The Legend of 1900 (La leggenda del pianista sull'oceano) (La leggenda del pianista sull'oceano)

I still ask myself if I did the right thing

when I abandoned his floating city

And I don't mean only for the work

fact is, a friend like that a real friend

you won't meet one again

If you just decide to hang up your sea legs

if you just want to feel something more solid beneath your feet

and if then you no loner hear the music of the gods around you

But, like he used to say

You're never really done for as long as you got a good story

and someone to tell it to

Trouble is

nobody'd believe a single word of my story

It happened every time

Someone would look up and see her

It's difficult to understand

There'd be more than a thousand of us on that ship

Traveling rich folks, immigrants and strange people, and us

Yet there was always one

One guy alone who would see her first

Maybe he was just sitting there eating or walking on the deck

Maybe he was just fixing his pants

He'd look up for a second. A quick glance out to sea and he'd see her

Then he'd just stand there rooted to the spot, his heart racing

And every time every damn time, I swear

he'd turn to us, towards the ship towards everybody and scream

America

The Legend of 1900

New York

The one who sees America first

There's one on every ship

And don't be thinking it's an accident

Or some optical illusion It's destiny

Those are people who always

have that precise instant stamped on their life

And when they were kids you could look into their eyes

and if you looked carefully enough you'd already see her

America

And I've seen a few Americas

Six years on that ship five crossings a year

Europe, America and back always soaking in the ocean

When you stepped on land

you couldn't even piss straight in the john

It was teady. The john, I mean

But you'd keep bobbing like an idiot

You can get off a ship all right But off the ocean

I was just closing

What can I do for you?

When I boarded, I was 24 years old

And I only cared about one thing in life

Playing the trumpet

I'm selling it

Conn

Not bad

Best brass money can buy

Six pounds, ten shillings Best I can do

That horn's my whole life, mister

Even being a nobody

has got to be worth more than twenty lousy bucks

It that's how things are, I suppose it's barely worth half a crown

Shut the door when you leave please

Okay, pops

you win

You just bought yourself a piece of musical history

Now if you want my advice

got out, treat yourself to a decent meal

At least let me play it one last time

Young man I don't have time to waste

All right

Hurry up, then

I'm closing

Thank you

Two peas in a pod, wouldn't you say

It's the music you were just playing

What is it?

It doesn't have a name

Just a handful of people have had the privilege of hearing it

That style. I was wondering since this morning, but...

I can't work out who this amazing piano player is

I don't think you ever heard of him

Who is he?

If I told you this pianist never existed

I wouldn't be lying

I don't like secrets

Come on now, Yank who the devil is playing?

That's my secret

It was the first year of this frigging century

as defined by an unknown colored coal stoker on the Virginian

Fucking rich-ass bastards Can't lose nothing

but cigarette butts and dirty-ass handkerchiefs

Can't lose no watch

not even a beat-up Elgin or a sorry-ass cufflink

What am I talking about? Not even a fake fucking ring

Look here

A whole cigar

Must've been somebody poor at the party

Look at this shit

Nasty fucker

Damn rich. Don't forget nothing unless they owe you some money

What in the scuts you doing here?

"T.D. Lemons"

Howdy do there, Lemon

Immigrant bastard

You said it That's the way the immigrants do it

Have a baby on the ship

and then leave on board another mouth to feed

And, like that, avoid trouble with the immigration office

What's a boy like him going to be when he grows up?

Another immigrant

Don't pay those bastards no mind Lemon

Go on, lap it up, boy

This one they left in first class on top the piano

They are hoping some rich guy will come

and stick a silver spoon in his mouth

And who does the little ape get instead?

A poor coal stoker

Someoe is taking you for a sucker, Danny

They have the fun You have the misery

Fuck poverty

You stinking sewer rats

T.D. was wrote on that box. Any of you shitheads know what that means?

I forgot. You all can't read

It means, "Thanks, Danny." "Thanks, Danny"

They left him for me and I'm gonna keep him

Rest of you all can go fuck yourselves

Danny, what are you going to call the nino?

Hell, I ain't think about that

To start off I'm going to name him after me

Danny Boodman

Then I'll put "T.D." in the middle

Iike rich folks puts that in the middle, don't you think?

That give it class, to put that in the middle, don't you think?

All fucking lawyers gots initials in the middle of their names

Well, my lawyer was Jonathan PTK Wonder

My son grow up to be a lawyer I swear I'll kikk him myself

But the boy's name is still going to be Danny Boodman T.D. Lemon

He ain't the son of no fucking duke, Danny

You found him on a Tuesday Call him "Tuesday"

You ain't as dumb as you look colored boy

I found him the first month

of the first year of this frigging new century

So I calls him: Nineteen Hundred

Nineteen Hundred? But that's a number

It was a number, now it's a name

Danny Boodman T.D. Lemon Nineteen Hundred

Danny, your little bambino is not so happy

Come on, hurry. Hurry up Don't worry, your mama's here

Damn. How can something that small shit so much?

And that's how little Nineteen Hundred grew up

Inside that cradle as big as a ship

But since Danny was afraid they'd take him away

on account of some business concerning documents and visas

the boy lived his early years

always hiding in the belly of the Virginian

Okay, now try one for yourself

Put your finder up here against these words

so the letters can't run off on you

"Man"

All right, keep going

"Go"

Go on

"Ma"

Just a little bit more

"Ma"

Boy, you read like a god, Lemon

Now go on, put them all together

kind of like them boiler valves Come on

"Man... go...Mama"

Mango Mama. All right. Deep going

Yank...My...Chain

Danny, why are you laughing so much

Because these are names of horses Don't that make you laugh?

I"m just crazy about these horses' names. Look at this one here

"Happy Hoofers"

Listen to this

"Sassy Lassy"

And this one

"Red Hot Mama"

What's a mama, Danny?

A mama?

A mama's a horse

A horse?

Racehorse

Matter of fact, you know what I say Mama's the best horse in the world?

Thoroughbred You bet on a mama, you always win

"Tano D'Amato

The King of Lemons"

Dad, put your finger here and read

T.D. doesn't mean "Thanks, Danny"

Who's this pansy ass?

That's enough reading for tonight

Too much reading is bad for you

What else is bad, Danny?

Everything off the Virginian is bad

Everything

They got sharks on the land they eat you alive

You keep away from they, you hear?

Danny, what's an orphanage?

Well, a orphanage is like a great big prison

where they lock up folks that ain't got kids