William S. Burroughs: A Thanksgiving Prayer
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This guy's kinda negative.
Fed up with your family this Thanksgiving? Recite this and surely you'll be kicked out...
So cynical. So great.
"thanks for the wild turkey and the passenger pigeon destined to be shit out through wholesome American guts"
Classic!
Also, I tried to share this on Facebook but other entries' descriptions keep showing up! Has the correct title but wrong content.
…And thanks to the Commissioner of Sewers, for reminding us of what Thanksgiving is all about.
one of my all-time favorites by wsb!
I suggest reading Burrough's "Naked Lunch" if you haven't done so already.
It's a tough read but totally worth the effort.
Shift refresh. Sometimes those social networking buttons get confused.
I'm not a yank but I have always appreciated this prayer.
It's been a while since I'd seen a pre-Internet troll.
I hear that voice and I hear "Sun's going down. Like a big bald head".
Heard this a couple of days ago on KXLU. God bless that radio station.
The last line of this is one of the most depressing lines in all of modern poetry, comparable in effect to Morrissey's "I have seen this happen in other people's lives, and now it's happening in mine."
"I'm not a yank but I have always appreciated this prayer."
Shouldn't that be, "I'm not a yank so I especially love this prayer?"
Classic!
Yeah. I was amused at his cynical whine until the very last line, over images of the end of the space program. (Apollo)
"thanks for the last and greatest betrayal
of the last & greatest of human dreams"
Aw. Things aren't *that* bad, are they?
But hey, it is so true. It's so real.
I'm thankful for our social critics, for Americans like William S. Burroughs, and for the struggle for the freedom of speech that we have had in this country.
Here, here. A dedication to the social critics, Bill, Bob, and many others... http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JltNLkh03ME
Thank you, David, for posting this. It's probably my favorite WSB piece, and I play it every Thanksgiving.
Remembering the failings of one's nation breeds humility, and is as important as celebrating its successes.
Thanks, Kyle. I think there's definitely a dose of black comedy in the piece too, but in general you nailed why I also watch it every Thanksgiving. We have a lot to be thankful for here in the US, and plenty of room for improvement too.
Most excellent! See also the video that Paul Krugman posted at NYT:
http://krugman.blogs.nytimes.com/2009/11/25/the-meaning-of-thanksgiving/
Link to downloadable version:
http://blog.wfmu.org/freeform/2006/11/william_s_burro.html
god bless the Reagan era. (The more things change...?)
Yeah, this is a classic. KBDI in Denver used to have an alt-music video show, called Teletunes, that showed this every year, usually followed by whatever the Ministry video with Burroughs was.
Dont forget the junkies christmas for a tale of absolute redemption.
Ah yes Mr Brown, The immaculate fix!
I will now have to add this to my Mandatory Thanksgiving Listening along with The Smiths MEAT IS MURDER album. Oh I'm stuffing my face with turkey as I type this, I'm a meatatarian but listening to MEAT IS MURDER on Thanksgiving always gave me a chuckle and it's a great album. Been a tradition for me and my best friend since the album came out.