For the past month, I've been working on a holiday album, with a song dedicated to every holiday except Christmas. (I figure that one holiday has gotten enough songs in the past; it's time to give the others a chance.) I decided to use the FAWM to continue this project (for the first song, anyway). The chorus is adapted from an olde English song about Candlemas (the ancestor of Groundhog Day), and the plot of the song is very Romantic (i.e. the karma of man attempting to fool with nature and accidentally messing it up).
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 a 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