[Verse 1]

Max was born in the Vatican hospital
As bombs dropped down on Rome
Life wasn’t always so logical
Max sailed away from home.

A child of old nobility
from Gaetano Filangieri
and Lobkowicz Bohemia
to Reader-Written Media.

Born into war,
Max lived in peace.
Max Art Core
for your Free Speech!

[Chorus]

Captain Max – He
Steered the ship
The goal’s the journey
Life’s a Trip!
With Dr. Suzy as his admiral
and his wife
They lived a bonobo
kind of life…

[Verse 2]

Max joined the U.S. army
at a fort outside of town
He always hit the bullseye
when he fired off his rounds.
But when he realized it meant killing,
he threw his rifle down.

Max would never commit violence
But he would not be silenced.
So Max set sail for media dreams
making Reader-Written Magazines
Love, Hate, God, Finger, LA Star
showed us humans for what we are.

What Max called “reader-written,”
we now call social media
Though Max did it 30 years
before Wikipedia.

But the local police
didn’t like what Max preached,
They locked Max in prison
for his vision,
They shut up his free speech
But just until he was released…

[Chorus]

[Verse 3]

Then once upon an afternoon
with Eros as his guide
Max met Suzy and quite soon
They were groom and bride.

Captain Max and Dr. Suzy
put on quite a show
from the sea to the jacuzzi
and in bed on HBO.

Doing it the Bonobo Way
So in love just having fun,
They got raided anyway
by L.A.P.D with big guns!
But Max and Dr. Suzy
sued their buns – and won.

[Bridge]

Have you ever fantasized about such scenes?
Could you realize the romance of your dreams?
Could you make your ideals real?
Could you help our feelings heal?

[Chorus]

[Verse 4]

Captain Max sailed over 80 years
Almost half with his Suzy’s Love
Their fantasies unbound by fears
Kissed by angels from above.

Captain Max was strong and brave
Sailing the seas for Freedom of Speech.
But one day, he was struck by a giant wave
And then The End for Max was reached.

Now Captain Max is gone
And Admiral Suzy sleeps alone.
Missing her Great Love every day
She continues on the Bonobo Way.

With the help of Bonoboville
She thinks of Max and feels him still
Captain Max steers from on high
He’s now her Angel in the sky
Showing her the stars to guide her
Max steers the ship
from deep inside her.

Born into war,
Max lived and died in peace.
Max Art Core
for Our Free Speech!

[Bridge]

[Chorus]

Captain Max!

Note: It’s been a little more than a year since my beloved Max passed away, and my sea of grief hasvsurged into song. The Ballad of Captain Max is my musical tribute to Pr. Maximillian R. Leblovic diLobkowicz di Filangieri (11/8/1943 – 5/13/2025), my husband of 33 years & collaborator, witness and friend of 40, visionary artist, pioneer “reader-written” magazine publisher, brave antiwar and Freedomvof Speech activist (arrested several times on the Free Speech front lines), bonobo conservationist,vBonoboville co-founder and advocate for the Make-Love-Not-War Bonobo Way. Now, with AI “tools,” anyone can make music, even me, with my lyrics and prompts (“Bella Ciao”-style verses with an anthem chorus) performed by the always-in-tune Artificial Intelligence Orchestra. Whether AI is *good* for society or ought to be “disarmed” is another question, but like my collages, creating the Ballad of Captain Max.