Friday, February 04, 2005

Anabel Explains Mysterious "Bubboon" Lyrics to Eliza

I have friends named Bill and Jennifer Winegardner who write and perform songs for children. They are really funny, and if you have kids you should buy their record here (www.bubboon.com). Go ahead; I'll wait....

(checking watch...tapping foot...whistling a tune...probably one of Bubboon's tunes).

Okay, one of his songs features these lyrics:

I know a man who has no teeth
Eating causes him much grief
But when he is not gumming on a piece of beef
He says, "Blather, blather, blather, blather, blather, blather, blather"
It gives him much relief

I didn't say he was a profound songwriter. Another verse goes like this:

I know a girl with lots of hair
It grows all the way to...there
One day while she was sitting it got caught up in a chair
(Spoken) She still drags that chair with her everywhere she goes
She's the only woman I know with six legs

And it just gets better from there. It's a great song and fun to sing -- especially with kids -- though I'm not above singing it when I'm by myself and feeling especially in need of cheering up.

Okay, all that is just backstory. Here's a recent conversation between Eliza (age 3) and Anabel (age 5).

Eliza: A man who has no teeth? How does he walk?

Anabel: He doesn't. He just chews on a piece of beef.

Eliza: What's beef?

Anabel: It's bark. And bark is the hard part of the outside of a tree.

Eliza: Six legs? She's the only one with six legs?

Anabel: He's talking about numbers. It's like uno, dos, clays. You know!

Eliza's questions satisfied, she begins to sing and dance around the living room.