David X Novak
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The Ballad of William J. Levitt

7/29/2017

 
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His father was known to exclaim to the crowd,
    Location, location, location,
And as he grew older young Will was allowed
    To join in his father’s vocation,

The buying of land and construction of houses
    To dump on the real estate market;
The country was growing, young men and their spouses
    Had cash and they needed to  “park it,”

For owning a home is a piece of investment,
    But things really boomed later on,
When wartime was over, no time for arrestment,
    And profits were there to be won.

Young Will was no longer “Young Will” anymore
    But William J. Levitt full grown,
The suburbs were burgeoning after the war,
    Amongst them that sprawl Levittown.

The houses were cheap and the grasses were green,
    And white were the white picket fences;
In Levittown negroes were not to be seen,
    As sensualists banned by consensus.

Developer William J. Levitt was born
    Already an heir to some privilege,
But he built an empire nobody could scorn,
    Though his wealth later on witnessed shrivelege.

The mogul meanwhile, middle-aged Mr. Levitt,
    Before he went broke liked to party,
And he liked both eating his cake and to have it,
    And everyone then drank Bacardi.

Though wives in succession remained “stay-at-home”
    (Divorcing no bar to re-spousing),
Yet out on his yacht he continued to roam,
    Convivially keen on carousing.

Especially he liked when young girls came on board
    (A few of them under the limit),
Nor age handicapped him: it seemed as he scored
    The universe guaranteed him it.

He liked their ripe boobies, their hair down below,
    He liked their dispassionate cooing:
The ocean conspired, he had oats to sow,
    And his good days kept on accruing.

Yet sailors know well winds of fortune do change,
    And William J. Levitt grew older,
As bankruptcy came though he tried to arrange
    New ventures successively bolder.

He died, but he had those good years and those parties,
    The pussy was there for the grabbing,
And that’s what you’ll aim for, boys, if you are smarties
    Though to get there requires some backstabbing.


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