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.