Quotes

[vardathemessage]

film version:	original:
Yesterday upon the stair	As I was going up the stair
I saw a man that wasn’t there	I met a man who wasn't there
He wasn’t there again today	He wasn’t there again today
How I wish he’d go away.	I wish I wish he'd stay away.

Is a poem by Hughes Mearns (1875-1965) called The Psychoed.

It supposedly influenced the lyrics of Bowie's The Man Who Sold the World

We passed upon the stair
We spoke of was and when
Although I wasn't there
He said I was his friend
Which came as a surprise
I spoke into his eyes
I thought you died alone
A long long time ago
Oh no, not me
We never lost control
You're face to face
With The Man Who Sold The World

Which sounds a lot like what Arthur might be thinking about Tommy Stone by the end of the picture.

Comments

Poem

[schizo-smith.livejournal.com]

I just found this journal and I think what you did is amazing, thanks for enlightening us and sharing all this information!

But I do have to say something about this entry. The poem, I think, is referred on the film is "Antigonish" by Hughes Mearns, and its first paragraph is exactly the same as stated in the movie.

Re: Poem

[vardathemessage.livejournal.com]

I'm chuffed, truly, darling. Thank you and delighted you dropped by!

Thanks for the details on the poem. If you can believe it, I started this way back in the days before Wikipedia, which confirms what you said and elaborates on it. My source was The Oxford Dictionary of Quotations, which only credits the play it was in without giving the title of the poem. The first version is from the screenplay and the second from Oxford. (Books is great but ain't the internets grand!)