A tax analyst for AOL, Jason Mendelson, moved to this region from Tampa. HIs old home town has limited mobility choices. However, he's impressed with the Washington Metro, specifically our extensive subway system. I agree with him, and in fact that's one reason my wife and I bought a house near the Greenbelt Metro stop.
Jason, however, is blessed with a lot more musical talent than myself (although for the record I did sing on stage with a couple of Baltimore community theater troupes many moons ago). And so the Washington Post reports that he is writing a series of songs about all the stops on the system.
He has already written a dozen of them, and they are worth a listen. They vary quite a bit stylistically and lyrically, tailored to the particular stop.
To give you a taste, here are the lyrics for the stop nearest my work (my commute takes about 40 minutes door-to-door), Gallery Place-Chinatown:
This is the home of the brave, it's the home of the homeless, this phrase was spoken by a homeless man
At Gallery Place he pleaded his case, at Gallery Place he pleaded his case and cried
On the museum wall hangs a life-size painting, in the painting is a man looking at a painting too, on the museum floor is a woman with a grandchild, once upon a time that homeless man was a grandchild too
The glory of the Chinese descendants, hanging over me, a beautiful phantom and a crystalline fan
Somewhat gritty and beautiful at the same time, just like the city. Good stuff. Thanks, Jason.