Lenny Bruce in Julian Cope Song

One of my all-time favorite albums (and yes, there are quite a few) is Julian Cope’s Peggy Suicide. I bought it after hearing just one track on the radio: “Beautiful Love.” I heard it one evening while driving home from work. This was in 1991. I got home before the DJ identified the song or artist, but then the next night on my way home that same radio station played the song again. This time I sat in my car and waited until the DJ told me the name of the artist. Based on the strength of that one song, I bought the album. It was one of the best purchases I ever made. What a fantastic disc! Every song on it is excellent, and every song is different.

Anyway, there is a song on that album titled “Soldier Blue,” in which there is a spoken word section that I always found compelling. Part of it goes: “We’re gonna throw them right in the craphouse. But ya see, I can’t do it ‘cause I do business with these assholes, and it looks bad for me, you know. So I want somebody to do it for me, you know. So I tell you what, here’s a stick and a gun and you do it. But wait ‘til I’m out of the room.” I never really looked into the origin of that speech, but the other day I was reading The Essential Lenny Bruce, and there it was! I love when these connections are made. So I just thought I’d share that with you.