Hi Charley,

The last verse of Winter and I takes incredible license for the rhythm's sake. The fellow in that song, an actual man, quit smoking as well as drinking all winter long, and what he really did was read Shakespeare all day on Mt. Desert Island. I couldn't make it fit.

What you're reading about the national US numbers is an average, and in places with strong smoking restrictions, such as California, the average, which once was 50%, is down near 10%. The numbers are scewed by the increase in young people smoking, the tobacco industry's prime target.

And good news for those who care-- the song was forwarded to our local tobacco control policy director, who is making certain all vendors and festival staff next year are apprised of the smokefree policy and required to comply as part of their contract. A very real victory for a saucy little bit of satire.