Henry

Henry was a good boy from Georgia

His mama thought he could lose some weight

Now his mama's creative

She went to the music store

And brought home a stand up bass

He carried that bass everywhere that he'd go

Started to study the greats

Snuck home some Charles Mingus records one night

Blew his young mind clean away

He got a pork pie hat just like Mingus

Stole some of those little cigars

Carried that bass to school every day

Smoked cigars in the school yard

Startеd savin' his lunch money

Set aside somе every day

Said he was gonna buy an airline ticket

And fly off to Europe and play

He'd play for the cultured folks out there

The kind that wore scarves and berets

Some high-minded people who smoke little cigarettes

And drink little coffees all day

That's until his mother came home one afternoon

Found his money, found his cigars

Took all those Charles Mingus records outside

Ran em over

Just crushed em

She made him to eat boiled cod every night

No TV, certainly no books

Sent him away to a military school

Turned his bedroom into an office

Henry got to marchin'

Pushin' up, pullin' up

Blowin' on bugles all day

He never heard no Charles Mingus again

And Lord knows he lost more than weight