In Bocca Al Lupo

The damp air carried the smell of musty cotton And burning sugar The red moon over the brackish dark water Whispered danger Oh, in bocca al lupo Oh, crepi il lupo La Merica won't you please, please won't you be A place that loves music and the man that made me These docks are a war zone, such ferocity I wonder if we should have left dear Sicily I am steel reeds, gaskets and kidskin gusset I'm gleaming green Set in Circassian walnut He crafted me with love And I am his best shot At getting out of the shipyards And starting his music shop Oh, in bocca al lupo Oh, crepi il lupo His eyes grew nervous, his touch grew rough I think it troubled him that no one liked our melodies much The French swore for waltzes, the Irish jigs and reels A choppy sort of fusion was demanded by the Creoles He was such a brave man with eyes of amber Thick black hair and a barrel chested swagger But sfortunato was his hand Even the best accordion can't save an unlucky man La Merica won't you please, please won't you be A place that loves music and the man that made me These docks are a war zone, such ferocity I wish that we had never left dear Sicily Have you ever had to say goodbye from a distance Knowing it was forever in one sharp instant I slid out of his arms and crashed to the floor As the cops burst through the party And tore the men through the back door Three hundred Italians were rounded up that day As an officer was shot and an accusation was made Some were tried, then acquitted But a mob still insisted it was them that did it They broke into the prison shouting "someone will pay!" My sweet maker was among the innocent lynched that day Oh, in bocca al lupo Oh, crepi il lupo La Merica won't you please, please won't you be A place that loves music and the man that made me These docks are a war zone, such ferocity I wish that we had never left dear Sicily La Merica won't you please, please won't you be A place that loves music and the man that made me These docks are a war zone, such ferocity Crepi il lupo