RAY’S COPY SHOP
When I go to Ray’s Copy Shop
if I have to wait in line
it never really bothers me
it’s not a copy shop
it’s a shrine
Ray loves the theater
one night a new voice took his breath away
he found her name in the program -- Linda --
his life changed forever that day
Next morning Ray looked at his shop front window
an idea popped in his head
he pulled down all the business stuff
put Linda’s pictures up instead
soon the whole shop was dedicated
every square inch of space
that wasn’t filled with copy supplies
beheld Linda’s face
Oh her face
he’d buy a ticket ‘most every night
to see her face
glowing in the spotlight
From that day on
he only played her music
through the speakers on the copy shop’s wall
his customers thought it odd, but smiled
(she’s a great singer, after all)
I foolishly gave him some of my CDs
but he never played a one
it was Linda, Linda, Linda, Linda
as the copy machines all hummed
By now you could say
Ray was addicted to Linda’s Broadway show
one night at the stage door he waited with flowers
she came out to say hello
Ray completely charmed her
as he babbled on and gushed
she autographed his program
she hugged him and he blushed
Oh he blushed
she autographed his program
he blushed
she thought, hmmm, what a sweet man
By now you may be wondering
what became of Linda and Ray
did they fall in love and marry? . . .
no, Ray is gay
He shares his life with Warren
who only rolls his eyes
when Ray goes on and on about Linda
(which is all the time, no surprise)
When Linda married a songwriter named Frank
got pregnant, left the show
Ray’s friends worried about him
at night where would he go?
The day Linda and Frank had their baby
they sent Uncle Ray and Uncle Warren a fax
to share their joy -- a baby boy
“Congratulations!” they faxed back
For Ray
his nights became so blue
poor Ray
we all worried, what should we do?
Days turned into weeks and months
fluttered by and stacked up neatly like pages of a manuscript through a collating copy machine
Ray copied it all --
novels, screenplays, love letters, resumes,
bills, recipes, memoirs, refrigerator art
but his heartbeat became as dull and mechanical
as the machines he spent his days with
he became a copy of a copy of a copy
of the man he used to be
And as much as Ray’s Linda obsession
drove Warren nuts,
he saw how depressed his friend was
without having Linda’s music in his life every night
So Warren took Ray to the opening
of every Broadway and Off off off off off Broadway musical in the hopes that someone onstage would rekindle the flame that
burned so brightly inside him
they saw some terrible shows
they saw some wonderful shows
but nothing happened
until one night
the first act, hmmm,
the second act, wha?
the third act . . . out of this world and into the next
She burst upon the stage
in a slinky yellow dress
was it Ray’s beloved Linda? No
but was she simply irresistible? Yes
Now there’s a beautiful new display
in the window of Ray’s Copy Shop
on West 72nd Street, just off Columbus
if you’re ever in New York,
you just have to stop
At least once a week
Ray dons his yellow jacket, pants, hat, and vest
buys a single ticket to sit close
to the girl in the yellow dress
When she bows she looks for him
flashes him a shy smile
all his friends pray for Ray that this show
runs for a long, long while
And when Broadway divas gather
talk awards and accolades
there’s Obies, Drama Desks, Tony’s
and now the Window At Ray’s
On paper Ray is a working man
who makes his living copying things
but he is an original
with a great big heart that sings
Take a look in any other shop window
tell me, what do you see?
piles of stuff they want to sell
to you and you and me
But Ray defies the business rules
of every seller, every buyer
in his window he displays
what sets his soul on fire
It’s the girl in the yellow dress
who now reigns supreme
every day people stroll by his shop
look inside, smile, and they dream . . .
they dream
they dream
good night, Ray
sweet dreams
sweet dreams
see you at the matinee
I thought that should be how the song ends, and I always want my songs to be true, especially when they are about real people. I faxed these new lyrics to Ray just like I did the five earlier drafts, before I left town to do some concerts, and about a week later I found myself stuck at the airport in Missoula, Montana. My flight canceled. A long wait.
I ran out of things to do, so I checked my answering machine and whaddya know, there was a long rambling message from Ray, saying ‘oh Miss Lavin, I’m so thrilled that you have written a song about me and my little copy shop window and yes, you got all the details right this time, but something about the song is starting to worry me. If you sing it for people they’ll know that, yes, I am now fascinated with the girl in the yellow dress in “Contact” but I’m afraid that they’ll think that I have forgotten all about Linda. And of course I haven’t and I’d hate for that rumor to get back to her.
“I don’t want to crowd you as a songwriter,” he said,
“but at the end of the song could you have me
dreaming about Linda . . . in the yellow dress?
Would that be OK?”
Hmmm . . .
Linda in the yellow dress
Hmmmmm . . .
Yes, Ray, yes
So you can see why . . .
when I go to Ray’s Copy Shop
if I have to wait in line
it never really bothers me
it’s not a copy shop
it’s a shrine
Credits:
lyrics by Christine Lavin
music by Steve Doyle and Daniel Glass
Christine Lavin: voice
Daniel Glass: percussion Video:
Steve Doyle: bass