MOZART
Mary Jo was the cool girl in eleventh grade
She was tall and had red hair tied up in a French braid
She read Dostoevsky and Flaubert and Jean-Paul Sartre
And I wanted to know her and I didn't know where to start.
But I stood behind Mary Jo in choir
I looked at her red hair and my voice got higher
I was only a baritone
But when I smelled her cologne
And the heat of her body, I was Pavarotti.
DONIZETTI
Mary Jo ran around with a more intellectual crowd.
She looked at me and saw a loser, no doubt.
But in choir we took our places in three straight rows
And my place was right behind Mary Jo's.
I stood behind Mary Jo in choir
I looked at her red hair and my voice got higher
I was only a baritone
But when I smelled her cologne
One deep breath and bingo
I was Placido Domingo.
TROVATORE
The choir gave a spring concert at school every May
We stood and sang Mozart, Schubert and Faure
Miss Falconer was waving a stick but I didn't care
I was looking at the back of Mary Jo's hair.
I stood behind Mary Jo in choir
I looked at her red hair and my voice got higher
I was only a baritone
But when I smelled her cologne
Imported from Paris, I was Jose Carreras.
AIDA
Now I haven't seen Mary Jo for 35 years.
But whenever I listen to Mozart she reappears.
And the Agnes Dei sung sweet and slow
I just close my eyes and there is Mary Jo.
I stood behind Mary Jo in choir
I looked at her red hair and my voice got higher
I was only a baritone
But when I smelled her cologne
It was sugar and spice, it was paradise.