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From the 1971 Broadway
Musical:
FOLLIES
Book by
James Goldman
Music
and Lyrics by Stephen Sondheim
THE ROAD YOU DIDN'T TAKE
You're either a poet Or you're a lover Or you're the
famous [Man still unknown]. You take one road. You try one door. There isn't time for any more. One's
life consists of either/or. One has regrets Which one forgets, And as the years go by:
The
road you didn't take Hardly comes to mind. Does it? The door you didn't try: Where could it have led? The choice
you didn't make Never was defined. Was it? Dreams you didn't dare Are dead. Were they ever there? Who said? I
don't remember;
I
don't remember
At
all.
The
books I'll never read Wouldn't change a thing. Would they? The girls I'll never know I'm too tired for. The
lives I'll never lead Couldn't make me sing. Could they? Could they? Could they? Chances that you miss-- Ignore. Ignorance
is bliss-- What's more: You won't remember. You won't remember At all--
Not
at all.
You yearn for the women, Long for the money, Envy the
famous [Men never known]. The decades fly. The yearnings fade;
The longings die. You learn to bid them all goodbye. And
oh! The peace . . . The blessed peace . . . At last you come to know:
The roads you never take Go through rocky ground. Don't they? The
choices that you make Aren't all that grim. The worlds you never see Still will be around. Won't they? The
[man] I'll never be: Who remembers him?
I'M STILL HERE
Good times and bum times, I've seen them all And, my dear:
I'm still here. Plush velvet sometimes-- Sometimes
just pretzels and beer: but I'm here
I've stuffed the dailies in my shoes, Strummed ukuleles, sung the blues-- Seen all my dreams disappear: but I'm here. I've slept in shanties, guest of the W.P.A.: but I'm here. Danced in my scanties-- Three
bucks a night was the pay: but I'm here
I've stood on bread lines with the best. Watched while the headlines did the rest-- In the depression was I depressed? No
where near: I met a big financier, and I'm here.
I've been through Gandhi, Windsor
and Wally's affair: and I'm here. Amos 'n' Andy, Mah-jongg and platinum hair: and
I'm here I got through Abie's Irish Rose, Five Dionne babies, Major Bowes. Had heebie-jeebies
for Beebe's, Bathysphere-- I got through Brenda Frazier: and I'm here
I've
gotten through Herbert and J. Edgar Hoover-- Gee, that was fun and a half! When you've
been through Herbert and J. Edgar Hoover, Anything else is a laugh.
I've
been through Reno, I've been through Beverly Hills: and I'm here. Reefers and vino, rest cures, religion
and pills: and I'm here. Been called a 'Pinko', commie tool: got through it, stinko, by my pool-- I
should've gone to an acting school, that seems clear. Still someone said, "She's sincere": so I'm
here
Black sable one day, next day it goes into hock: but I'm here Top
billing Monday, Tuesday, you're touring in stock: but I'm here First you're another sloe-eyed vamp Then someone's mother, then you're camp Then you career from career to career-- I'm
almost through my memoirs, and I'm here
I've gotten through, "Hey, lady, aren't you
whoozis? Wow, what a looker you were," Or better yet, "Sorry, I thought you were whoozis Whatever happened to her?"
Good times and bum times, I've seen 'em
all And, my dear: I'm still here. Flush velvet sometimes-- Sometimes
just pretzels and beer, but I'm here
I've run the gamut, A to Z Three
cheers and damn it: C'est la vie! I got through all of last year, and I'm here!
Lord
knows: at least I've been there,
And I'm here!
Look
who's here!
I'm
still here!
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Education
School Daze |
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The scholar in school is parent to the success in life! |
Still In A Daze |
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"If you become a teacher, by your pupils you'll be taught." |
Industry
Men of Industry |
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Dream the American Dream |
Theatre
Welcome to the Theatre |
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A good place to make a fortune but not a living! |
Boy Scouts of America
Be Prepared |
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"On My Honor, I'll Do My Best" |
Photographs
Henan Polytechnic University |
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Jiaozuo, Henan - People's Republic of China |
Current Employment
Foreign Teacher of English |
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People's Republic of China |
Contact
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