Lyrics By John LaTouche

Some more lyrics from that most fascinating of all flop musicals The Golden Apple, by the great John LaTouche. How many musical-theatre lyricists could write both "Windflowers," a ballad that's sort of half torch song and half poetry, and "Goona-Goona," an utterly ridiculous, goofy song for a Hawaiian-themed brothel? (This being an updated version of "The Odyssey," the sarong-clad hookers are supposed to stand in for the sirens, while "Windflowers" is given to Penelope, lamenting the passage of time since the departure of Ulysses.)

"Windflowers"

He brought me windflowers that grow among the rocks
And picked me wild berries bitter to the tongue.
He taught me to tell time by the dandelion clocks
When we were young,
When we were young.
He caught me a mockingbird and wove a willow cage,
A cage from the willow where we kissed and clung,
He fought me fierce dragons, we were princess and the page
When we were young,
When we were young.
Then we stood up in chuch and we whispered vows
And he took me to a mountain peak and built me a house.
The berries and the flowers and the dandelions fade,
The songbird is silent, shivering in the cold.
The dragons come creeping, and they tell me I'm afraid
That I'll grow old,
That I'll grow old.
And I lie in the house as the stars grow dim,
And I think of how his body was so warm and slim,
And I know there ain't no growing old for me and for him,
No, never, never, not for me and him.

"Goona-Goona"

By a goona, goona-goona,
By a goona, goona-goona lagoon,
We will croon a, croon a, croon a,
We will croon a, croon a real jungle tune.
Upon that golden shore, kids,
We'll lie on bedds of orchids,
And then later, by the crater
Of an old volcano,
We can promise we won't say "No
A-no-a," let's-a go-a,
Let's-a go-a, go-a go-away soon,
Where breezes blow-a, blow-a, blow-a,
Breezes blow-a like a big, big bassoon.
Snug as two baboons in a bamboo tree,
I'll bamboozle you and you'll bamboozle me,
By a goona, goona-goona,
By a goona, goona-goona lagoon.

By a goona, goona-goona,
By a goona, goona-goona lagoon,
We will swoon-a, swoon-a, swoon-a,
We will swoon-a, swoon-a beneath the moon.
Those hula-dancin' mamas
Are really yama-yamas,
They can shake and they can shimmy
Till they charm wild cobras,
Also, fellas, they wear no bras.
Aloha, lo-a, lo-a,
Let's-a go-a, go-a go-away soon,
We will throw a, throw a, throw a,
We will throw a, throw a big, big harpoon.
We'll hunt and fish-a the whole day long,
Whatever you wish-a, just sound the gong
By a goona, goona-goona,
By a goona, goona-goona lagoon.