Possum
from: Time Has Come
Dear Possum, splattered all over the street,
Your death was quick but not very neat;
Your tail is cold in this piece of tin foil
I'm using to carry you back to the soil
Here in the shade of a mulberry bush,
You'll have plenty of daisies to push;
Somewhere a possum family is sad,
Wondering where is their mom, or their dad
(Chorus)
Cuz you met your fate with a steel-belted radial
I'm not sure if you're a man or a lady
I'll lay you to rest, and say a short prayer:
Dear Possum, may you blossom as a flower next year
Tonight when the predators come out to prey,
They'll find you here in a state of decay;
And you'll be the source of a great celebration,
As you're reincarnated in a thousand variations
The squirrels, the birds, the bats, the maggots;
Microorganisms, rats, cats and rabbits
Will all have a feast, then drop little toasts
On the earth for dessert as you turn to compost
(Chorus)
"I came across a possum all flattened in the road,
I knew it was a possum it was bigger than a toad;
It made me sad I felt so bad to see him
Squashed and such;
I wish that possums didn't get hit by cars so gol'durn much.
Were he to lay another day his very bones would rot;
Am I in turn to live my life and thusly be forgot?
Thinking these, much ill at ease, a possum's life is hard.
So I scraped him off the pavement and I sailed him fifty yard."
I've often wondered how you could sustain
Yourself in a competitive food chain;
You're slow and ungainly and make easy prey,
And you never have anything much to say
When you're approached you act nervous but curious,
The sharpness of your claws seems absolutely spurious;
Maybe you're here to humor the Gods
Who blessed your brothers with indigo cods
(Chorus)
Your death was quick but not very neat;
Your tail is cold in this piece of tin foil
I'm using to carry you back to the soil
Here in the shade of a mulberry bush,
You'll have plenty of daisies to push;
Somewhere a possum family is sad,
Wondering where is their mom, or their dad
(Chorus)
Cuz you met your fate with a steel-belted radial
I'm not sure if you're a man or a lady
I'll lay you to rest, and say a short prayer:
Dear Possum, may you blossom as a flower next year
Tonight when the predators come out to prey,
They'll find you here in a state of decay;
And you'll be the source of a great celebration,
As you're reincarnated in a thousand variations
The squirrels, the birds, the bats, the maggots;
Microorganisms, rats, cats and rabbits
Will all have a feast, then drop little toasts
On the earth for dessert as you turn to compost
(Chorus)
"I came across a possum all flattened in the road,
I knew it was a possum it was bigger than a toad;
It made me sad I felt so bad to see him
Squashed and such;
I wish that possums didn't get hit by cars so gol'durn much.
Were he to lay another day his very bones would rot;
Am I in turn to live my life and thusly be forgot?
Thinking these, much ill at ease, a possum's life is hard.
So I scraped him off the pavement and I sailed him fifty yard."
I've often wondered how you could sustain
Yourself in a competitive food chain;
You're slow and ungainly and make easy prey,
And you never have anything much to say
When you're approached you act nervous but curious,
The sharpness of your claws seems absolutely spurious;
Maybe you're here to humor the Gods
Who blessed your brothers with indigo cods
(Chorus)
Credits:
Words & Music by Billy Jonas
1993 Bang-A-Bucket Music, BMI