Gelett Burgess 150 -- January 30, 2016

Happy 150th birthday to San Francisco writer, poet and prankster Gelett Burgess.  He was born in Boston on 30-January-1866.  His most famous composition was "The Purple Cow":

I never saw a purple cow
I never hope to see one;
But I can tell you, anyhow,
I'd rather see than be one!

He and his friends dumped a pro-prohibition statue into the bay.  He published a literary magazine, The Lark.  He wrote "The Ballad of the Hyde Street Grip." Read it or listen to it on my cable car site:
http://www.cable-car-guy.com/html/cchsg.html#top

Gelett Burgess #3 -- June 11, 2008

Gelett Burgess (1866-1951) was a San Francisco writer. His most famous compositions were "The Purple Cow" and "The Ballad of the Hyde Street Grip." Here is one of his less well-known poems:

MY FEET

My feet, they haul me Round the House,

They Hoist me up the Stairs ;

I only have to Steer them and

They Ride me Everywheres.

Gelett Burgess #2 -- May 7, 2008

Gelett Burgess (1866-1951) was a San Francisco writer. His most famous composition was "The Purple Cow". It became so popular that he wrote this response to his own poem:

Yes I wrote the Purple Cow

I'm sorry now I wrote it;

But I can tell you, anyhow,

I'll kill you if you quote it!

Gelett Burgess #1 -- March 7, 2008

Gelett Burgess (1866-1951) was a San Francisco writer. His most famous composition was "The Purple Cow":

I never saw a purple cow
I never hope to see one;
But I can tell you, anyhow,
I'd rather see than be one!