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Uranium Tea

by Harry Kelley

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1.
War Coming 02:22
(a few chords) PEGGY; I think it’s totally unfair. (a few chords) EDITH: I agree (a few chords) PEGGY: Then why are you doing it? (They go into the house) TILANO: Night quickening. Bad plumbing. Blood thickening. War coming. Aha ha ha ha ah (etc.) (The women reenter) PEGGY: Now that government has taken over the Ranch School up on the mesa, you won’t have any more customers. Especially since they’re dismantling the Chili Line. Jack loves you. EDITH: Maybe so. How would I know? Somehow still his mind is a mystery. Don't you think ten years was enough To write our history? TILANO: Why you buy this place, Edith? No one comes for tea. For chocolate cake. Even for gasoline now. EDITH: For the quiet. (They all listen for a bit.) PEGGY: I love the quiet here! You can hear the birds, the wind, the wolf howls, nthe sound of the river gurgling. TILANO: No Indian will live here. We call it Poshcongay, “Where the River makes a Noise.” Sound of war coming and endless leaking. EDITH: I thought you were an Indian, Tilano. Or do Pueblo chiefs give that up when they move to Poshcongay—where the river makes a noise—to help old spinsters run Tea Houses? (The women go back in.) TILANO: Pipes breaking. Too old. Earth shaking. Sun cold.
2.
Don't Listen 01:49
Wish I could make you to see what I see for you, But you don't listen. Thank God you don't listen. Thank God that you won't. If I could figure out your life, Where to live who to marry, Don't listen. No, not for a second. Whatever, just don't. Pretty clear that I would love to tell you What you should do, Answer every single question. Have no fear. I've given up the idea that I have any idea what's even good for me myself! Maybe, though, if you just listen to what I think May be the answer, A second opinion, Apart from you own, like mine— It could help clarify problems You don't realize are real problems And maybe, just maybe, You won't end up alone
3.
Paris 02:30
Peggy: You feel the world shifting under your feet And you start to tremble. You say a prayer and sigh. You feel so stupid that you let Paris simply sit there. You really need to see Paris before you die. Edith: You run away to New Mexico where you think you'll find Some kind of inner peace. But then you realize peace isn't just a cactus blooming And Paris might be burning. Both: The world can fall apart and You go on and barely notice, Hoping it will end before the Damage is to great to be undone. One day we'll celebrate when the war is won. But we'll never believe that Paris is safe. We'll never be sure that the world is completely good. Or that we can ever understand the world, A world that we once thought we under stood. And there are children in Boston, Berlin and Rome and London Who ought to have a chance To know a world as safe and secure as a lullaby The way we dreamed of France.
4.
Keep the earth in your hand. Don't forget a single tree. Keep the path up hill, down hill Singing with the sun and dancing with a star. You are the one who holds my hand. Don't let go. Even when death comes by, Hold to what you know.
5.
Ranch School Boys: Up on the Pajarito Plateau, That's where the bravest of young men go. Up in the sky where the air is so thin That the birds can hardly fly, That's where little boys nearly die. Up where nobody knows If you should get lost If you'll ever come home. Up where being a man Is all that you have To be all that you can be Up there on the Pajarito Plateau You can be killed by a rabid bear. Rattler snakes can attack you Or didn't you know they're up there Waiting for you to make one mistake. Up where we were all sent To learn how to grow Into stalwart young men, Sent from Chicago because We couldn't play football Or get into Princeton or Yale! From the Pajarito Plateau We’ve come from saying our last goodbye. Why did the government close it Is something we’d like to know But ours is only to do or die. Soon we’ll be joining the thousands Of Air Force recruits. We’ll be sailors and soldiers. Soon we’ll be grateful the Ranch School Prepared us to carry the world on our shoulders. Now on the Pajarito Platteau There’s just the hoot of a keen-eyed owl. Off in the distance you’ll hear If you carefully strive to listen One lonely wolf as she starts to howl.
6.
