Jackson Pollock finally captured movement and chaotic rapture
through means divorced from all tradition
But the sweeping change was too abstruse
and the public spared him no abuse
the ridicule became a common mission

Time magazine said "Who could laud this feeble and pathetic fraud?"
no one comprehended what 'Autumn Rhythm' had transcended
Watch the gifted hands create motion in suspended state
with the sweet elation of true innovation
He harnessed the essence of life

But antiquated institutions always seem the hardest to subvert
so Jackson was condemned to spend a lifetime
throwing pearls into the dirt

John Cage's young intrepid ears threw
the shackles of convention clear
to better target man's potential
But the world assailed his pure device,
"Is that a symphony or a poltergeist?"
and called lunacy his sole credential

Can hunger and abandon be fused into a synergy?
that's where the genius lies, covert to the cautious eye
that brief and fragile unity, a taste of immortality
is the mind unbound, and that's where John had found
that silence is married to sound
His departures were reviled,
but the ignorant aren't east to convert
John was still content to spend a lifetime
throwing pearls into the dirt

Like the architect unafraid to rupture static orthodox
with a brilliant structure
which the masses libel and refuse to sanction
for the abstract style that it's broken ranks in
and that master builder, who's ideals were so unyielding
kept his self-respect and lost his shirt throwing pearls into the dirt

Progress is painful, and the vanguard feel the greatest of the hurt
let's all prepare to make our new pariah, throwing pearls into the dirt