from the album Ellis Paul Essentials
When I'm gone
on my judgment day
please put a jukebox upon my grave
don't want no headstone
no cold tears
just a jukebox to say
a music man lays here
And all my friends, when they drop by
can drop a quarter down
and hear Robert Johnson's cry
A flood of memories
come wave by wave
carried by the voice
inside the jukebox
on my grave
You can hear Hank Williams
some George Jones
some Beatles songs
some Dylan
some Rolling Stones
Joni Mitchell and Marvin Gaye
and Johnny Cash risen
from the ashes on my grave, my grave
That's Johnny Cash there
singing "Ring of Fire" upon my grave
When I'm gone
on my judgment day
put a quarter in the jukebox
upon my grave
I don't want no headstone
claiming I was brave
Just a jukebox singing songs
upon my grave, my grave
Just a jukebox singing songs
upon my grave
Copyright Ellis Paul Publishing SESAC
The first time I ever heard Jukebox... There I was, sitting crosslegged on a sun-warmed concrete seat in Andrews Park, the late afternoon sun slanting from behind to shine like some bright, celestial spotlight in the faces of the two barefoot performers on the hot stage. Ellis joked with Don Con a little, spoke his pre-song bit and then... launched into a song that is, more than any other song of his I've heard, an anthem for my life. And my mind and soul took flight, held aloft by the strum of guitar strings, tapping feet and that lovely, raspy voice.
Music is my passion. I live and breathe to my own personal soundtrack that plays in my head. There is not one minute of my day that is not permeated by music. Be it my favorite artists' music playing from the CD player while I hum along as I work, or my own hands running across the keyboard, trying to do justice to Beethoven or Chopin, to a musical in the DVD player, or even just a song running constantly in my head... Music. All Day, Every Day.
And all my friends, when they drop by
can drop a quarter down
and hear Robert Johnson's cry
A flood of memories
come wave by wave
carried by the voice
inside the jukebox
on my grave
This is what I want... when I die, no mourning. Come by and visit me, plug some silver into that monument to the sounds that my heart beat to when I was on this earth... No sad marble angels. Just a neon-lit jukebox filled with voices that nudge those memories of our times together to the forefront of your mind and make you smile.
Once again, Ellis Paul has worked magic with his nimble fingers and melodic croon. What an anthem to the soul that loves music...