Tuli Kupferberg (1923-2010)

Tuli Kupferberg, a founding member of The Fugs, an anarchic band from the 1960's, died Monday. The Fugs didn't get much airplay but they made up for it in attitude. They were probably best known, if known at all, for their song "Kill for Peace".

Myself, I've always been partial to the first song of theirs I ever heard:

WIDE, WIDE RIVER

River of shit
River of shit
Flow on, flow on, river of shit
Right from my toes
On up to my nose
Flow on, flow on, river of shit
I've been swimming
In this river of shit
More than 20 years
And I'm getting tired of it
Don't like swimming
Hope it'll run dry
Got to go on swimming
Cause I don't want to die
Spoken:
Oh I can feel another 1000 years
Of the flapjacks of Sorrow! Unless!
Unless we make 2000 A.D.! 2000 A.D.
Our glorious deadline
A glorious deadline to make the
World a better place!
Or else the flapjacks of sorrow
Are going to slide down our throats
Slide down our throats
For another millenium
Of pain and war and oppression
And all our children's children's children's
Children's children children
Shall have to wade and to swim
In the same grim river
In which we now swim
Sing along with us
Sing sing sing sing sing sing sing sing!
(Repeat first verse)

We didn't quite make that 2000 AD deadline but that's not The Fug's fault. They warned us.

Godspeed, Tuli.