If America smokes thinking men's cigarettes, it sings feeling men's songs. The Rock 'n' Roll Romantic today beats out the worries of the age; he synthesizes the intellectual (Charlie Brown), the successful (Elvis Presley), and all other concerns into a libidinal lyric. One big bopper says more about America than Max Lerner; and the CRIMSON, never unpercipient of current social and intellectual trends presents its quasi-annual song round-up. Harvard if not singing should keep swinging.

The products of the past few months form together an epic quest of the American for his soul. The rock and roller starts off on his Twentieth century Odyssey by defining his goals of success. The vision which Billy Parsons offers of the goal rivals Dante's path through Paradise. Parsons builds on the Presley legend for his model:

Y'all gather 'round cats and I'll tell you a story

About how to become an all-American boy.

Buy you a guitar, put it in tune,

You'll be arockin' and arollin' soon.

and tells how the hero buys his guitar, learns to play, and leaves home for the big city (Memphis) after an altercation with his papa ("He was a square--he just didn't dig me at all"). Then he continues:

I's arockin' and aboppln' and I's gettin' the breaks,

The girls all said I had what it takes.

Then up steps a man with a big cigar,

He said, come here, cat, I'm gonna make you a star.

Put you on Bandstand--

Buy you a cadillac--

Sign here kid!

He makes the top; he's a hit. Yet security is fleeting, even for an idol, and the saga ends with the sad refrain: