Shaina Taub - 'Bear & Otter' - NPR Tiny Desk Concert Contest Entry
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- Опубліковано 3 жов 2024
- www.shainataub.com
Bear & Otter
by Shaina Taub
THE TALE OF BEAR AND OTTER
Chapter One: The Tale of Otter and Bear
An unlikely pair with hearts suspended in the air.
Him just a cub, she just a toddler little otter in the water
where he came to fish for dinner one day.
Otter said, “Come and swim!”, but Bear replied, “My pa won’t let me in past my paws…”
And just as Bear almost ran away, Otter climbed on land, took his hand and said,
“This is what babies do, this is what children do
This is what giraffes do, they hide in love.
This is what spiders do, this is what sting rays do,
This is what raccoons do, they find in love,
They try in love.”
Chapter Two: Bear and Otter, few years older
Found a spacious place upstream together
Trading weeks ‘tween land and sea
It’s heavenly
And Bear hunts nine to five while Otter finishes her degree
And they smile over dinners of sea bass
And dream of moving to Alaska
And Bear spends too much on honey, and Otter drowns in her study
But when day is done, they have their fun in unison
This is what couples do, this is what creatures do
This is what giraffes do, they hide in love.
This is what plankton do, Komodo dragons too
This is what baboons do, they find in love
They try in love
Chapter Three: accidentally a pregnancy too soon
Baby’s due in June
There’s no room, winter looms
A scared, unprepared Bear and Otter wait
For someone to tell them what to do
Bear picks up night shifts, a rift begins to sift
And Otter dreams in black and white
But when their son arrives, he has Bear’s brown hair
And Otter’s little eyes
They cry,
“Is this what grown-ups do? Is this what parents do?
Is this what adults do? Trade time for love?
Is this what grown-ups do? Is this what parents do?
Is this what adults do? Trade time for love?”
Chapter Four: Bear and Otter, well past eighty-four
Their kid moved to Alaska. Don’t ask - it’s a sore subject.
They retired, Bear’s pancreas expired.
Otter bathes him in the river and holds him through the night.
She says, “Remember when we met?”
He says, “How could I forget?
We rolled a pair of dice, and built our own paradise.
Life didn’t go like we tried, but it was worth it by your side.”
Then he died.
This is what hippos do, this is what oysters do
This is what dinosaurs did They hid in love.
This is what grown-ups do, this is what children do.
This is what giraffes do. They try in love.
This is what people do. What else can people do?
I want to live beside you
And die in love.
This song still gives me goosebumps
Audra McDonald brought me here. She made me fall in love with this song tonight.
I also heard Audra McDonald sing it at Tanglewood, Seiji Ozawa hall--loved it!
Love Love Love
I heard Audra McD sing this last night and wept. The problem is going to be that if Audra winds up "owning" this song it's not going to sound that great when any other human being sings it. But it's a wonderful song. Wonderful.
You rock!
This reminds me of regina spektor