The Lusty Month of May

Listen while you read:  The Lusty Month of May

Tra la, it's May, the lusty month of May
That lovely month when everyone goes blissfully astray
Tra la, it's here, that shocking time of year
When tons of wicked little thoughts merrily appear

It's May, it's May, that gorgeous holiday
When every maiden prays that her lad will be a cad
It's mad, it's gay, alive, a lust display
Those dreary vows that everyone takes, everyone breaks
Everyone makes divine mistakes
The lusty month of May

~  Frederick Loewe (Camelot)

Okay, don't shoot me. I am a rock and roller, not a Broadway musical guru. But I could not resist this one on the first day of May.  I always thought this was a bold song, especially since I first learned it in 1964 when I was 14. The following spring, my high school put on a production of Camelot, and I had a bit part as one of the "ladies." We got to wear gowns and pointed hats with flowing gauze tails. I was a freshman, dating Sir Dinadan, who was a senior. I may have controlled the lust in our relationship, but it was still a sweet time.

I have a vivid memory of a class trip to NYC when I was 17 to see the premiere of the Camelot movie. Richard Harris, Vanessa Redgrave, and Franco Nero. It was the best! And then I remember teaching excerpts from T.H. White's The Once and Future King at some point in the mid-nineties, and I attempted to show the Camelot film. My juniors moaned and groaned and nearly laughed me out of the room. So we settled on Richard Gere in The First Knight to get a flavor of the time period and the story of Lancelot and Guinevere.  I have to admit, it was a pretty good flick.

Anyway, it's May Day.  And there are many ways to look at this day. When I was a kid, on May 1, we picked dandelions and violets and placed them on the doorsteps of the old ladies who lived in the neighborhood. But "Mayday!" is also an international distress signal used by ships and aircraft, right? And apparently, Donald Trump has just proclaimed May 1 as "Loyalty Day." What? There is no way in hell that I am pledging loyalty to this administration!

It's May, the lusty month of May
That darling month when everyone throws self-control away
It's time to do a wretched thing or two
And try to make each precious day one you'll always rue

Go do some lusty stuff! Drink a bottle of wine or eat a half-gallon of Rocky Road or cross the street while the red hand is flashing you. Color outside the lines. Smoke a joint. Get laid. Just don't put any flowers on my doorstep.

Tra la!