BILL BACHMANN Lyrics


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THE AVEDON BALL 

Once upon a time when I was young,

The Avedon collection had been hung,

The Whitney crew had left for the day,

It was March of 94, some folks say,

Not a soul in the museum could be found,

So the portraits came alive and looked around,

They climbed out of their frames one by one,

Call it mutiny, call it jailbreak, call it fun.

Um-m, um-m, um-m, um-m.

Veruschka stood a head above the rest,

As Truman nestled underneath her breast,

Warhol opened up some cans of soup,

While Marilyn danced around like Betty Boop,

The Western Project lit a barbecue, and

Bacon, Frank and Doe were cookin’, too,

Oscar joked and smoked and played the keys,

While the DAR were chased by Fischer's bees.

At the Avedon Ball,

They were dancin’ in the hall,

They'd been up against a wall,

At the Avedon Ball.

The Brandenburgs surrounded Berlin, as

Allen introduced the Ginsberg kin, and

Marian graced the specter with a song, while

Louis' horn was wailin’ all night long,

Tree, Leaf and Mudd were impressed,

By a Snake Boy with guts from the West,

And the beautiful Jean Shrimpton's knee,

Was wrapped around the Reverend D'Arcy,

At the Avedon Ball,

There was love in the hall,

They were comin’ down the walls,

At the Avedon Ball.

The actors in the Wonderland cast, and

Oppenheimer, all had a blast,

The Napalms and the Volpis traded skins,

While Polly pierced their ears with safety pins,

Killer Joe was dancing up above, to the

Brothers who sang "Bye Bye Love,"

And the Seven from Chicago were amazed,

When the Mission Council smoked a couple j's,

At the Avedon Ball,

There was music in the hall,

They were doing it all,

At the Avedon Ball.

Next day when the guards checked the floor,

There was one thing that they'd never seen before,

The garbage cans were filled up to their tops,

With party hats, and plates and paper cups,

Witnesses were sworn to secrecy,

To keep this Whitney tale from you and me,

And tonight, though I'm sure you won't see 'em,

Their spirits are alive in the museum.

Like at the Avedon Ball, um-m   The Avedon Ball, um-m,

The Avedon Ball, um-m,   The Avedon Ball, um