THE ROCK IN ROLLING STONE: Mutual friends of iconic rock writer Paul Nelson reminisce

Podsongs

Two heavyweights in their respective fields of music and writing discuss their mutual friend, the late Rolling Stone writer, Paul Nelson—and go on to create a tribute song for him 'Two Cokes for Paul Nelson'. Stream the song: https://ffm.to/twocokes TWO COKES FOR PAUL NELSON (Murphy / Lethem / Stafford) These are the elements of a verse Sherman cigarettes - but it gets worse Footprints on the running board of his wall And by the way his name was Paul And let’s not talk of his fall … just yet Oh starved to death – that’s what the tabloids say But you know - I don’t see it that way In fact for me - the opposite is true Paul was a glutton for everything he loved and knew From Orson Welles, Ross Macdonald, Howard Hawks, Raymond C, Chet B, PKD, and Warren Z … oh The New York Dolls and me So let’s take a seat at the Jackson Hole Let’s raise two cokes and toast his soul The soul of a man - our friend Paul Nelson – Paul Nelson A magnum forty-five and a snub-nose thirty-eight But books can kill if you can’t get them straight A paragraph, a sentence, to a starving mind Some die for want of an opening line Life on a shrinking editorial island Paul couldn’t lie, he couldn’t lie Hey Rod Stewart - bashed out on a lark Typing as fast as Lester Bangs could bark Paul the quiet man, living in a borrowed head An enabler who couldn’t get out of bed Marathon man in a hamburger booth He told the truth, he told the truth - that’s Paul Let’s take a seat at the Jackson Hole Let’s raise two cokes to toast his soul The soul of a man - our friend Paul Nelson – Paul Nelson Abiding mentor, with a guiding mind Freeze-frame, isolate the details, and then rewind A stickler for the director’s cut His own mis-en-scene, he fell into a rut Scraps on the cutting-room floor Shut the door, shut the door, shut the door Now somehow he lost his way and that’s a pity But in the words of Norma Desmond The movies got small not Paul not Paul not Paul not Paul A drink at the Jackson Hole Two cokes oh let’s toast his soul The soul of a man Our dear friend Paul Nelson – Paul Nelson The older you get, the more you live with ghosts And that’s according to Nick Tosches who’s now among them And Paul … Credits: Elliott Murphy : Vocals, Acoustic Guitars Jack Stafford : Backing Vocals Massimino Voza : Mellotron, Percussions Luigi Falcione : Bass Guitars Maurizio Sarnicola : Electric Guitars, Percussions Written by Elliott Murphy, Jonathan Lethem & Jack Stafford Recorded in Paris, France and Goldmine Records, Italy Mixed and mastered by Maurizio Sarnicola at Goldmine Records Produced by Elliott Murphy, Gaspard Murphy and Maurizio Sarnicola Cover artwork Brendan O’Connell https://elliottmurphy.com/https://jonathanlethem.com/https://www.podsongs.com/http://www.brendanoconnell.com/ // SUPPORT THIS CHANNEL // Newsletter, donations and download the song for €/$1 @ https://podsongs.com // LINKS // Website: https://podsongs.com Podcast episodes: https://podsongs.com/podcast-episodes Songs: https://podsongs.com/music Spotify artist: https://open.spotify.com/artist/32FYyRx1y1ex3jHHAgLMC7?si=4Nv7WW85SbSPZvCsj1o7Ig Spotify playlist: https://open.spotify.com/playlist/6sN1viy82HPiNTVX2YBxpq?si=1b84c2b9bdea4656 // SOCIAL // Twitter: https://twitter.com/podsongs Instagram: https://instagram.com/podsongs Facebook: https://facebook.com/podsongs