Greetings:

I was actually commissioned to write a song to sing at the retirement party for the principal of the Riker's Island Academy in New York City. Riker's Island, if you don't already know, is the site of several of the city jails. The Academy is a school for the inmates.

The Old Timer's Song
Music: The Streets of Laredo (traditional)
Lyrics: Stephen L. Suffet © 2002

I was riding to Rikers one day in September,
I was taking Queens Transit out to the Rock,
When I met an old timer, I'll always remember,
These words he did say as he wished me good luck:

Oh, once in the Bronx I taught junior guidance,
Once in Jamaica I taught private school,
It was then to old Sheepshead and then to Abe Lincoln,
I was young and ambitious, I was nobody's fool.

It was then as a trainer that I met Elayna,
But five years at E.D. were time in the hole,
That place just got sicker, the chair would have been quicker,
Until the Alternatives rescued my soul.

Oh, they made the the principal up at Bronx Regional,
I never did falter, I never did fail,
Captain Richard applauded me, and one day rewarded me,
By telling me, "Son, you are going to jail."

Now my sentence expired, I mean I retired,
To Vermont or Hawaii now I must choose,
If it were not for my draft board, who knows but the Good Lord,
I might be uptown and still selling shoes!

Notes:
Stanza 1, line 2: Queens Transit = a bus line, the Rock = Riker's Island
Stanza 2, line 3: Sheepshead, Abe Lincoln = high schools in Brooklyn
Stanza 3, line 1: Elayna = his wife, whom he met when he was a teacher trainer
Stanza 3, line 2: E.D. = Eastern District High School in Brooklyn, later closed and reopened as three smaller schools
Stanza 3, line 4: Alternatives = Office of Alternative Schools and Programs
Stanza 4, line 1: Bronx Regional = an alternative high school in the Bronx
Stanza 4, line 3: Captain Richard = the Superintendent of Alternative Schools and Programs, present at the retirement party
Stanza 5, line 3: If it were not for my draft board = began career in teaching to get draft deferment
Stanza 5, line 4: selling shoes = his career before teaching


I'm not saying that you can use this song the way that it is, but it does show you how you can write your own song and customize it for a parcticual person.

--- Steve