tuli kupferberg, “nothing”
from: the fugs first album, 1965
“Monday, nothing
Tuesday, nothing
Wednesday and thursday nothing
Friday, for a change
A little more nothing
Saturday once more nothing
Sunday nothing
Monday nothing
Tuesday and wednesday nothing
Thursday, for a change
A little more nothing
Friday once more nothing
Montik gornisht,
Dinstik gornisht
Midwoch an donnerstik gornisht
Fritik, far a noveneh gornisht pikveleh
Shabas nach a mool gornisht
Lunes nada
Martes nada
Miercoles y jueves nada
Viernes, por cambia
Un poco mas nada
Sabado otra vez nada
January nothing
February nothing
March and april nothing
May and june
A lot more nothing
July nothing
’29 nothing
’32 nothing
’39, ‘45 nothing
1965 a whole lot of nothing
1966 nothing
Reading nothing
Writing nothing
Even arithmetic nothing
Geography, philosophy, history, nothing
Social anthropology a lot of nothing
Oh, village voice nothing
New yorker nothing
Sing out and folkways nothing
Harry smith and allen ginsberg
Nothing, nothing, nothing
Poetry nothing
Music nothing
Painting and dancing nothing
The world’s great books
A great set of nothing
Audy and foudy nothing
Fucking nothing
Sucking nothing
Flesh and sex nothing
Church and times square
All a lot of nothing
Nothing, nothing, nothing
Stevenson nothing
Humphrey nothing
Averell harriman nothing
John stuart mill nil, nil
Franklin delano nothing
Karlos marx nothing
Engels nothing
Bakunin and kropotkin nothing
Leon trotsky lots of nothing
Stalin less than nothing
Nothing nothing nothing nothing
Lots and lots of nothing
Nothing nothing nothing nothing nothing
Lots of it
Nothing!
Not a god damn thing”
Tuli Kupferberg of The Fugs discovered lessons that had been buried under rocks. And his band raised a decent ruckus with their findings. They possessed no fear of confronting the dirt and grime of their times. Comedy was their ally when they dove into the political eddies and undressed the Pentagon. “Nothing” is a special coda reminder prayer that is not to be experienced as a complaint but rather as a disheveled call to awakening. A chant to unclothe fakery. Yep, their apparent musical disorganization set their records straight.
““These are the days that must happen to you.”
”