Difference between revisions of "Songs in Gravity's Rainbow"

Revision as of 10:15, 9 December 2011

Pynchon loves to embed song lyrics into the text of his stories. For him the writing process does not involve only the traditional dialogue and description, but song lyrics to flavor the story too. Though present in nearly all of Pynchon's novels, more attention has been paid to the songs in Gravity's Rainbow over any other (probably as a mere consequence of the book's overwhelming clout). On this topic reference must be made to the collaborative band, The Thomas Pynchon Fake Book, who have composed and performed music to many of the songs written for GR.

Below are listed the songs that Pynchon writes for GR, organized by the order in which they appear.

Part 1 Beyond the Zero

P. 9

Time to gather your arse up off the floor,
          (have a bana-na)
Brush your teeth and go toddling off to war,
Wave your hand to sleepy land,
Kiss those dreams away,
Tell Miss Grable you're not able,
Not till V-E Day, oh,
Ev'rything'll be grand in Civvie Street
          (have a ban-ana)
Bubbly wine and girls wiv lips so sweet--
But there's still the German or two to fight,
So show us a smile that's shiny bright,
And then, as we may have suggested once before--
Gather yer blooming arse up off the floor!

P. 12

It's...
Colder than the nipple on a with's tit!
Colder than a bucket of penguin shit!
Colder than the hairs of a polar bear's ass!
Colder than the frost on a champagne glass!

P. 12-3

Yes--I'm--the--
Fellow that's having other peop-le's fantasies,
Suffering what they ought to be themselves--
No matter if Girly's on my knee--
If Kruppingham-Jones is late to tea,
I don't even get to ask for whom the bell's...
It never does seem to matter if there's daaaanger,
For Danger's a roof I fell from long ago--
I'll be out-one-day and never come back,
Forget the bitter you owe me, Jack,
Just piss on m' grave and car-ry on the show!

P. 15

Nobody knows-where, it is-on-the-map,
Who'd ever think-it, could start-such-a-flap?
Each Montenegran, and Serbian too,
Waitin' for some-thing, right outa the blue--oh honey
Pack up my Glad-stone, 'n' brush off my suit,
And then light me up my big fat, cigar--
If ya want my address, it's
That O-ri-ent Express,
To the san-jak of No-vi Pa-zar!

P. 63

Got a hardon in my fist,
Don't be pissed,
Re-enlist--
Snap--to, Slothrop!

Jackson, I don't give a fuck,
Just give me my "ruptured duck!"
Snap--to, Slothrop!

No one here can love or comprehend me,
They just look for someplace else to send...me...

Tap my head and mike my brain,
Stick that needle in my vein,
Slothrop, snap to!

P. 63

Rhy-thm's got me,
Oh baby dat swing, swing, swing!
Yeah de rhythm got me
Just a-thinkin' that whole-wide-world-can-sing,
Well I never ever heard-it, sound-so-sweet,
Even down around the corner-on, Ba-sin Street,
As now dat de rhythm's got me, chillun let's
Swing, swing, swing,
Come on...chillun, let's...swing!

P. 69

                 RED RIVER VALLEY
Down this toilet they say you are flushin'--
Won'tchew light up and set fer a spell?
Cause the toilet it ain't going nowhar,
And the shit hereabouts shore is swell.

P. 70