HAPPY BIRTHDAY Norbert
This would have been his 83rd – and I am fairly certain he would have been venting alot of angst thereto. Aging was not something he relished, and the 80 marker would have shocked him. We have something that should make him smile though!
At his Memorial service in June 2013, several of our folksinger friends were asked to add their special voices to the day. One of whom, Jeanne Kuhns, enthusiastically accepted, saying: I’ll write a song for him!” Song composition is just short of rocket science in my eyes, so I reserved anticipation, thinking … well, that’s just impossible.
True to her word and talents, Jeanne came forth on stage with a lovely, soulful ballad written for and about Norbert George Blei, our Coyote, our hero, our man. Any reservations I had quickly fell away as she charmed us all, leaving this lovely song to float in our hearts.
When I’m in Door and have the pleasure of crossing Jeanne’s path at various gigs, she most often plays this for me. I recently asked her if she would share the lyrics so they could be posted on Poetry Dispatch for him. She –again enthusiastically! replied she would not only do that – but “I’ll record it for him!”. Now all of us can hear again this lovely song, written for Norbert by the incomparable Jeanne Kuhns, lyrics and link to her recording, below. Bless you Jeanne. And bless you, Coyote.
Miss you every day. ~ Jude Gx
YOU WROTE IT WELL
For Norbert, by Jeanne Kuhns
Inspirational man
He was the old Coyote
Howling at the moon of discontent
Using just the right words
About the way life came and went
And how some things, have been lost along the way …
He used his impatience
to fortify a good vision
breathing life into the chapters of his art
He’d write a story of life ~
and the words made life worth living
He spoke his mind about the loss of a simpler time …
What remains to tell of one man’s place in time?
Throw your head back to the moon, shake up the darkened night
Just know you wrote it well, Coyote, you wrote it well
Know you wrote it well …
I saw him in Al Johnsons
With the morning folks around
Always looking for stories wherever he went
He came here for the quiet
He came here to write
Now he’s a star in the dark
Door county night.
poetry dispatch & other notes from the underground 
Happy Birthday, Norb! Jude, Thanks for posting Jeanne’s lyric. Beautiful.
Agreed!
Thanks for posting this heartfelt and insightful l tribute to Norb…a man who indeed “wrote it well”!
I keep finding Norb in his books, as he said so well. I miss the wise old walrus.
-with all my heart …
Norb reached immortality long ago through his own words. Now that Jeanne’s song, with it’s touching lyrics has been released into the cosmos to travel light years, his immortality has reached a new level.
Sleep well all Norb-o-philes, his words & spirit surround all.
I miss him. He was the late night person I could send off an email to when most of our world was tucked into bed. Of course, he never waited up for me, I usually heard from him the next day unless! what I wrote he felt he must respond to immediately, and he also was awake in the darkness. He was never Coyote with me. Rather, he was supportive and helpful, the “good teacher.”
Norb, my bud, is clearly a one in a trillion (I guess saying one in a million or a billion aren’t that special anymore, which I’m betting Norb would agree has become absurd diminishment).
Jude, just love your postings. You’re so inspirational with all the love you express for Norb. Jeanne, Just a beautiful ballad for Norb. I was at Al Johnson’s counter when I took a day off of teaching for my birthday. What a birthday present when Norb started a conversation with me. He mainly would ply me with questions about Wisconsin’s Supper Clubs
~thank you Diane~