EDITH: You're standing on my porch. Yes, it's my porch. I own it. My new porch. Exactly like the old porch Yes, except that it's my porch. This one. Right here. This porch. It doesn't have a swing. Don't you think that it needs one? But what a perfect chair! Sit down and smell the Glorious roses that aren't yet blooming there, and… Take a look at my house. Yes the tea house is my house. Yes siree. It isn't much to look at, Yes, but guess what the deed says? Edith. Right here. That's my name. I know the paint is peeling, The plumbing is leaking. The septic tank's too small. But think of all the headaches I'd have If I bought the Taj Mahal. I never owned a thing, Jack. Nothing real, Jack, A suitcase, the clothes I wear, And even in my dreams, Jack, When I dream, just a small room, Small porch, small house. EDITH: Let me show you! (Opens door.) Bedroom! Kitchen! My House! It's not enough for two, Jack. Not for me, Jack, And no, Jack, No not for you. You're just a little late, Jack. Your proposal Is precious, tender, Late, Jack. It's just a pretty thing, Jack, The way it catches light, The moon caught in a ring, Jack, On such a perfect night. Maybe last year, an hour ago, I'd have felt different. How can I know? On such a night as this, Jack, It's anyone's guess. If I hadn't bought the house, Jack, Jack, I might have said "yes."
7.
PEGGY: I've never been so tired! Gotta get home to bed. Really don't want to wake up in the morning Dead in the clothes I'm dressed in now. Why I always think that I can sleep For less than six hours a night And then feel competent Is anybody's guess. I've never been so tired! I've never felt so weary Watching as every thing Seems to be ending Making socks and sandwiches, Watching as boys and men Dream of their destiny. That's not something that women Can afford to spend their time on When there's floors to mop, When there's kids Kids with mouths to feed. I've never felt so weary! (Off in the distance, in the darkness, we see a bright light beginning to grow. The women look at it in disbelief. ) EDITH: He didn’t. PEGGY: He couldn’t have. EDITH: It’s just the sort of thing he excels at. BOTH Can you see? Do you notice a light Way off in the distance Almost like the old lamp of the Chili Line? It can't be. They can't be running the train. Not this late. I’m (She's) going to kill you. (EDITH goes off to the bridge.) PEGGY: Jack, did you get them to run the train out here? You were not supposed to know! JACK: She was never gonna tell us it's her birthday. She was never gonna let us wish her well. Some people make a big deal but Edith don't. She ain't never gonna tell you what she's thinkin'. She ain't ever gonna tell you what she dreams. You and I fold down the ears of Sear's catalogues. But Edith don't. Edith won't. Some people want more than they got. Some people need a little, some a lot. Edith is happy with nothing more Than moon and cactuses and this cheap house. She was never going to tell me that she loved me. Wouldn't matter to me if she kept it hid. I just wish that Edith had acted like she could. Until she did.
8.
RADIO ANNOUNCER And now back to our lovely Savannah Star Cigarette Singers! 1ST SINGER You know girls, there’s so many of you got a fellow off fighting the war. 2ND SINGER Even if you don’t know where he is—you sure got his picture on your dresser or hanging on the wall by the American flag. 3RD SINGER But what about us who haven’t met him yet? 1ST AND 2ND Haven’t met him yet? 3RD I just know he’s out there fighting for everything he and I believe in—what we all believe in: freedom, and kindness, and goodness. And he’s brave and handsome and kind and good. Only one problem. 1ST AND 2ND What problem? 3RD I just haven’t met him yet! SAVANNAH STAR CIGARETTE SINGERS Meet me where we finally Find each other, in the park on the Fourth of July, I’ll be waiting, Please come home. Greet me, with a smile, I’ll be cautious, but you’ll feel a spark on the Fourth of July, I’ll be waiting, Please come home. We’ll go hear the band play Stars and Stripes, watch a kid flying a kite, We'll sit by the river till the sun goes down And the fireworks ignite. There are so many things We’ve waited to say, but we’ll hardly speak On the Fourth of July, I'll never stop waiting, Please come home. Although I have never met you, In my dreams it is emphatically clear That the river and the park and the town I live in Won’t be home, Won’t be home until you’re here.
9.
