A Supermarket in California

Song A Supermarket in California
Artist Allen Ginsberg
Album Howl and Other Poems

Lyrics

[00:00.0] A Supermarket in California
[00:03.21] What thoughts I have of you tonight,
[00:06.97] Walt Whitman,
[00:09.33] for I walked down the sidestreets under the trees
[00:13.35] with a headache self-conscious
[00:15.12] looking at the full moon
[00:17.64] In my hungry fatigue, and shopping for images,
[00:22.1] I went into the neon fruit supermarket,
[00:25.48] dreaming of your enumerations!
[00:27.25] What peaches and what penumbras!
[00:31.44] Whole families shopping at night!
[00:33.63] Aisles full of husbands!
[00:35.2] Wives in the avocados,
[00:36.96] babies in the tomatoes!
[00:38.41] --and you, Garcia Lorca,——
[00:41.52] what were you doing down by the watermelons?
[00:45.76] I saw you, Walt Whitman,
[00:48.77] childless, lonely old grubber,
[00:51.57] poking among the meats in the refrigerator
[00:54.53] and eyeing the grocery boys
[00:57.79] I heard you asking questions of each
[01:00.0] Who killed the pork chops?
[01:02.18] What price bananas?
[01:03.37] Are you my Angel?
[01:05.72] I wandered in and out of the brilliant stacks of cans following you,
[01:09.48] and followed in my imagination by the store detective
[01:13.77] We strode down the open corridors together
[01:16.70] in our solitary fancy tasting artichokes,
[01:20.70] possessing every frozen delicacy,
[01:23.70] and never passing the cashier
[01:26.13] Where are we going, Walt Whitman？
[01:29.2] The doors close in an hour
[01:30.53] Which way does your beard point tonight?
[01:33.56] (I touch your book and dream of our odyssey in the supermarket and feel absurd.)（
[01:39.96] Will we walk all night through solitary streets?
[01:43.72] The trees add shade tfo shade,
[01:45.98] lights out in the houses,
[01:47.68] we'll both be lonely
[01:48.62] Will we stroll dreaming of the lost America of love
[01:52.34] past blue automobiles in driveways,
[01:54.54] home to our silent cottage?
[01:57.11] Ah, dear father,
[02:00.95] graybeard, lonely old courage-teacher,
[02:05.71] what America did you have
[02:07.29] when Charon quit poling his ferry
[02:09.58] and you got out on a smoking bank
[02:12.37] and stood watching the boat
[02:13.97] disappear on the black waters of Lethe?

Pinyin

[00:00.0] A Supermarket in California
[00:03.21] What thoughts I have of you tonight,
[00:06.97] Walt Whitman,
[00:09.33] for I walked down the sidestreets under the trees
[00:13.35] with a headache selfconscious
[00:15.12] looking at the full moon
[00:17.64] In my hungry fatigue, and shopping for images,
[00:22.1] I went into the neon fruit supermarket,
[00:25.48] dreaming of your enumerations!
[00:27.25] What peaches and what penumbras!
[00:31.44] Whole families shopping at night!
[00:33.63] Aisles full of husbands!
[00:35.2] Wives in the avocados,
[00:36.96] babies in the tomatoes!
[00:38.41] and you, Garcia Lorca,
[00:41.52] what were you doing down by the watermelons?
[00:45.76] I saw you, Walt Whitman,
[00:48.77] childless, lonely old grubber,
[00:51.57] poking among the meats in the refrigerator
[00:54.53] and eyeing the grocery boys
[00:57.79] I heard you asking questions of each
[01:00.0] Who killed the pork chops?
[01:02.18] What price bananas?
[01:03.37] Are you my Angel?
[01:05.72] I wandered in and out of the brilliant stacks of cans following you,
[01:09.48] and followed in my imagination by the store detective
[01:13.77] We strode down the open corridors together
[01:16.70] in our solitary fancy tasting artichokes,
[01:20.70] possessing every frozen delicacy,
[01:23.70] and never passing the cashier
[01:26.13] Where are we going, Walt Whitman?
[01:29.2] The doors close in an hour
[01:30.53] Which way does your beard point tonight?
[01:33.56] I touch your book and dream of our odyssey in the supermarket and feel absurd.
[01:39.96] Will we walk all night through solitary streets?
[01:43.72] The trees add shade tfo shade,
[01:45.98] lights out in the houses,
[01:47.68] we' ll both be lonely
[01:48.62] Will we stroll dreaming of the lost America of love
[01:52.34] past blue automobiles in driveways,
[01:54.54] home to our silent cottage?
[01:57.11] Ah, dear father,
[02:00.95] graybeard, lonely old courageteacher,
[02:05.71] what America did you have
[02:07.29] when Charon quit poling his ferry
[02:09.58] and you got out on a smoking bank
[02:12.37] and stood watching the boat
[02:13.97] disappear on the black waters of Lethe?