Corrina, Corona Lament

Corrina, Corrina
[Yeah], you’re on my mind
Corrina, Corrina
[Yeah], you’re on my mind
I’m a-sittin down thinkin of you
I just can’t keep from crying *

Corona, Corona.  Yeah, you’re on my mind.  I wake up in the morning and I feel ya’ – hovering over me like a stifling cloud of smoke.  It’s 5:30 in the morning but thinking about you is all I can do.  Yeah, you’re with me all the time. 

Corona, Corona.  Yeah, you’re on my mind.  I get out of bed and brew some coffee.  I pour a cup and switch on the TV.  You’re on every channel.  You’re all they ever talk about – your spread, your numbers, how you’re being managed.  You’d think you were a favorite sports team.  Let’s hear the latest injury report.  You’re down in New York but doing gangbusters in Florida.  You’re heading past 100,000 and that’s only the U.S.

Corona, Corona.  Yeah, you’re on my mind.  It’s a beautiful day, so maybe I’ll take a walk outside.  Better wear a mask, but you’ll know it’s me.  I’ll try to forget you as I tromp around town.  The sidewalks are empty.  I see a few people, but they cross the street to avoid me.  Traffic is light, if there’s any at all.  Stores are closed – like a Sunday afternoon from the 1950s. Seems kind of peaceful.  I stop at a bench.

Corona, Corona.  I’m a sittin’ down thinkin’ of you.  Peaceful’s an illusion.  You allow no peace.  You bring sickness, death, stress, anxiety, depression.  Widespread suffering.  I pray you’ll leave.  But you stay – like a one-night-stand who refuses to go in the light of the next morning.

Corona, Corona.  I’m a sittin’ down thinkin’ of you.  In the evening, I’ll have a drink or three to try to forget you – to ease the pain of your staying with me.  Maybe tomorrow I’ll be greeted with the good news of your dying.  I go to sleep hopeful, but in the morning you’re still here. And I just can’t keep from crying.

*“Corrina, Corrina”, written by Armenter “Bo Carter” Chapman, recorded by Bob Dylan on The Freewheelin’ Bob Dylan, 1963.