Two heavyweights in their respective fields of music and writing discuss their mutual friend, the late Rolling Stone writer, Paul Nelson—and go on to create a tribute song for him 'Two Cokes for Paul Nelson'.

Stream the song: https://ffm.to/twocokes

TWO COKES FOR PAUL NELSON (Murphy / Lethem / Stafford)

These are the elements of a verseSherman cigarettes - but it gets worseFootprints on the running board of his wallAnd by the way his name was PaulAnd let’s not talk of his fall … just yet

Oh starved to death – that’s what the tabloids sayBut you know - I don’t see it that wayIn fact for me - the opposite is truePaul was a glutton for everything he loved and knewFrom Orson Welles, Ross Macdonald, Howard Hawks, Raymond C, Chet B, PKD, and Warren Z … oh The New York Dolls and me

So let’s take a seat at the Jackson HoleLet’s raise two cokes and toast his soulThe soul of a man - our friendPaul Nelson – Paul Nelson

A magnum forty-five and a snub-nose thirty-eightBut books can kill if you can’t get them straightA paragraph, a sentence, to a starving mindSome die for want of an opening lineLife on a shrinking editorial islandPaul couldn’t lie, he couldn’t lie

Hey Rod Stewart - bashed out on a larkTyping as fast as Lester Bangs could barkPaul the quiet man, living in a borrowed headAn enabler who couldn’t get out of bedMarathon man in a hamburger boothHe told the truth, he told the truth - that’s Paul

Let’s take a seat at the Jackson HoleLet’s raise two cokes to toast his soulThe soul of a man - our friendPaul Nelson – Paul Nelson

Abiding mentor, with a guiding mindFreeze-frame, isolate the details, and then rewindA stickler for the director’s cutHis own mis-en-scene, he fell into a rutScraps on the cutting-room floorShut the door, shut the door, shut the door

Now somehow he lost his way and that’s a pityBut in the words of Norma DesmondThe movies got small not Paul not Paul not Paul not Paul

A drink at the Jackson HoleTwo cokes oh let’s toast his soulThe soul of a manOur dear friendPaul Nelson – Paul Nelson

The older you get, the more you live with ghostsAnd that’s according to Nick Toscheswho’s now among themAnd Paul …

Credits:Elliott Murphy : Vocals, Acoustic GuitarsJack Stafford : Backing VocalsMassimino Voza : Mellotron, PercussionsLuigi Falcione : Bass GuitarsMaurizio Sarnicola : Electric Guitars, PercussionsWritten by Elliott Murphy, Jonathan Lethem & Jack StaffordRecorded in Paris, France and Goldmine Records, ItalyMixed and mastered by Maurizio Sarnicola at Goldmine RecordsProduced by Elliott Murphy, Gaspard Murphy and Maurizio SarnicolaCover artwork Brendan O’Connell

https://elliottmurphy.com/https://jonathanlethem.com/https://www.podsongs.com/http://www.brendanoconnell.com/

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