One of the sounds that underwrites daily life in Guanajuato is the ever-present cry of the gas man who hauls his blue cylinders of gas up and down the city’s callejones. (For an earful of the city’s soundscape, listen to http://cieeguanajuato.wordpress.com/2010/01/24/everyday-sounds-of-the-city). Below, however, is a blues-tune lament of the city’s gas man himself.
The Gas Man Blues (The Gas Man Cometh)
I search the callejones
Before the light of day.
I search the callejones
Before the light of day.
I sing. I cry. I wonder.
Will I ever find my way?
+
I sing. I cry. I wonder.
While you’re lying in the hay.
I sing. I cry. I wonder.
While you´re lying in the hay.
It’s lonely in the ally.
Will you answer me today?
+
It’s lonely in the alley.
It’s dark and cold as stone.
It’s lonely in the alley.
It’s dark and cold as stone.
I heft a hundred kilos.
Would you prefer I use the phone?
+
I heft a hundred kilos.
I climb a hundred stairs.
I heft a hundred kilos.
I climb a hundred stairs.
I call out “Gas Butano.”
Is there anyone that cares?
+
I call out “Gas Butano.”
My voice sounds hoarse, they say.
I call out “Gas Butano.”
My voice sounds hoarse, they say.
I search the callejones.
I hear you’ve moved away.
+
By Dianne Romain, dedicated to Dan Buchowski
and the Gas Man of Cerro de Cuarto
