Barney, unemployed boy
And he lived with his Dad and Mom
Manilow, I think he heard,
And the strains of “Mandy,” full and strong
Got himself some LPs
Barney bought every type
Made his life a runaway rocket
And pouring through Cream at night
And he smoked…

Barney told his parents
“Hey, gonna go rockin’ today
I’m gonna rock till moonshine
Wanna lose the brain cells some way.”
Mama said, “Here’s the door.”
When her foot flew, he did fly
Barney said, “Hey, now Mama
No kiss and say goodbye?”
Out the door...

And he heard Harrison on smooth sitar
And the Pogues
Depeche Mode
And he heard that guitar from Johnny Marr
And all the rum he ran through till the dawn
The dawn made him crawl

Barney drank a pitcher
Jack straight in a plastic jug
Seventies sung from his lungs
From Zep, to Kinks, to Punk
Crankin’ the amps up high
Smoke risin’ from tray of ash
Barney liked to party and say
“Guess I made the years go by fast
And the dough,
Need some mo’.”

And he drank and he sang in Gremlin car
Movin’ slow
Then he closed the downtown and music bars
And days would drink, then bum tunes from friends few
And dance to New York Dolls

Barney’s light burned bright
Died near a keg
Bottle of Mezcal
Burlap mattress for his bed
Barney’s groove made life fly
Livin’ fast, dyin’ young
See him drummin’ to the Boss
Can you hear Born to Run?

Barney throws down the jams with shooting stars
See ‘em glow
Barney sings in the bars of planets far
What a show
What a show