{"id":118204,"date":"2022-03-09T22:45:00","date_gmt":"2022-03-10T04:45:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.thelocalvoice.net\/oxford\/?p=118204"},"modified":"2022-03-09T19:05:50","modified_gmt":"2022-03-10T01:05:50","slug":"the-view-from-the-balcony-without-a-song","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.thelocalvoice.net\/oxford\/the-view-from-the-balcony-without-a-song\/","title":{"rendered":"The View From The Balcony: “Without a Song”"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

(There are at least 106 song titles or lyric snippets in this article. See how many you can find\u2014unless it\u2019s too hot to handle, too cold to hold.)<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

It was nearly closing time on The Balcony when I saw her standing there. She walked up to me like an Egyptian and said, \u201cI want you to want me, rhinestone cowboy. Light my fire.\u201d
My eyes adored her. \u201cHello darlin\u2019. Nice to see you.\u201d
\u201cI hear you\u2019re a smooth operator,\u201d she said. \u201cThere\u2019s something in the air tonight\u2014maybe stormy weather, but I wanna rock around the clock tonight.\u201d
\u201cWho do you think you are?\u201d I asked.
\u201cMaggie May Layla, and I can\u2019t get you out of my head,\u201d she replied.
\u201cNow you really got me,\u201d I said. \u201cEvery breath you take\u2014something\u2019s burnin\u2019.\u201d
\u201cHallelujah!\u201d she said. \u201cLately I cain\u2019t get no satisfaction. My heart will go on, but I\u2019m living on a prayer. Save me.\u201d
\u201cI got you, babe. I was supposed to be in Amarillo by morning, then take a midnight train to Georgia\u2014the \u2018A Train\u2019. It\u2019s a long train runnin\u2019, but que sera, sera. Stay with me. Lose yourself.\u201d
\u201cWe gotta do it my way,\u201d she said. \u201cI want some satin sheets to lie on, then, pour a little sugar on it, honey. Just imagine.\u201d
\u201cGoodness gracious, great balls of fire!\u201d I whispered. \u201cThat\u2019s the way, aha, aha, I like it, aha, aha.\u201d
She reached for my drink. \u201cCan\u2019t touch that,\u201d I said. She took a drag from her cigarette and blew it into my glass like smoke on the water.
\u201cI\u2019m a steam roller, baby. I\u2019m gonna roll all over you,\u201d she said.
\u201cWill you be my dancing queen?\u201d I asked.
\u201cOnly if you\u2019ll be my sultan of swing,\u201d she said.
\u201cThen let\u2019s get it on! I got the rockin\u2019 pneumonia and the boogie-woogie flu!\u201d I said.
\u201cYou\u2019re so vain, you ole hound dog you!\u201d she shot.
\u201cYeah,\u201d I said, \u201cbut that\u2019s the way, aha, aha, you like it, aha, aha.\u201d
\u201cAnd I always thought you were a free bird, a gambler, a knight in white satin\u2014even a desperado,\u201d she said.
\u201cNaw,\u201d I said. \u201cI\u2019m just a Coca Cola cowboy. My heroes have always been cowboys, though. Do you want some American pie before we get outta this place?\u201d
\u201cI\u2019d rather get my thrills on blueberry hill,\u201d she winked.
We descended the stairway to heaven. We were taking it to the streets when we discovered that they\u2019d paved paradise and put up a parking lot. I\u2019d heard rumors, but then all we could hear was the sound of silence.
Before we could get to my car there were thunderbolts and lightning. It was very, very frightening. I said, \u201cA hard rain\u2019s a\u2019 gonna fall.\u201d There was fire and rain\u2014purple rain to be exact. Then I heard laughter in the rain. It was the Joker and Jumpin\u2019 Jack Flash. They\u2019ve always been crazy, but it\u2019s kept them from going insane.
Raindrops were falling on our heads, but Maggie May Layla and I walked on by. Our boots were made for walking. Suddenly I saw the light. In fact, I was blinded by the light\u2014blue lights. We were caught between the devil and the deep blue sea. The police were making a sting.
I wasn\u2019t about to work on a chain gang. No jailhouse rocks for me. So Maggie May Layla, who was born to run, and I streaked into Fernando\u2019s hideaway. By this time we were running on empty. Still, this green-eyed lady\u2014passion\u2019s lady\u2014got me under her spell.
She put another dime in the jukebox. She was killing me softly with her song. We slipped out the back, Jack, and headed to the Hotel California. There were plenty of rooms at the Hotel California. It was a nice surprise.
\u201cI want to kiss you all over,\u201d I said, \u201cand over again.\u201d
\u201cHush,\u201d she whispered.
With that she went to the fireplace where something was burning. It was good Norwegian wood and it was burning love.
\u201cLay, lady, lay.\u201d I said. \u201cLay upon this big brass bed.\u201d I asked, \u201cIf I said you had a beautiful body would you hold it against me?\u201d
Maggie May Layla cooed, \u201cEight days a week, Mister Big Stuff. Eight days a week.\u201d
\u2026and that\u2019s the view from The Balcony.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/a><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Randy Weeks is a Licensed Professional Counselor, a Certified Shamanic Life Coach, an ordained minister,<\/em> a singer-songwriter, and an actor. Randy may be reached at randallsweeks@gmail.com.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/a><\/figure>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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