«His big brown eyes were concerned with sadness, and the singing of songs slowly and with long, thoughful pauses. But in the second chorus he got excited and grabed the mike and jumped down from the bandstand and bent to it. To sing a note he had to touch his shoetops and pull it all up to blow, and he blew so much he staggered from the effect, and only recovered himself in time for the next long slow note. "Mu-u-u-sic, pla-a-a-a-a-a-ay!" He leaned back with his face to the ceilling, mike held below. He shook, he swayed. The he leaned in, almost falling with his face against the mike. "Ma-a-a-ake it dream-y for dan-cing" - and he looked at the street outside with his lips curled in scorn, Billie Holiday's hip sneer - "while we go ro-man-n-n-cing" - he staggered sideways - "Lo-o-o-ove's holida-a-ay" - he shook his head with disgust and weariness at te whole world - "Will make it seem" - what would make it seem? everybody waited; he mourned - "O-kay"- The piano hit a chord. "So baby come on just clo-o-o-ose youre pretty little ey-y-y-y-es" - his mouth quivered, he looked at us, Dean and me, with an expression that seemed to say, Hey now, what's this thing we're all doing in this sad brown world? - and then he came to the end of his song, and for this there had to be elaborate preparations, during which time you could send all the messages to Garcia around the world twelve times and what difference did it make to anybody?  because here we were dealing with the pit and prune-juice of poor beat life itself in the god-awful streets of man, so he said it and sang it, "Close - your -" and blew it way up to the ceilling and through the stars and on out - "Ey-y-y-y-y-y-es" - and staggered off the platform to brood.»

- On the Road, Jack Kerouac