MacGougan at Large

Notes from NYC - 9

NYC Song

I ended the Hawaii series with a Hawaii song, so it only seems right to end this series with a NYC song. I use the term “song” aspirationally. Technically, it’s just lyrics or a poem at this point. In my mind, though, if you can hum the words in your head to the merest faint echo of a melody, then it’s a song.  

I thought it might be fun to do a kind of patter song based on “Notes from NYC - 5”, where I refer to the fact that the gift shop at Metropolitan Museum is now much larger than it used to be and carries a wide range of products with ties-ins to art that are sometimes tenuous.

I’ll admit that the artist-name wordplay in the indented verses is a bit forced. I left it in so that you could see firsthand how a retired insurance expert can fritter away an afternoon.

YOU CAN GET IT AT THE MET!

You can get it at the Met
You can get it, you can bet
A dinner set, a purse, a garden gnome
There’s no need to doubt or fret
You can get it at the Met
A priceless treasure you can carry home!

     A DaVin-cheese log or Ma-tea set would make good presents
     Or you can try our Rembr-antidepressants!

     Our Verm-earings and Hock-knee pads are quite the steals
     And check out our tiny Gi-automobiles!

You can get it at the Met
You can get it, with some debt
A magnet game, a scarf, an ice cube tray
There’s no need break a sweat
You can get it at the Met
A priceless treasure you can cart away!

     Ren-watermelon and Rubens sandwiches are luscious
     Then buff up with El Gre-combs and brushes.
     
     Van-Go-Go boots and War-halter top might cause a scandal
     Relax with a Pis-aromatic candle.

You can get it at the Met
You can buy without regret
A chafing dish, a belt, a giant phone
It’s our best selection yet
You can get it at the Met
A priceless treasure you can call your own!

(For the record, the artists referenced are DaVinci, Matisse, Rembrandt, Vermeer, Hockney, Giotto, Renoir, Rubens, El Greco, Van Gogh, Warhol, and Pissaro. Readers are invited to submit their own artist-product mash-ups, which I’ll collect in a folder labeled: “LeWitt-icisms”.)

(Next: Notes from My Transition to Retirement)