The lyrics are marred by a remarkable boner - the line "if he sees no shadow he sees no spring" are blatantly inaccurate and, indeed, directly contradicted by the previous line. Oh well. The chorus in this one is adapted (if not stolen outright) from an olde English tune about Candlemas, a holiday which was evidently identical to Groundhog Day in all but name.
lyrics
the cameras are all pointing inside a hole
about 15 minutes till the creature will show
we got an anchorman preening and a-combin his hair
interviewin' some farmer bout the history there
he's sayin
if a groundhog comes and his shadow's there
we've got six more weeks of winter to bear
but if he sees no shadow he sees no spring
he's a remarkable creature for the weather he brings
it's been around in cultures for long
in fact, some would even sing this song
If Groundhog Day be fair and bright,
Come, Winter, have another flight;
If Groundhog Day brings clouds and rain,
Go Winter, and come not again.
the farmer finished all of his interviews
and we went back to you with the action news
and the director said that's a wrap over here
let's take 5 before that groundhog appears
they finished all their bagels and shakes
a-waiting for that groundhog to wake
If Groundhog Day be fair and bright,
Come, Winter, have another flight;
If Groundhog Day brings clouds and rain,
Go Winter, and come not again.
and so the lights and the cameras and the news teams are there
about 15 seconds till we're going to air
but when the groundhog came the lights were way too bright
he saw his shadow on the ground and he said goodnight
they tried to broadcast nature's peaks
and gave our winter 6 extra weeks
If Groundhog Day be fair and bright,
Come, Winter, have another flight;
If Groundhog Day brings clouds and rain,
Go Winter, and come not again.
Tom Heyman documents life in San Francisco circa 2023, refusing to succumb to easy characterization & instead capturing the city’s nuance. Bandcamp New & Notable Oct 22, 2023