3413
Where the tangled barberry-bushes
Hang their tufts of crimson berries
3414
Over stone walls gray with mosses,
Pause by some neglected graveyard,
3415
For a while to muse, and ponder
On a half-effaced inscription,
3416
Written with little skill of song-craft,
Homely phrases, but each letter
Full of hope and yet of heart-break,
-“BB”-
3417
Full of all the tender pathos
Of the Here and the Hereafter;–
3418
Stay and read this rude inscription,
Read this Song of Hiawatha!
Thank god that’s over!
Well, it was a good choice; I’ll have to admit. Though it did take a while to get through, and I never studied it, which made it a little difficult; for me anyway. Never mind, we made it through, and we are well on our way to a million.
3419
Mister Tanner was a cleaner from a town in the Midwest,
3420
And of all the cleaning shops around he’d made his the best
Yay, we’re 0.342% of the way there!
3421
But he also was a baritone who sang while hanging clothes.
3422
He practiced scales while pressing tails and sang at local shows
3423
His friends and neighbors praised the voice that poured out from his throat.
Actually, that was just the introduction to the Song of Hiawatha … there was a heckuvalot more to go; for example, the part that starts “By the shores of Gitchie-Gumee; by the shining Big Sea waters, stood the wigwam of Nokomis. Daughter of the moon, Nokomis.”
But I defer to the will of the masses…
3424
They said that he should use his gift instead of cleaning coats.
-“BB”-
3425
But music was his life, it was not his livelihood,
3426
And it made him feel so happy and it made him feel so good
3427
I don’t get the random quotes underneath.
3428
What random quotes, underneath what?
3429
And he sang from his heart and he sang from his soul.
3430
I think our new friend is referring to what seem to be random quotes underneath the number in progression.
Right now, Bacon Cheeseburger, they’re song lyrics. The current song is “Mr. Tanner,” by Harry Chapin, and we do one line at a time. Early in this game, we did current or future historical events (“1066: William the Conqueror invades Britain,” or “1544: in 400 years, we’ll have D-Day”), but now that we’ve gone past the year 2000, we’ve tended to do song lyrics or poems. Usually story songs and poems that tell stories. It adds a little fun to just counting up.
Join on in. Right now, when we’re doing “Mr. Tanner,” you can Google the lyrics and add a line. Or, you can simply post a new number, with your own commentary, or none at all, if you like. The important thing is, we just keep counting, and you are welcome to join us.
3431
He did not know how well he sang; It just made him whole
3432
His friends kept working on him to try music out full time.