The Beatles Are Bright.... Poem by Frank Bana

I remember it well, that morning at school
When another 8-year-old boy enquired
Did I know the names of the Beatles - the who?
John and Paul..... who else left to know?

On the top deck of a big yellow bus
Somewhere down near the southern coast
I was singing Day Tripper with the other kids
Unaware of the hidden dirty jokes

Stuffed in the back of a Golders Green van
The front seat radio began to play
A beautiful song ... but before we knew,
We were scooped up and deposited
At Bloom's kosher eatery.

Here, there and everywhere
In case you were wondering,
And about a year later, at summer camp
I met a boy I would call my best friend
We sat on a hill singing Lucy in the Sky

Riding in my Dad's car, a hammering sound
Something magical, weird and embarassing
That became the jewel in John's triple crown
The Walrus, soon banned by the BBC
Because she 'let her knickers down'.

Thirteen now, with Dad hard at work
Trying to win the Queen's export award
Taking advantage of the plummeting pound
I was lounging by the turntable
Still wearing my summer shorts and tie

He rushed in my room, brandishing
Something shiny, slippery and white
It folded open to reveal
Black vinyl, a green apple at the core
That spun as the three guitars chimed.

For language exams, studying hard
I rode a train through Holland and France
Serenading a gentle Welsh-tongued girl -
Afanwen James, pretty as her name -
With all of Abbey Road's second side.

I thank the Lord for the courage of George
Refusing to give up that Sitar
The barely sufferable arrogance of Paul
Dropping by the studio, around the block
To take the Winding Road once more.

So much that only just reached the light!
Tapes that could have been erased
Pills and disputes gone down the wrong way
Notes so close to being mislaid
By the pilots or in the engine room.

And I - left to grow in a land less a-glow
With the solo albums and my steel guitar
With Elton, Marc and the folk clubs, of course
But nothing compared to those pre-teen days
When a Fab Four single hit the stores.

And although I've hummed a thousand times
'Love you forever, and forever,
Love you with with all my heart'
The Beatles are bright in a childhood dream
And I can never get back that far.