basketball retiree
Written by Ron Moses
Guitar and vocal by Ron Moses
From Horseshoes and Hand Grenades, produced by Scott Lurowist and Ron Moses
I wish I could remember what inspired this. I think the title came first. And really, once you have that title, the rest of the song writes itself. It’s a straightforward bit of storytelling, so I’m not sure what else to say about it. I think it’s pretty good, even if the guitar performance is fairly awful, and the vocal take is not fantastic, either. I know very little about basketball, which really comes through I think; but I figure a few Boston references buy enough good will that most people will overlook my glaring ignorance. Have second-string forwards ever had endorsements? What the heck is a second-string forward?
Before I was old and grizzled
I was just balding and gray
Before I was balding
I dribbled a Spalding
Boy, I could play
But outside the Garden I didn’t know nothin’
That’s how this happened to me
My home is a T stop on Commonwealth Ave.
I’m a basketball retiree
I lived as extravagant as I could
On the money they paid me to play
There weren’t no endorsements
For second-string forwards
In my day
If only I’d known how the well would dry up
The moment I blew out my knee
I wouldn’t be living on donuts and 40-ounce Colts
A basketball retiree
Do you remember 1961
A last-second shot and the game was won
Do you remember the way they cheered
All of those years ago?
Before I was old and broken
At least I was inching along
And when things got hairy
I’d call my friend Larry
But now he’s gone
I used to make money by making my free throws
Now I know nothing is free
Especially a no one who should have been someone
A basketball retiree
I’m a basketball retiree