It came out of the night
like a dream
a long crazy dream
the kind you drift
in and out of
all night long
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sometimes for days
at a time
and this dream just kept goin'
gettin' bigger
like a snowball
rollin' down a hill
gettin' bigger in the descent
in the gravity
in the way on down
bigger and bigger
came that dream
barrel-assin' across
the psyche of america
like an out of control
steam locomotive
big dark and powerful
pickin' up passengers
all along the way
blastin' its horn
blastin' its long horn
into the night
all night long
like charlie parker
out of control
it was a generational wildfire
spreading out of the night
out of the coffeehouses
out of the 4 a.m. jazz joints
out of the half-fallen in tenements
of new york city
out of the trash strewn
skid row gutters
of chicago and san francisco
out of the dimlit smoky flats
of mexico city
off the high mountain tops
of california colorado
out of half empty
jugs of wine
sweet smelling pipes
and bearded faces
of hapless tramps
wandering thru
the american night
crashing thru the barriers
of hypocrisy and
into the bookstores
into the courtrooms
into the newspapers
flashed across television screens
taught in high school english courses
setting a new generations
mind ablaze
with that eternal dream
that fire
that started
so long ago
on that night
the people looked up
at the big ole full moon
in the sky
and decided
it was time to
howl