RICKY: I try it out. How do you do? I am proud American Ricky Farmer. My accent is curious secret town in Oklahoma no one pronounce correct, and I no serve in the army because: I got flat feet, so they won’t let me into the army. I got flat feet, so they don’t want me for a recruit. I got flat feet, so that don’t believe that I can peel potatoes. I got flat feet, I can’t even drive a jeep, type letters or salute. It’s as if I got no feet at all. Can’t they hear I hear my country’s call? I’ve got something every soldier’s got: As big a chance of getting shot. GENERAL GROVES Dr. Bohr, Dr. Nils Bohr, you are now Nick Baker. Myopic. NICK My big glasses, eh? My name, Nick Baker. My accent is from the Tishomongo where we work in submarine factory. I no service in the army because: I got coke bottle glasses. I got eyes like a mole. I can’t see twenty feet away so Don’t put me on patrol. But when there’s smoke in the battle, Luftwasse roaring above, I see as good as you Just point and give a shove. It’s myopic to ignore me. Children and their pets adore me. Kill me or esprit de corps me— I’ll show what an American is really made of! EDDIE Eliazar Silberschmidt! I mean Eddie Silver! I too was born and bred in Tishomongo, but not in the same borough as these fellows. Are there any good forgers here? Because I need someone to fake a signature for me! Mom and dad won’t let me join The Army, Navy, Air Force, or Marines. Without their signature okaying it I’ll have to wait until my later teens. What’s the use of finishing up high school, Back home in Tishomongo, Oklahoma, If Nazi’s are our teachers there tomorrow— Then what’s the point of earning a diploma? Won’t you listen to me, Mammy? Pappy, I won't beg no more: Take a look at Uncle Sammy Saying, “I want you to give me him to win the war!” (They repeat all three verses together.) ALL: That's why we're here in New Mexico. We've come from Tishomongo to do our part at home. Here in New Mexico. We're building submarines where nobody will look. Here in New Mexico. Way up high! On a mesa! Wouldn't you like to buy the Brooklyn Bridge?! ALL (with variations) So I’m sorry that I can’t go to Franco or Morocco. And I’m sorry that I can’t shuffle into Berlin. And I’m sorry that you’ll never read how I became a hero. How I never got to be half of the things I always knew I might have been. When the whole world seems to be in chaos It’s a damn shame when they tell you “no.” Only saying it’s killing me to stay home I’m safer if you let me go! Every night before I sleep I humbly pray, “Lord please end this war today.” RICKY: Flat Feet! NICK: Coke bottle glasses! EDDIE: It seems that I'm too damn young!
10.
Since I was six and a half years old I've always analyzed The subjects of general conversation Generally prized. Like "love at first sight" and" love unbounded" And love till "death do us part." But I've never managed to verify more Than the beating of a heart. No fellow showed up with empirical stuff, With a trumpet or snare drum roll. I never managed to get data enough To certify a proper control. I always found men were quick to depart From a girl with a P h. D. But I've met a guy who is smart, smart, smart And who likes to check facts with me. He has eyes, brown eyes, two, chestnut brown, And a shockingly high I. Q. It's possible he could turn upside down All the things that I thought weren't true. I can't believe he's real. He's perfect. I don't know how to feel: he listens to what I say. He's the only man I ever met Who was smart enought to begin to get How smart I am and still not let How smart I am get in the way! Though he may laugh at my insistence That things be logical, articulate, cogent clear, He never discounts my theories, My epistomological queries, And he'll talk about things that no one else wants to hear. He never seems to need me to act romantic. I can't be girly cause I shout instead of just speak. But last week when I shouted at him "nosce te ipsum" (it means "know thyself" in Latin, Without hesitation he answered me back in Greek. I had an aberrant reaction. It's quite irration al my face turned completely red. When we were talking about geothermal gasses, He suddenly took of his really big black glasses And it made me think he might be saying Something else in stead. We're reading Kant's "Critique of Practical Reason." "Pure Reason" was thrilling but it left us wantting more. When I said, "Well, you know, Kant never goes out of season." He said, "You're a kind of a girl I could kind of adore!" I really don't let people touch me. It's too much stimulus, like chalk on a blackboard. Argghh! It was quite beyong all expectation When he asked if he could read my disertation. That's when I began to think it might be something more. I don't understand love. I don't understand love. I'd be happy to live my life alone With my cat and with my mother on the telephone Not wondering if I should wonder what I met him for. I don't understand love. I don't understand love! But I could maybe just try to learn a little more about —it.

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released November 2, 2012

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Harry Kelley Mt Pleasant, Michigan

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