SONG: “Tiny Reindeer”.
ARTIST: grant.
SOURCE: Reindeer are shrinking, because of warmer arctic temperatures ,” Science, 11 Dec 2016, as used in the post “Reindeer have been shrinking since 1994.”
ABSTRACT:
I wrote a song. No, wait – first, I was pretty sure that since this was the just-before-Christmas-Eve song, it was going to be about shrinking reindeer. Then, I sat down at the organ and hummed a little and recorded a song, for which I then wrote words. And those words… didn’t fit. Huh.
So. Today, at work, I kind of hummed around a little and came up with a thing that fit those words. It was in the same key.
And on the train home, I put down a celesta track on my laptop. And then a cello bassline. And then took a part from the older song and used it as a kind of counterpoint double bass against the cello (because, hey, same key!). And then changed it from a double bass to ladies humming, and added a few Christmassy harmonies.
Then sang super quietly in the living room, super late.
And here it is. A depressing Christmas song about a species that’s literally shrinking because winters are getting warmer.
Best of the season to all of you.
LYRICS:
In the days of legend, enormous creatures reached to heaven
with antlers tall as branches in the tallest fir trees
And nights grew long and frozen, the ice lay thick on roads and
every house stayed isolated on our journeys
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CH:
But winter never gets so cold
As winter did in days of old
When lights would lift our hearts from winter fears
The ice is growing thinner
As we share our Christmas dinners
Then lie awake and worry over tiny reindeer
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Nothing stays the same and… there’ll be no one to blame us
Gather round the flames and try to be of good cheer
The way of things is dwindling when April flowers dry to kindling
We recall the sleigh bells jingling on tiny reindeer.
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CH:
Winter never gets so cold
As winter did in days of old
When lights would lift our hearts from winter fears
And ice is growing thinner
As we share our Christmas dinners
And we lie awake and worry over tiny reindeer
We lie awake and worry over tiny reindeer
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