehead child dancin’ in the aisles

That little kid was me
Way back in sixty three
I was only eight
But even I could see
Those day were great
And there will never be
Anything quite like
Those Amazing Days...

Those were truly amazing days
Or were they only a passing faze
Or a momentary craze
My memory's a haze
Or were they truly the good ol' days

VERSE 2
Before Gateway, Bill Gates and Dell
He was great in Heartbreak Hotel
The King could sing from a jail cell
Captain Hook was chasin’ Tinkerbell
We didn't kiss and tell and that was just swell with us
We didn't wanna make a fuss
We'd ride a bike or take a bus

Bridge 1
For math in class, we had a slide rule
No one had a cell or a swimmin’ pool
Slip N’ Slide kept us pretty cool
Watched Bonnie and Clyde and Francis the Talking Mule

REPRISE 1
Elvis, Dion and Dylan; got your hamburgers grillin’
The days of heroes, foes and villains

VERSE 3
Some were ga-ga over Zsa Zsa or Ol’ Blue Eyes
But Blue Hawaii had us hypnotized
We all knew that Big Girls didn't cry
and earrings were for girls not guys

VERSE 4
While we were watchin’ Captain Kangeroo
Dion was runnin' ‘round with Runaround Sue
Pat Boone had on his white buckskin shoes
and Buddy Holly got his jollies with Peggy Sue
While we read The Hardy Boys and Nancy Drew
and The King crooned in his blue suede shoes

REPRISE 2
Elvis, Dion and Dylan; got your hamburgers grillin’
The days of heroes, foes and villains

VERSE 5
Jan and Dean really made the scene
Dylan could write but he could barely sing
Chuck Berry singin’ bout his Ding-a-ling
Bob and Bing were doin' their thing

VERSE 6
James Dean cruisin' in his silver death machine
Toward his last and best and final scene
Us kids were transfixed by Mr. Green Jeans
But mom and me still bowed before The King

CHORUS (EXPANDED)
Elvis, Dion and Dylan; got your hamburgers grillin’;
The days of heroes, foes and villains
When everyone was more than willin’
to serve their country and do their share
Holdin’ hands was more than thrillin’
and for weeks we’d be walkin’ on air
Gunsmoke and Marshall Dillon
Ginger Rogers and Fred Astaire

PRE-OUTRO
Boo Boo and Yogi Bear; chillin’ at the county fair
Superman flyin’ in the air
Terrorist attacks were very rare
I wanna take you back; I wanna take you there
Back when Wolfman Jack was on the air;
We got no flack for sayin’ a prayer
The war in Iraq hadn’t been declared
and Sonny was still singin’ with Cher

OUTRO
Funny it seems like it was only yesterday
Watchin’ cartoons at the Saturday matinee
With King Kong and Faye Wray, Babe Ruth and Willy Mays
Can you recall the day they shot JFK?

LAST REPRISE
Elvis, Dion and Dylan; got your hamburgers grillin’
The days of heroes, foes and villains (2 x)

© 2008 All Rights Reserved, Spotlight Publishing

MY AMAZING DREAM

2008-01-30T23:59:00.000-08:00

by Stan C. Countz

Take a ride in my time machine
Take a spin it’s been a changing scene
How long’s it been since you were sweet sixteen
and you knew everything?
Ducktails and Brylcream; a little dab’l do ya
What’s been happenin’ to ya?
Glory Hallelujah

We’re hawkin’ Olea and Ovaltine
Got a brand new polio vaccine
Around the World in Eighty Days
Mohammed Ali was Cassius Clay
James Dean and Mr. Green Jeans
Livin’ in a Yellow Submarine
You shoulda seen what we paid for gasoline
It woulda made you scream
It’s not what it seemsa:
It’s my amazing dream

We played with pickup trucks and Pick up Sticks
Lincoln Logs and Tinkertoys
Got our kicks on Route Sixty Six
with Nancy Drew and The Hardy Boys
Granny Clampett and Grampa McCoy
were our favorite old codgers
The Beach Boys really made some noise
We hated draft dodgers but, good heavens
We loved Dale Evans and Roy Rogers

Lucy, Ricky and Mr. Mooney
If you ask me they were all a bit loony
Fred and Alice were The Honeymooners
The King and Bing were our favorite crooners

