Nancy Rost: Music
Punxsutawney Persephone
- MP3 play whole song, hi-fi (broadband)
- MP3 play whole song, lo-fi (modem)
- MP3 download whole song, hi-fi
Here it comes again, February second
The dudes in top-hats and tuxedos beckon
I holler whatcha doing here? Good lord almighty!
It’s not even sunrise - I’m still in my nightie!
They’re waiting for me like I’m the next Nostradamus
The truth is I never really wanted to be famous
Now it’s time for my annual moment of glory
But this time they’re gonna hear my side of the story
What‘s it gonna be, Punxsutawney Persephone?
Once upon a time, they didn’t want me around
I consorted with the Weather Underground
The establishment saw me through the eyes of a bigot
I was down to earth but they just couldn’t dig it
In the trenches I was cast in the opposite role
My homies called me a skunk, and a rat, and a mole
They badgered me about becoming a pet
‘Cause I hadn’t bit the hand that fed me -- yet
They said are you down, and they sang a song
Which side, oh, which side are you on
So I tried to rob the banks of the Ohio
But that ain’t plagiarism, folkies just borrow
What’s it gonna be, Punxsutawney Persephone?
The rhyme police said I was breaking the law
So I tried to dig a tunnel to Canada
But the Council Bluffs sheriff was on my tail
I did 39 days in the Squirrel Cage Jail
I was arraigned on the 40th day
With a public defender from rural Pa.
Who found a way to set me free
With a relocation and a fake ID
(And a straight job…)
I got a makeover and dressed in pastels
A producer clipped a mic in my lapel
They said “sit” and “smile” and “point at the map”
Pretty soon I was signing autographs
The next decade is kind of a blur
Of Botox injections and Doppler radar
Until this weathergirl was too mature
And they gave me the Punxsutawney sinecure
Which suited me - after all is said and done
I was still homesick for the subterranean
And I’m no prophet but I know which way the wind blows
Once a year I do a soft-shoe to “Me and My Shadow”
I can hear you thinking “shut up and do your thing
Cut the woodchucking Dylan -- do we get an early Spring?”
Yeah, okay, sure, whatever, listen to the weathermen
Accuracy guaranteed up to thirty-nine percent