Writing for both young kids and for Playboy, Shel Silverstein has one of the most interesting biographies I’ve come across. He also wrote the Johnny Cash song A Boy Named Sue, lived on a houseboat in San Francisco Bay, and had sex with “hundreds, perhaps thousands of women”. Here he’s performing a song called Paranoid and here are some of his best children’s poems: Magic | Tree House | Early Bird.
Nehaveigur 
6 responses to “Shel Silverstein”
[…] This evening I unzipped my skin And carefully unscrewed my head, Exactly as I always do When I prepare myself for bed. And while I slept a coo-coo came As naked as could be And put on the skin And screwed on the head That once belonged to me. Now wearing my feet He runs through the street In a most disgraceful way. Doin’ things and sayin’ things I’d never do or say, Ticklin’ the children And kickin’ the men And Dancin’ the ladies away. So if he makes your bright eyes cry Or makes your poor head spin, That scoundrel you see Is not really me He’s the coo-coo Who’s wearing my skin. Shel Silverstein […]
LikeLike
[…] Thanksgiving dinner’s sad and thankless Christmas dinner’s dark and blue When you stop and try to see it From the turkey’s point of view. Sunday dinner isn’t sunny Easter fests are just bad luck When you see it from the viewpoint Of a chicken or a duck. Oh how I once loved tuna salad Pork and lobsters, lamb chops too ’Til I stopped and looked at dinner From the dinner’s point of view. Shel Silverstein […]
LikeLike
[…] Feynman, Shel Silverstein, Jim Harrison, Arnold Schwarzenegger, Venki Ramakrishnan, Jack London, Stewart Brand, Max Perutz, […]
LikeLike
[…] "This is the hour," said Santa Claus, "The bell rings merrily." Then on his back he slung his pack, And into his sleigh climbed he. "On, Dancer! On, Prancer! On, Donner and Blitzen! On, Comet and Cupid!" cried he. And all the reindeers leaped but one, And that one stood silently. He pulled the sleigh for a thousand years, And never a word spoke he. Now he stood in the snow, and he whispered low – "Oh what do you have for me?" "I have games and toys for girls and boys," Said Santa cheerily. The reindeer stood as if made of wood – "But what do you have for me?" "The socks are hung, the bells are rung!" Cried Santa desperately. The reindeer winked at a falling star – "But what do you have for me?" Then Santa reached into his beard, And he found a tiny flea, And he put it into the reindeer's ear, And the reindeer said, "For me? Oh gee!" And into the blue away they flew, Away they flew with the flea. And the moral of this yuletide tale You know as well as me. Shel Silverstein […]
LikeLike
[…] "I cannot go to school today!" Said little Peggy Ann McKay "I have the measles and the mumps A gash, a rash, and purple bumps My mouth is wet, my throat is dry I'm going blind in my right eye My tonsils are as big as rocks I've counted sixteen chicken pox And there's one more, that's seventeen And don't you think my face looks green? My leg is cut, my eyes are blue It might be instamatic flu I cough and sneeze and gasp and choke I'm sure that my left leg is broke My hip hurts when I move my chin My belly button's caving in My back is wrenched, my ankle's sprained My 'pendix pains each time it rains My nose is cold, my toes are numb I have a sliver in my thumb My neck is stiff, my spine is weak I hardly whisper when I speak My tongue is filling up my mouth I think my hair is falling out My elbow's bent, my spine ain't straight My temperature is 108 My brain is shrunk, I cannot hear There's a hole inside my ear I have a hangnail, and my heart is… what? What's that? What's that you say? You say today is Saturday? Ha-ha G'bye, I'm goin' out to play" Shel Silverstein […]
LikeLike
[…] From out of the cold Caribbean Into the Desert Libyan There crawled a strange amphibian, And we shall call him “Fred”! You say you want to call him “Ted”? But I want to call him “Fred”! You like "Maurice" instead? Or "Barnaby" or "Red"? Or "Lucifer" or "Ned"? Well, anyway, he’s dead. Shel Silverstein […]
LikeLike