Boxer Rebel

Lou Boxer is one of those names vaguely familiar to any noir fiction fan who's spent time cruising the webs in search of gold. Perhaps you've stumbled across one of his blogs, NoirCon or The Writer in the Gutter. Or maybe you've seen the documentary about David Goodis, To a Pulp that Lou provided research for, (and even appeared in interviews on screen). He belongs to that most hardboiled of cities, Philadelphia, and the Philly noir crowd that includes other enthusiast, scholar, writers like Ed Petit and Duane Swierczynski. He is also one of the organizers of NoirCon, that makes the city of brotherly love into Mecca every other year for the hardcore fans and writers, (it's in November this year folks, I'll be there).

Lou is today's contributor to the Narrative Music series.


From Pauper to a King
By Andy Prieboy

The “Narrative Music” of Andy Prieboy tells a haunting tale of life in two minutes and thirty-eight seconds. Lifted from the gutter (as a pauper) by the Gods on gilded, golden wings, we become King only to be thrust back to the gutter because of arrogance and hauteur. Hubris is our undoing. No matter what we say or do, we travel in the circle of life and die utterly alone, disgraced, dismayed and disowned.
Prieboy cries an invective at Death.
“Where is thy sting?”
Silence. Dark, ageless and timeless silence of the abyss awaits us all. For no matter what our trajectory through life, we all return to the gutter, the void. Publicly prostrate, we seek to atone for the barren harvest we have sown. The only wish is for a dark catacomb with only the memory of our beginning in the gutter.
The story of life sung with eerie reverence all in two minutes and thirty-eight seconds!
I am reminded of the Swan Song (OLIM LACUS COLUERAM) from Carmina Burana when I listen to Prieboy.

Olim lacus colueram,
olim pulcher exstiteram,
dum cygnus ego fueram.
Miser, miser!
modo niger
et ustus fortiter!

Girat, regirat garcifer;
me rogus urit fortiter;
propinat me nunc dapifer.
Miser, miser!
modo niger
et ustus fortiter!

Nunc in scutella iaceo,
et volitare nequeo;
dentes frendentes video.
Miser, miser!
modo niger
et ustus fortiter!

It is translated into the same Gutter-to-Throne-to-Gutter downward, death spiral as seen in From Pauper to A King:

Once I skimmed over inland seas;
Once my white down was fine to see;
I lived my swan-life peacefully –
Poor me! Poor me!
Now basted blackly
And roasted totally!

Turn me, turn me, now the sculleries;
Burn me, burn me now the rotisseries;
Here comes the serving boy to offer me –
Poor me! Poor me!
Now basted blackly
And roasted totally!.......

Now on a serving plate stretched out I lie,
Thinking in vain of flying through the skies;
Now gashing molars start to catch my eye --
Poor me! Poor me!
Now basted blackly
And roasted totally!

In the end, we are all consumed by the devouring, black, jaws of the abyss!

(Art credit) Another Ugly Sunset: Dead Orphan in the Snow
Judith Schaechter