You take a piano Keys begin The keys end You know there are 88 of them Nobody can tell you any different They are not infinite You are infinite
And on those keys, the music that you can make is infinite I like that That I can live by You get me up on that gangway and you roll out in front of me a keyboard of millions and billions of keys that never end and that's the truth Max, that they never end That keyboard is infinite And if that keyboard is infinite then there is no music you can play You're sitting on the wrong bench That's God's piano Christ, did you see the streets? Just the streets. There were thousands of them How do you do it down there? How do you choose just one? One woman One house One piece of land to call your own one landscape to look at one way to die? All that world just weighing down on you You don't even know where it comes to an end I mean, aren't you ever just scared of breaking apart at the thought of it? At the enormity of living it? I was born on this ship And the world passed my by But two thousand people at a time And there were wishes here But never more than fit between prow and stern You played out your happiness, but on a piano that was not infinite I learned to live that way Land? Land is a ship too big for me It's a woman too beautiful It's a voyage too long perfume too strong It's music I don't know how to make I could never get off this ship At best I can step off my life After all I don't exist for anyone You're the exception, Max You're the only one who knows I'm here You're a minority And you'd better get used to it Forgive me, my friend but I'm not getting off Hey, Max Picture the scene at the Golden Gates Some guy searching a list trying to find my name, not finding it
-What did you say your name was again?
-Nineteen Hundred
-Niemann, Nightingale, Ninestock... Nittledeen?
-Well, you see, sir I was born on a ship
-Beg your pardon?
-Born, raised, and died on a ship Maybe I'm not registered there
-Shipwreck?
-Six and a half tons of dynamite Boom
-Feeling better now?
-Yeah, I'm fine except I lost an arm
-An arm?
-Yes, in the explosion
-Well, you should be able to find one over there Which one did you say you were missing?
-Left, sir
-I'm dreadfully sorry we only seem to have two rights
-Two right arms?
-Afraid so
-Would you mind awfully if...
-If I want?
-Well, if you take a right arm instead of a left?
-Well, all things considered better a right arm than nothing, I suppose
-Couldn't agree more...
No laughing matter, Max What a cock-up Spend eternity with two right arms? I mean, how would you make the sign of the cross? Hey, Max Imagine the music I could play with two right arms Hope I can find a piano up there...