Don Van Vliet (Captain Beefheart), 1941-2010

Don Van Vliet (Captain Beefheart)

There Ain't No Santa Claus On The Evenin' Stage

(Captain Beefheart, 1972)

There ain’t no Santa Claus on the evenin’ stage

There ain’t no way t’ pull the curtain

‘N hide from hunger’s rage

There ain’t no town t’ stop in

There ain’t no time t’ stop in

There ain’t no straw for my horse

There ain’t no straw for my bed

There ain’t no comfort in cold boards

There ain’t no rumours or food for my stomach

‘N someday I’m gonna be saved

‘Cause I gotta eat ‘n drink ‘n breathe ‘n sleep

‘N I’m ah slave

Down in hominy’s grotto there’s ah soul die’n ‘n leavin’

Every second on the evenin’ stage

There’s ah soul die’n ‘n rottin’ ‘n pickin’

Some new kinda cotton

With his fingers broken ‘n his heart ‘n back forgotten

There ain’t no Santa Claus on the evenin’ stage

"There Ain't No Santa Claus On the Evenin' Stage" originally appeared on The Spotlight Kid (Reprise Records). Photo at top from The Radar Station, a comprehensive Beefheart website.