The Story of Don Gato

O Senor Don Gato was a cat.
On a high red roof Don Gato sat.
He was there to read a letter,
(meow, meow, meow)
where the reading light was better,
(meow, meow, meow)
‘Twas a love-note for Don Gato!

“I adore you,” wrote the ladycat,
who was fluffy white, and nice and fat.
There was not a sweeter kitty,
(meow, meow, meow)
in the country or the city
(meow, meow, meow)
and she said she’d wed Don Gato!

O Senor Don Gato jumped with glee!
He fell off the roof and broke his knee,
broke his ribs and all his whiskers,
(meow, meow, meow)
and his little solar plexus
(meow, meow, meow)
“Ay Caramba!!” cried Don Gato.

All the doctors they came on the run,
just to see if something could be done.
And they held a consultation,
(meow, meow, meow)
about how to save their patient,
(meow, meow, meow)
how to save Senor Don Gato.

But in spite of everything they tried,
poor Senor Don Gato up and died.
No, it wasn’t very merry,
(meow, meow, meow)
going to the cemetary,
(meow, meow, meow)
for the ending of Don Gato.

But as the funeral passed the market square,
such a smell of fish was in the air,
though the burial was plated,
(meow, meow, meow)
he became reanimated,
(meow, meow, meow)
he came back to life, Don Gato!

Absolutely loved this song when I was a kid.  We sang this at Franklin Elementary School off of Frankfurt Avenue.  It’s a fun little song.

Phases of Work

Phase 1

You are listening to jazz — Your first day at work is great. Your coworkers are wonderful, your cubicle is cute, and your boss is the best!

Phase 2

You are listening to pop music — After a while you are so busy that you are not sure if you’re coming or going anymore.

Phase 3

You are listening to heavy metal — This is what you feel like at month end.

Phase 4

You are listening to hip hop — You become bloated due to stress, feel sluggish and suffer from constipation. Your coworkers are too cheerful for your liking and the walls of your cubicle are closing in. You have started thinking ‘WHATEVER’ about your boss.

Phase 5

You are listening to GANGSTA RAP — After more time passes, your eyes start to twitch, you forget what a ‘good hair day’ feels like as you just fall out of bed and load up on caffeine.

Phase 6

You are listening to the voices in your head — You have built a makeshift door on your cubicle to keep people out, You have a dartboard with your bosses picture on it in your cube, You wonder why you are even here in the first place.

Sni Bong — Dengue Fever

This is Dengue Fever. A pretty awesome underground group out of LA. They sing an eclectic style of music based on the pre-Khmer Rouge 70s era Pop Scene in Phnom Penh and Siem Reap. The lead singer is the gorgeous Chhom Nimol. She’s a hip little hottie from Cambodia. Most of the lyrics are sung in Khmer.

This song is called Sni Bong. The whole album pretty much grooves right along with this track.

I love this video. It gives you a sense of what Cambodia feels like when you are trekking through the ruins and trolling the bars and discotheques at night in Phnom Penh, Siem Reap or Sihanoukville. I recognize some of the scenery from places that I’ve visited in Cambodia.

The rest of the album is:

1. We Were Gonna

2. Sni Bong

3. Tip My Canoe

4. Tap Water

5. Sleepwalking through the Mekong

6. One Thousand Tears of a Tarantula

7. Excape from Dragon House

8. Made of Steam

9. Lake Delores

10. Saran Wrap

11. Hummingbird

bonus track: Revenge of the Tarantula remix

The whole album is pretty awesome. Like slipping into a different time and place. I can feel Cambodia when I listen to these tunes. It’s a great feeling.