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A Valuable Member of Society

from Hagiographies and Hit Pieces by Johnny Coull

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lyrics

As the critic snickers, Charlie knows that it’s all over
The museum patrons are receding from the lady’s torso
That took him seven years and iterations to create
And now it doesn’t look like much at all

Now all alone in the exhibition hall
He hears the echo of his father’s ghost:

“Son, you are going to be
A valuable member of society:
Their propriety, money and fame”
But how is he going to be
A valuable member of a society,
The kind that he doesn’t fit in?
No, no, no

In his atelier, Charlie’s whistling with kerosene,
First he waters the portraits, then those grey inanimate scenes
Not an inch of a Gauguin, not a fire-sale Monet
Ain’t my heroes great, he thinks, Papa, but I’m just okay

And in that moonshine glow, the colors peel
Dad’s cold breath beneath it all, his sane ideas

Saying: “You are going to be
A valuable member of society
Notoriety, money and fame”
Yes, I am going to be
A valuable member of society
Just the kind of me they would let in
Oh, oh, oh

Darling, have you heard about his latest show?
L.A. to Istanbul and even Tokyo
A thousand objets d’art burned to a crisp
They’re all calling it a modern masterpiece

“Son, you are going to be
A valuable member of society
With piety, money and fame”
And now he is going to be
A valuable member of a society,
And so what if he can’t even paint?
“Son, you are going to be
A valuable member of society
Ah, finally like your old man
Boy, you are going to be
A valuable member of society
Don’t lie to me, don’t cry on me
Just shine on me, just shine on me"

“We’ll start the bidding at $20,000. Do I have $20,000?”
“20,000!”
“Okay, I’ve got 20,000.”
“50,000!”
“There, at 50,000 now! A hundred?" (A hundred!) "A hundred, anybody? Would you like two hundred?” (Two hundred!) “Two hundred!”
“I’ll give you one… million… dollars!”
“Sold! To the man in the red blazer, with the red eyes, and the red horns, and the red tail!”

credits

from Hagiographies and Hit Pieces, released July 31, 2023

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Johnny Coull Montréal, Québec

Johnny Coull is an independent singer-songwriter based in Montreal, Canada. His debut album, “City on the Hill”, was released in November 2013.

Firmly entrenched in the vintage rock tradition, Coull tackles intensely personal themes, at once melancholy and incisive, set over punchy melodies, bright choruses, and virtuosic piano licks. ... more

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