The Piano Man (A Tribute to Gentry Bronson)
Photo by Bob Hakins
This Piano Man is tall and fit
His strides are long and slow
But when he sits upon the seat
In front of a grand piano
His fingers begin moving with great dexterity
whether he plays slow or fast
His music captures me
His left foot’s firmly planted on the floor beneath the Stein
while his right foot taps the pedal
to the rhythm with the time
His fingers caress the ivory keys
as he plays a melodic stanz
The tune can be haunting,
bring smiles and clapping hands
He opens his mouth to sing his songs
The soulful look on his face
has all the girls smitten, with his words full of grace
His stories are about his life
of loves won and lost
Of perils full of strife
as he questioned the cost
But something I can conclude and can be quite sure
they all are not experiences that seem clean and pure
But the Piano Man
He has a rhythm-minded soul
The Piano Man
Can easily
play rock and roll
Yet he keeps on singing
songs of his past
and of love he will feel
and is hoping will last
Photo by Claude Gabriel
He has the heart of a boy as sits on his throne
Making up music as he plays just for fun
It’s no wonder ’cause he comes from stock
the epitome of love
A hippie clan of gentleness, of peace signs and doves
The depth of his talents is extraordinary
and watching him is lots of fun with his little goatee
He has a laugh, although genuine
doesn’t seem to touch his soul
Like a lost little boy
who does not feel he’s quite whole
But the Piano Man
He has a rhythm-minded soul
The Piano Man
Can easily
play rock and roll
Yet he keeps on singing
songs of his past
and of love he will feel
and is hoping will last
He plays in concert halls, palapas and such
his music fills the space,
And your own souls he’ll touch
While watching his fingers race
Not a boring song you'll hear
His esoteric words to face
Bringing images near
He pounds out the melody with such veracity
emphasizing a passionate part
with the click of a wounded key
as if aimed at his injured heart
Some of his onerous songs
are quite symbolic
They are songs about falling in love
but with another wrong chick
Some songs are humorous,
Some are of woe
Giving a sign for this rhythm-minded soul
Photo by Rob Nye
For the Piano Man
who can switch to rock and roll
The Piano Man
who sings of his past
and of love he will feel
and hoping to last
This Piano Man
will finally break free
of a loneliness that is not meant to be
Love will find a way into his soul
when happiness will come
and take some control
of the Piano Man
The Piano Man
Listen to music by Gentry Bronson here.