Hello Dolly and Dolly Partin
Lewis and Martin were just barely startin’
We didn’t all go to kindergarten
and milk came in bottles not cartons

Kids were kids, not supermodels
And rarely were they coddled
like Paris Hilton or Brittney Spears
Coke and beer came in bottles
Cruised in our cars, not on a ship once a year
Played in the park without any fear
We were racin’ full throttle with no racin’ gear

Zuit Suits and Hoola Hoops; Olive Oil and Betty Boop
The Big Bopper and Alley Oop; 409 and Little Deuce Coupe
Gilligan’s Island, Hogan’s Heroes and F Troop
To tell you the truth, Nancy Drew was our favorite sleuth

Jack Lemon and Tony Curtis
made us laugh so hard it hurt us
Richard Burton and Liz Taylor
barely managed to avoid the jailor

If we’d finish all our spinach we’d be
Stronger than Popeye the Sailor man
Dick Clark did his thing on Band Stand
The Beatles wanted to sing and hold our hand
We were California Dreamin’ all across the land
while Surfer Girls were layin’ in the sand
and the Byrds were flyin’ high with Tamborine Man
Let me take you back if I can

Whatever happened to Captain Kangeroo?
Beehive hairdos and Dippety Doo
Howdy Doody, Boo Boo and Yogi Bear
Granny Clampett rockin’ in a rockin’ chair

Batman and Robin; hob nobbin’ at the county fair
I wanna take you back; I wanna take you there
Back when Wolfman Jack was on the air
We got no flack for sayin’ a prayer
The war in Iraq hadn’t yet been declared
The Big Mac hadn’t yet been prepared
and Sonny was still singin’ with Cher

Bugs Bunny and Elmer Fudd
Abba Zabba and Milk Duds
Herbie was our favorite slug bug;
Mr. Bubbles gave us lots of suds

Fred Flintstone and Barney Rubble were bowlin’ buds
We hadn’t fired the first shot in the war on drugs
We didn’t idolize gangsters and thugs
and beatles and crickets weren’t just bugs

Before Julia Roberts and Richard Geer
Paris Hilton or Britney Speers
Snow White and Sleeping Beauty
were just beginning their careers

Howdy Doody, Tuttie Fruity
Mouseketeers and Micky ears
We were proud to do our duty
but we had to face our fears
Didn’t wanna catch no cooties
Shopped at JC Penny and Sears
I hate to trouble you but can I
Buy you an A & W Rootbeer?

Pot was somethin’ we bought to cook in
Bought hardware at the hardware store
A chip was a little piece of wood
Software was what the ladies wore
and cowboys were always good
They wore white hats and red bandanas
We watched Parent Trap and Pollyanna
Had butterfly handlebars and a banana seat
The only gang in town was Spanky’s
and who didn’t love Alfalfa and Buckwheat?
We said words like “boss” and “neat”
Had whitewall tires and a rumble seat

We all wanted more of Mary Tyler Moore
and we all liked Dick Van Dyke
Rode our Schwinn bike to the corner store
and on windy days we’d fly our kite
Psycho gave us all a fright
but it was all in a Hard Days Night
Instead of visitin’ an internet site
we had Afternoon Delight
Never heard of gigahertz or gigabytes

Every night they tucked us into bed
while we were watchin’ Mr. Ed
Taught us to do what the Bible said
or took us behind the tool shed
We wore PF Flyers and Keds
but we didn’t have so many meds
And, back then, the communists
were the Reds, not the Feds

Whenever we were able
We prayed together at the kitchen table
and thanked the Lord for our daily bread
Before TIVO, satellite and cable
our heroes were Clark Gable
Myrna Loy and Betty Grabel
and Anne of Green Gables
They were more than just fables
but now they’re all dead

We all took a Magic Carpet Ride
with Butch Cassidy and Bonnie and Clyde
Doctor Jekyl and Mr. Hyde
and we all cried when Ol’ Yeller died
We cheered each other on to win
Those Happy Days are Gone with the Wind
With Jimmy Durante and Errol Flynn
Tom Sawyer and Huckleberry Finn
Rin Tin Tin and Ho Chi Min
Those Happy Days are Gone with the Wind

© 2008 All Rights Reserved, Spotlight Publishing
.