In a lonely libraryWhere the shelving butts on a leaking wall
Most people look for another library
Ill luck besets them to hear the call...
Library...
In the stone age.
Library... cast a sigh.
Where you can't act your own age
And careers come to die.
Library...
Boxing clever
Pile 'em up, pile 'em high
Like some card Tower of Babel
Climbing up to the sky.
Your own locker space;
Your own locker key;
Your own half-chewed biro;
A cold cup of tea.
Library...
Mushroom-managed,
Crises crafted with skill.
With your confidence damaged
You just wait for the kill.
Library....
Library...
Librar... eek!
Somewhere in the libraryYou may see the right book.
You may see the right book
Although it's been misshelved.
And sadly you know,
You know even then,
That you may never
Find it if you try again.
Somewhere in the library
There will be a stranger.
There will be a stranger
Just as perplexed as you.
They'll struggle and curse
And yet what is worse
They will have worked there since June '82.
A hundred and one pounds of fun
That's our new acquisition
Come and have a look
At a reference book
Tonight...
Speaking of these directories
Set in six point jargonese
Squint at it mint
While it's still out in print
And sight.
Happy talking talking library talk,
Talk about things you'll never do.
You got to have a dream.
If you don't have a dream,
How'll they ever have a dream to screw?
Talk about the stock
Chosen for the shelves.
Popular and useful, naturally.
Talk about the staff
Valued for their skill
Trained, empow'red, and with authority!
Happy talking talking library talk,
Talk about things they're going to rush.
You got to have a dream.
If you don't have a dream,
How'll they ever have a dream to crush?
7 comments:
Provocative thoughts! But, Tower of Babel? A new global language? The future of World communication?
An interesting video can be seen at http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=_YHALnLV9XU and a glimpse of Esperanto can be seen at http://www.lernu.net
I can just see you in a grass skirt....
Carrie in the Sex and the City movie extols the virtues of the library book. The smell. Normally I find I choose ones that seem to have someone's dinner... or worse... spilled on selected pages... But there is nothing quite like the borrowing of a library book :)
Hi Brian!: the language of cardboard boxes in libraries is both incomprehensible and universal.
Ellis: You poor lad. I recommend a strong drink to try and diffuse the image.
Ms. Cake: there is something special about the smell of a well-used library book. They smell of people, for good or ill; I think they tap in to some atavistic sense of socialisation.
Powerful, Kev. But didn't you have some tinsel around to brighten the place up a bit for Christmas? (I've missed the point, haven't I).
gd: Tinsel aplenty but we're low on hibiscus flowers.
Loverly.
(Cow retiring to hum Some Enchanted Library Book softly)
Moo!
Post a Comment