The Sixties 


Stan 

Yes 

I went to a jumble sale today 

Did you find any exciting 

A nice fishermans sweater 

I do not think it has ever been worn 

An unwanted Christmas present maybe

I also found a book on typing 

It dates from 1969

An interesting read 

Not really 

But it did have a short poem in it 

In a typing book 

No it was added in pencil 

Read it to me 

If mini skirts get any shorter 

Said a typist with a blush 

There will be two more cheeks to powder 

And some more hair to brush

I have heard of it before 

Who wrote it Stan 

Fuck knows 

But it is very much of its time 

It was time of rebellion 

Of revolution 

The establishment was being challenged 

What happened 

Have you ever seen a movie called Vanishing Point 

No 

The hero is driving across Amerika 

He is delivering a car 

I believe that he was a Vietnam Vet 

Who is still processing his life 

But he has chosen to drive at speed

This fucks off the cops 

And they begin to chase him 

How does it all end 

He drives deliberately into a couple of bulldozers 

That are blocking the road  

Does he die 

Yes

Why does he kill himself 

That is not really articulated 

It is an open question 

Either the system destroyed him 

Or he beat the system 

It was the end of the counterculture 

Are we free now Stan 

We like to think that we are 

But little has changed 

If anything we are more controlled 

We like to think that we are free 

But we are restricted

Money controls us Jane 

We both have good jobs

And because of that we can fund our lifestyle 

We can afford this beautiful apartment 

Our friends are the same 

If we are cast aside then it damages us 

It happened to Ralph and Chrissy 

To Lulu and Lulu  

And Loulou and Loulou 

My father once knew a chap called Graham 

He lost in job and took it to heart 

Graham disappeared 

Until the River Police found him three weeks later 

The system had destroyed him 

There is always alternative employment 

If you are lucky 

Chrissie now works for another bank 

God smiled on her but Ralph is still out in the cold 

Do they still live in Hammersmith 

No they have downsized 

There are those who think that they control the system 

They do not as it is an illusion 

Stan 

Yes 

What do you think happened to the typist 

Which typist 

The one in a short skirt 

I do not know 

I think her name was Celia 

She was later found in High Holborn 

With little or nothing on 

Or that is how the poem goes 

The system had beaten her too 

What are you doing Jane 

Looking out of our window 

You are wearing a sea sweater and nothing else 

It is my act of rebellion 

I would use a gun 

Blow the fuckers away 

The cunt is stronger than the Uzi Stan 

Has history taught you nothing