Billy Strayhorn hoped that he might to live
in freedom from the fear
of hoping that he’d get more than he’d give
when helping friend or peer.
Inspired by a segment of “History Detectives” shown on PBS on September 7, analyzing the metal plates of the song “Take the ‘A’ Train, ” which Billy Strayhorn composed for Duke Ellington (real names Edward Kennedy, like the Senator who died on August 26,2009!) . This song became the Duke’s signature tune, and there is a wonderful YouTube of it on http: //www.youtube.com/watch? v=LbGMyBiNLmM. The metal plates of the piano score were found by a dumpster diver in Brooklym 20 years ago. Billy Strayhorn composed jazz that was indistinguishable from Ellington, and was generously rewarded by him, receiving 10% of the income from his band. When the Duke performed for President Nixon in the White House in 1970 he told the audience that Billy Clayhorn lived by four moral principles: freedom of help, pride, self pit and the fear that when helping someone else he might be helping himself even more.
9/7/09
This poem has not been translated into any other language yet.
I would like to translate this poem