Max Goolis

Max Goolis
Performer(s): The Limeliters



Well, John Henry might have been a steel drivin' man but Max
Goolis was a street sweepin'man.....

Lord, Lord, Max Goolis was a street sweepin'man
Max Goolis was a street sweepin' man, Lord, Lord
Max Goolis was a street sweepin' man

When Max Goolis was a little bitty babe
The first words he did utter were
"Listen, Mum & Dad, I plan to spend
My whole life in the gutter, Lord, Lord
My whole life in the gutter

Well one day the boss came out on the job
and he brought an automatic garbage truck around
He said, "Alright, Max, turn in your white ducks, fella, you're through."
Imagine it
Goolis, foremost name in refuse, cast up on the heap, destitute
He said, "Just a minute, sir, I deserve another chance
I propose a race, me against the automatic garbage truck
What do you say?"

Well, the entrepreneur was of the imaginative sort
always looking for some kind of incentive proposal, short of profit-sharing
and he said, "Alright, Maxie, in view of your years of devoted service
I'll tell you what I'm gonna do
You take one side of the street and the automatic garbage truck will take the other
To the victor, belong the spoils!"

They started down the avenue
The scene it really looked bad
The automatic truck was sweeping up a storm
And Max was shovelling like mad, Lord, Lord
And Max was shovelling like mad

Max poured on speed and then he said
"I've only saved a coupla dimes
I'm behind by thirteen orange peels
And a copy of the New York Times, Lord, Lord
A copy of the New York Times"

West Coast edition
Well eyewitnesses tell us that Max wasn't behind at all
As a matter of fact, he was pulling ahead, slowly but surely
in an epic of human labour when someone said suddenly
"Hey, look, there's a parade a-comin'!"
Sure enough it was the United States mounted cavalry

I'm certain that no-one expects us to include the next verse, certainly not our Aunt David
Suffice it to say that the wind blew, and quite a few objects were airborne
Well, some say it broke poor Max's heart and he died
And others say, "Not a bit of it: his spirit lives on
in keeping things neat and clean right here in San Francisco
because Max Goolis was a street sweepin' man....."

Lord, Lord
Max Goolis was a street sweepin'man

He broke his poor heart and then he died
But Max is really not gone
On every single street where garbage lies
His soul goes shovelling on, Lord, Lord
His soul goes shovelling on, and on, and on
His soul goes shovelling on