Douglas Geers
Bride of Kong
Poet Guillermo Castro
Play it! Hear an excerpt from this work. (Realaudio)
Bride of Kong was written for the 2000 NonSequitur Festival in New York City. The piece is the result of a close collaboration with poet Guillermo Castro, who wrote the work's text specifically for this composition. The work explores ideas of sexuality, isolation, and American culture as seen through the pop icon of King Kong.
This recording is a brief excerpt from the work, and is taken from a live performance of the piece. The vocals are performed by soprano Darryn Zimmer and poets Guillermo Castro, Regie Cabico, and Ron Drummond. Piano by Jed Distler.
The text to Bride of Kong (words in italics are sung)
Whatever happened
to the brides of King Kong?
Maybe they did die
at the sight of his hard-ons.
Maybe they knitted
hairballs into oven mitts.
Or maybe he had no interest in them at all.
Or maybe he ate them right away, no-no-no.
Maybe he ate them right away, no-no-no.
Why is Kong oh so alone?
Why is Kong always alone?
When big Kooky Kong
broke out of the jungle...
I thought, Am I ready for this?
Effortlessly he plucked me
from the mud of rainforest cake
as I screamed and screamed.
Life on Skull Island
was not different from Manhattan:
short and vicious. Still,
I imagined him in Brooklyn
with his pecs buffed
by a mucky sun.
One thing I learned:
He hated the natives' drumming.
Hence he'd leave his jungle
to silence them. Then
he'd find the offering
of a bride. Kong'd take her
the way he took me, I believe,
our bodies adorned with flowers
as if we were in the road
production of Hair. No,
I never wanted to find out
what happened to the other brides.
Bodies - Night
Flowers - Tied
Maybe they died of fright
at the sight of his erections.
Maybe they knitted hairballs
into oven mitts.
Maybe they played bingo
with dinosaur bones.
Maybe they did die at
the sight of his hard-ons.
Maybe they knitted
hairballs into oven mitts.
¡Ay! Qué pasó con ellas?
¿Qué pasó con las novias
de King Kong, qué pasó con ellas?
¿Qué pasó con las novias de King Kong?
Ay King Kong
Ay King Kong
I'm a white girl with a backbone.
I'm a pretty, petty thief.
He was in love with me
and I stopped screeching.
From his palms I had a view
of pterodactyls ready to attack.
Kong's finger I kiss.
For Kong I undress.
I'm the little doll
he smells, tickles and fingers.
I'm his little kiss-doll,
very, very undressed.
Kong, gassed, woke up on Broadway,
only to see his bestial beauty had bled
off the sides of the Empire State,
a cast-off doll.
I was his liberty's torch --torture.
The movie almost got it right.
Read more about poet Guillermo Castro and his works at Frigatezine.com.
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