Alison and Billie Jean party through the night;

Their aim is true, they dance on the floor in the round.

Run into Carrie Ann and Delta Dawn, to their delight,

Just playing games and waiting to be found.

..

Elenore and Felicia look to join up with their friends,

Who think them swell and graceful in their heels.

Gloria meets Helen as she hops into her Benz –

She’s always on the run in Helen’s wheels!

..

Iris and Josie trade complaints about their SOs;

One’s overly dramatic and the other drinks a lot.

Kate heads off to Soho to help Lola pick out new hose

With her rainbow smile, her drumsticks, and her pot

…

Maggie May and darling Nikki make a daunting pair,

One will kick you in the head, the other your behind.

Ophelia and dear Prudence, well, they aren’t even there

For O skipped town and DP won’t unwind.

..

Little Queenie and Rosalita make the dance floor quiver,

Standing by the jukebox and then jumping up so high.

Suzanne hangs with Tessie in her place down by the river,

Feeds the Red Sox tea and oranges under Tessie’s sparkling eye.

..

Ursula calls up Valerie, says why don’t you come on over,

Turns in circles while she looks across the water.

Windy thinks of Xandra as the harbor seals exalt her,

Windy’s eyes flash when she hears FOX News reporters.

..

Yvonne’s the one who’s hanging out on earth with beautiful Zelda,

Their smiles shine forth from here to Galaxy Four.

I’ve reached the end of the alphabet but this I’ve got to tell ya –

I’d gladly rhyme for many letters more!

****

Thanks to all these musicians for their songs and the joy they’ve brought into my life:

Alison – Elvis Costello (easily one of his top 5 songs, which is saying a lot)

Billie Jean – Michael Jackson

Carrie Ann – The Hollies (super-catchy, great harmonies)

Delta Dawn – Tanya Tucker

Elenore – The Turtles (intentionally ridiculous lyrics but great bubblegum pop)

Felicia – Blues Traveler (I didn’t know this song before.  There aren’t a lot of songs with women’s names starting with “F”.  I thought of Bruce Springsteen’s “Frankie,” but it didn’t really work).

Gloria – Laura Branigan.  Great high-energy song.

Helen Wheels – Paul McCartney

Iris – Goo Goo Dolls. 

Josie – Blink 182.  I love Steely Dan’s song by this title but it worked better with Blink’s version.  Originally I wanted to have “I” and “J” be “Isis” and “Visions of Johanna,” but Dylan’s lyrics, not surprisingly, don’t make it easy to just snatch a couple of words here and there.

Kate – Ben Folds Five

Lola – The Kinks

Maggie May – Rod Stewart

Darling Nikki – Prince

Ophelia – The Band (there are other songs by this name, but: The Band)

Dear Prudence – The Beatles (written by John Lennon about Mia Farrow’s sister, who stayed in her tent meditating instead of joining in the fun and games at Rishikesh)

Little Queenie – Chuck Berry

Rosalita – One of Bruce’s greatest songs.

Suzanne – Leonard Cohen.  One of my top 5 favorite songs ever.

Tessie – Dropkick Murphys

Ursula (The Swansea Song) – Barclay James Harvest.  Never heard of it before, but I didn’t want to use the Little Mermaid because I’m a stickler and “Ursula” isn’t in the title – it’s “Poor Unfortunate Souls”

Valerie – The late, sorely missed Amy Winehouse.  Steve Winwood also has a good song called Valerie.

Windy – The Association.  “And Windy has stormy eyes/That flash at the sound of lies”

Xandra – French Cleats.  Didn’t know this one either.  It’s super-trippy, kind of a modern-day Donovan track.

Yvonne’s the One – 10cc, written by Paul McCartney

Beautiful Zelda – The Bonzo Dog Band.  Weird, as you’d imagine – an earth boy becomes infatuated with a girl from “Galaxy Four.”