Old Pond

by Allen Ginsberg


The old pond—a frog jumps in, kerplunk!

Hard road! I walked till both feet stunk—

Ma!Ma! Whatcha doing on that bed?

Pa!Pa! what hole you hide your head?

Left home got work down town today

Sold coke, got busted looking gay

Day dream, I acted like a clunk

Th’old pond—a frog jumps in, kerplunk!

Got hitched, I bought a frying pan

Fried eggs, my wife eats like a man

Won’t cook, her oatmeal tastes like funk

Th’old pond—a frog jumps in, kerplunk!

Eat shit exactly what she said

Drink wine, it goes right down my head

Fucked up, they all yelled I was drunk

Th’old pond—a frog jumps in, kerplunk!

Saw God at six o’ clock tonight

Flop house, I think I’ll start a fight

Head ache like both my eyeballs shrunk

Th’old pond—a frog jumps in, kerplunk!

Hot dog! I love my mustard hot

Hey Rube! I think I just got shot

Drop dead She said you want some junk?

Th’old pond—a frog jumps in, kerplunk!

Oh ho your dirty needle stinks

No no I don’t shoot up with finks

Speed greed I stood there with the punk

Th’old pond—a frog jumps in, kerplunk!

Yeh yeh gimme a breath of fresh air

Guess who I am well you don’t care

No name call up the mocking monk

Th’old pond—a frog jumps in, kerplunk!

No echo, make a lot of noise

Come home you owe it to the boys

Can’t hear you scream your fish’s sunk

Th’old pond—a frog jumps in, kerplunk!

Just folks, we bought a motor car

No gas I guess we crossed the bar

I swear we started for Podunk

Th’old pond—a frog jumps in, kerplunk!

I got his banjo on my knee

I played it like an old Sweetie

I sang plunk-a plunka-a-plunk plunk plunk plunk

Th’old pond—a frog jumps in, kerplunk!

One hand I gave myself the clap

Unborn, but I still took the rap

Big deal, I fell out of my bunk

Th’old pond—a frog jumps in, kerplunk!

Hey hey! I ride down the blue sky

Sit down with worms until I die

Fare well! Hum Hum Hum Hum Hum!

Th’old pond—a frog jumps in, kerplunk!

Red barn rise wet in morning dew

Cockadoo dle do oink oink moo moo

Buzz buzz—flyswatter in the kitchen, thwunk!

Th’old pond—a frog jumps in, kerplunk!

August 22, 1978

From Allen Ginsberg’s First Blues record, released by John Hammond in 1983, and rereleased on CD in 2006 by Water Records (the song is track ten on disc two). You can also listen to recordings of Ginsberg singing these lyrics here, here, and here. The lyrics also appear in Allen Ginsberg’s Collected Poems 1947–1997 (New York: HarperCollins, 2006), pages 714–716.