The New Decameron

In a time of plague
We were young and gay
And while money reigned
Minorities were wiped out every day
But we had tailors, we were getting famous

With the patronage of William Burroughs
And also Kathy Acker
Our pens would save the day

Singing 'tirra lirra tirra lirra tirra lirra gabba gabba hey'

And our heroes were
Nightclub entrepreneurs
Our novellas were
Metaphors and deconstructions
Architects
Who blow up their own buildings

While Reagan and Thatcher reigned we got famous
Not all of us survived
As happens in time of plague

Singing 'tirra lirra tirra lirra tirra lirra gabba gabba hey'

In a gilded time
When death was king
A group of authors began to write a new Decameron
Whose elegance bordered on the Florentine

And when the 90s came
We were immune to plague
To every known strain
Then along came Kurt Cobain