Ghost Train RadioFirebelle Lil
Smoked cigars
Wore men's pants
Drank and gambled
Lived in France
Adventurous girl
Travelled far
Loved her City
With Cable Cars
Station mascot
Knickerbocker 5
Fireman's friend
Full of life
Napa Valley
Planted vines
Vintage Lillie
Made White wine
Crazy cousin
Tried to kill her
Business man
Bullet diverter
Fled to Paris
To get away
20 years passed
Returned one day
Chorus
San Francisco
Firebelle Lil
Built Coit Tower
On Telegraph Hill
in a nutshell
- Lillie Hitchcock Coit was the first female volunteer fire department member
- She gave a good portion of her wealth to San Francisco and the City built Coit Tower at her bequest
- She wore trousers, smoked cigars drank bourbon and gambled. Dressed as guy, she got into The Bohemian Club, a male only club
- She travelled the world
- She was in exile in France for 20 years after her crazy cousin tried to kill her
- I watched a ragtime piano lesson video for a half hour, then (somewhat) emulated it in this song
discussion
San Francisco might have more character than any other American City except maybe NYC and LA. But per square mile no one beats this gorgeous city by the bay.
The cast of characters of all decades since it changed its name from Yerba Buena to San Francisco is hard to beat.
I watched a video on how to play ragtime on the piano – and then adapted a “forward roll” to work in the context of this song
theme
Lillie Coit, San Francisco legend and benefactor. And pretty cool person way ahead of her time.
conclusion
Lillie Coit is a local hero. San Francisco will always be one of the best Cities in the world. Never mind ye naysayers ….
Ghost Train Radio 