The Mudcat Café TM
Thread #10276 Message #2428446
Posted By: eddie1
02-Sep-08 - 04:55 AM
Thread Name: Songs about disability
Subject: Lyr Add: WHEELCHAIR TALKING BLUES (Fred Small)
There have been several mentions of Fred Small's incredible "Wheelchair Talkin' Blues but no lyrics have appeared as yet. This is from Susanne's (Skw) wonderful website
Wheelchair Talking Blues • (Fred Small)
I went out jogging in the city air I met a woman in a wheelchair I said, I'm sorry to see you're handicapped She said, What makes you think a thing like that She looked me in the eye with a smile on her face and she said You want a race?
She began to roll and I began to run In two minutes she was long gone Going up the hill I could hit my stride But coming down she flew on by When I finally caught up with her she said Hey - not bad for someone who is able-bodied You know, with care and supervision you could be taught simple tasks Would you like to eat?
I said, Eating, yeah, that suits me fine We're near a favourite place of mine We made our way over there And the entrance was up a flight of stairs I never noticed that before, said I No problem, the manager replied We've got a service elevator here It's round the back
We went upstairs on the elevator With the garbage, flies, and last week's potatoes I said, I'd like a table for my friend and me He said, I'll see if I can find one that's out the way And he whispered, Is she gonna be sick? Is she gonna pee on the floor? I said, No, I don't think so, she had polio when she was small But that was twenty years ago
He points to a table, she rolls her chair And some people looked down and other people stared One mother said to her little girl She said, Keep away from her, darling, that woman's - ill We felt real welcome Then the waiter said, What can I do for you? I said, I'll have one of your special brews He said, What about her? I said, Who? He said, Her I said, D'you mean my friend here? He said, Uh-huh I said, Why don't you ask her yourself?
He said, I'm sorry, don't get sore I've never waited on a crípple before She spoke to the manager when we were through And said, There's one or two things that you could do To make life a little easier for people like us in these wheelchairs He said, It isn't necessary The handicapped never come here
As I said good night to my new-found friend I said, Now I begin to understand To understand just how it feels To go through life on a set of wheels She said, Don't feel sorry, don't feel sad I take the good with the bad I was arrested once in a protest demo But the policemen had to let me go We were protesting about the fact That so many public buildings lacked wheelchair accessibility Seems the gaol was the same way
She said, In fifty years anyhow You'll be in worse shape than I am now We're all the same in this human race Some of us are called handicapped And the rest of us are just temporarily - Able-bodied (as sung by Iain MacKintosh)