20 June 2016

Singing

There she is again... my ovine friend Petunia and behind her there's her sister Linda. On Friday afternoon, to my amazement, they struck up a song. It went something like this...

SONG OF THE MOORLAND SHEEP

Up on the moors just a chewin' the grass
Watching the people as they drive past
Rushing here and rushing there
While we sit here without a care
Sheep, sheep, we're just sheep
We count people to get to sleep.

Clouds in the sky and birds on the wing
It's nice to notice everything
Folk park cars and don their boots
Check their maps for walking routes
Point their cameras to the west
While we sit here and simply rest.
Sheep, sheep, we're just sheep
We count people to get to sleep.

Sometimes we hear their radio news
World events and political views
Bullets flying and children dying
The human world  seems horrifying
It's better to sleep beneath the stars
To the sound of our flock
Singing musical baahs!
Sheep, sheep, we're just sheep
We count people to get to sleep.

20 comments:

  1. And the people weep...and counting sheep brings no sleep

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    1. But where is Bo Peep...burning rubber with a sweep in a jeep

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  2. Ha - they really look like they're singing in the photo.

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    1. Yes. When sheep are singing, they look like they are... singing.

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  3. They look like singing !!

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    1. That is becuase they were singing Shilpa!

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  4. An idyllic life: until the abattoir beckons.

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    1. Oh dear, I didn't realise that The Isle of Lewis is populated by cannibals.

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  5. Sometimes - like this week with all the terrible goings on - it would be rather nice to be a sheep. And I love the idea that they might count people in order to get to sleep. But as Graham quite rightly says - the abattoir beckons.

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    1. Nobody's taking me to no abattoir! They might get you and Graham and turn you into sausages but I'll escape to a remote cave I know and live with the sheep.

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  6. Great poem - is there a tune - can we la,la,la along to it YP?
    They look a bit long in the tooth for the abattoir, so will probably live a long and happy life singing as they watch the world go by.

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    1. No you may not la la la to the lyrics CG, you have to baah baah baah. I agree that Petunia has probably escaped the butcher's shop. Her chops would be far too tough and gristly.

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  7. Great comparison here. We're not half as smart as we think we are.

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    1. There's something wise and accepting in the eyes of so-called dumb animals.

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  8. I love that song! I think you should write a children's book about Petunia and that song should be in it. I'm serious.

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    1. Actually, for a children's book you should probably change the line "children dying" to something like "people crying" so as not to give the kiddos nightmares. ;)

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    2. In the book there will be a sweet and kindly shepherdess called Jennifer. She will ramble over the moors with her two faithful sheepdogs Ginger and George who strike terror into all the sheep they encounter.

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  9. A grand set of lyrics but you do seem to be getting a bit fixated. There was a vicar got that way in Chelmorten and they locked him up....be careful.

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    1. I don't know what ewe are implying Adrian! Now excuse me while I go and cook some mutton..

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  10. Petunia is obviously a lady of many talents. I wonder what else she and her sister get up to when we're not looking, apart from singing.

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