The story:

Circa 1971 used to frequent one of the various "head shops" in Newark, NJ 07029 along Halsey Street- one in particular "Whatever Is Legal", 23 Halsey Street just right around the corner from Lafayette Radio Electronics on Central Avenue -& this song hit the charts- Paul's biggest hit so far (then) sans Beatles -& heard this one on the store's "Hi-Tech"(for then) AM/FM Multiplex tuner & laughed insanely along with my hooky playing co-conspirators (was 14 at the time, freshman year at HHS).

We really thought was a laugh/riot at the time because Mc Cartney was singing about "Admiral Halsey" & here we were getting rolling papers and 75W UV black light bulbs on Halsey Street, & then the "hands across the water (water), 'heads' across the sky", bit & then we lost it- totally surreal like the opening credits of the old "Twilight Zone", y'know?

So naturally when he sings the , "Live a little, etc., etc., ..." part it made sense (sinse?) to us that was singing abot "lids" which was counterculture slang for a unit of measurement imprompateau during a marijuana transaction utilising the lid of a Prince Albert tobacco can,

approximately 1 ounce depending on the honesty or generousity of your chosen dealer.

"Lid oh lid oh be a gypsy..."

It sounded like it to us stoned teens from right across the water, the Passaic River, from (gulp)- Harrison, NJ -but also intellectually it made sinse (sense).

Flash forward 15 years later,

Now working in Newark in the Downtown area near the old Halsey location, but no mo' head shops anymore, apparently gone the way of the dinosaur thanks to political correctness.

On way home decide to save some $$$ by taking direct bus from Newark's Market Street to JSQ Jersey City instead of the more expensive PaTh, first time never took that route before, so walk down the length of Halsey where it intersects Market Street, reminiscing about the 'good ol 'days' all the way, & wait for the "#1" bus that wends it way through Ironbound section of Newark before going across two trestle bridges in Kearney, before reaching Rt. 440 in JC where I lived at the time.

So my jaw dropped when the "#1" bus that I was told to wait for was the "#1 ALBERT Avenue" bus- on the corner of Halsey & Market!

This event renewed my interest in the "RAM" album LP & especially the track "Uncle ALBERT (Avenue)/Admiral HALSEY (Street)", but alas, listening to it as a (then) 29 year old man & with headphones I could clearly hear the correct lyrics.

Bummer.

As for the Q: "Do you think your version is better than the original?" the answer is a flat NO, but to us 14 year olds in 1971 & with the aforementioned circumstances mentioned- all TRUE I might add -it sure made serendipitous synchronistic sense (sinse) at the time...

