15 Cuban Minutes

(album: Life On The Flip Side - 2020)

Sana, sana colito de rana
Si, no sanas hoy
Bueno sana mañana
Mañana, mañana
Lo que dice Havana
Si, no paso hoy
Paso mañana

Fifteen Cuban minutes
Fairly safe to say
Can feel more like an hour
Or the entire day
In the land where time means nothing
Not hard to slip away
El Diablo baila sábado
Y los curas on Sunday

Fifteen Cuban minutes
The end is out of sight
So, I'll meet you by the cannon
On the Malecón tonight

It started in Havana
In nineteen twenty-one
On the schooner Chiquimula
Where a party had begun
Primer cumpleaños
For a tiny lad at sea
And in my heart, is still
That faded photo of J.D.

Signal flags were flying
Atop the entire fleet
What a rhumba band from Santiago
Played the birthday boy to sleep

That's the tale was told to me
A seadog nursery rhyme
And the music that was handed down
From a long forgotten time

Fifteen Cuban minutes
Can get lost in the fog
Life's a test, just do your best
Like a three-legged dog

In the land where time means nothing
You can often lose your mind
Now place your bets, or better yet
Just join a conga line

Fifteen Cuban minutes
Can turn night into day
They're dancing on the tables
Down at El Frente

Another entry in the log
My mind put to a test
When we sailed with the Hemingways
On a schooner from Key West
They'd come to make a movie
'Bout long forgotten times
See old friends, drink some rum
And visit family shrines

So how the hell did we wind up
Just tagging right along
They were looking for a soundtrack
And heard one of my songs

So I sang Havana Daydreaming
Just me and my guitar
To some very stern KGB guys
Trying to blend in at the bar

So for fifteen Cuban minutes
La bodega did ignite
Bongos y tumbadoras
Kept us up all night

Mojitos by the minute
Crowd stacked at the door
Niños, dogs and roosters
Frolicked on the floor

Fifteen Cuban minutes
Lots of give and take
Birthdays always come and go
But not a birthday cake

Fifteen Cuban minutes
Are easy to embrace
No calendars or watch to wind
No schedules to chase

In the land where time means nothing
This phrase it cries, delay
Put it on a t-shirt
And everyone will pay

You say minutos Cubanos
Dejace la drama
Aqui no hay AC
Solo la ventana

Music makes us happy
It's in our chromosomes
No matter where we wander
The music takes us home

It started on the island
Dispersed by sweet song birds
Who flew north 'cross the Gulf Stream
And everybody heard

Now the clock just keeps on ticking
I hear it everywhere I go
And I sing along in cars and bars
Along Calles Ocho

God bless Ricky Ricardo
And little Ricky too
They set my mind on island time
How about you?

The Greeks and the Egyptians
Had sundials in the sand
Now we have atomic clocks
That measure the Big Bang
Still I prefer the simple way
Let's take it to the street
More walking and less talking
Tap time with your feet

15 Cuban minutes
Still stands the test of time
Like a Salas photograph
Or a Kenneth Patchen rhyme
If you're looking for a launch pad
No news just hearsay
Don't bother with the Wi-Fi
Fuck Siri, ask Jośe

15 Cuban minutes
There's no end in sight
I'll meet you by the cannon
On the Malecón tonight

Sana, sana colita de rana
Si, no sanas hoy
Bueno sana mañana
Mañana, mañana
Lo que dice Havana
Si, no paso hoy
Paso mañana