“Abalone”
Description
"In Carmel Bay the people say we feed the lazzaroni On caramels and cockle-shells and hunks of Abalone." The virtues of this mollusk are extolled: It cures pain, tastes better than the finest foods, and can be transmitted faster than electricity (?!)
Notes
The anonymous _Book of Vulgar Verse_ credits a version of this to George Sterling. But the book is apparently some five decades newer than Sandburg, and does not list a more detailed source. In support of this claim, K. LaRoe writes, "I had recently read a reference to The Abalone Song, written by the poet George Sterling in the early 1900s while staying in an artist's colony in Carmel California." - RBW
References
- Sandburg, p. 333, "Abalone" (1 text, 1 tune)
- Roud #10113
- BI, San333