Ken Lonnquist Songbook
Cactus Candy
Cafe De Mort
Call My Mama
Candidate's Position
Carrie's Song
Chasing After Moonbeams
Cheese
Chew A Cherry
Children Of The River
Christmastime Tonight
Cigarette Smoke
Cinders And Cinderbugs
Circus Kenlando, The
Circus Leaves Town, The
Clouds Are Sleeping Over, The
Coast To Coast
Coconut Song, The
Count On Me
Coyotes
Out on the Rio Grande
Cowboys are eating Cactus Candy
Though every bite is sandy
So sweet is the meat
Of this treat they will eat
Whenever it's handy
Careful to not eat the thorns 'cause they're prickly
You'll end up feeling all punctured and sickly
And you know to forego Saguaro
So we'll still know their thrill tomorrow
Come las plantas sabrosas
Aunque pueden ser dolorosas!
Cafe De Mort (SR)
Fold up the paper, turn off the TV
It's just a report on some fish in the sea
And something they sprayed on the red apple trees
Let's eat out tonight... hey, supper's on me!
On the menu tonight at the Cafe De Mort
Are delectible dishes of all different sorts
Hors d'ouevres and entrees pastries and tortes
Enjoy your last supper at the Cafe De Mort
There's fish on the griddle fresh from the seas
Packin' a poison they call PCB's
We ladle the chemicals into the lakes
And they spice each and every bite that we take
If you need fuel for your engine to rev
May I recommend the Chicken Kiev
There's alar on apples and ducks full of lead
And we needn't discuss any meats that are red...
Chorus
No bugs in our bread 'cause we spray all the flour
So no bug wants to be in the bread we devour
How can you blame them for crawling away
From the stuff that we stuff in our mouths every day?
Geese full of mercury, man, what a treat!
Jump in the car and we'll drive down the street
Order your choice: fur, fin or feather
We can enjoy our last supper together
Call My Mama (VF)
I call my mama, but she don't call back
Stars are green, the sky is black, cuz
I call my mama, but she dont' call back
Oh, oh, oh, I'm a kid, Im all alone,
Oh, oh, oh, Lost in the great unknown
Oh, oh, oh, In a jungle overgrown
With nothin' but a monkey and a cell phone
Oh, oh, oh, Don't know how I wound up here
Oh, oh, oh, Where'd my mama disappear?
Oh, oh, oh, My Indiana Jones career
Is dyin! Im cryin crocodile tears
Oh, oh, oh, The battery is runnin' low
Oh, oh, oh, My hopes are fading with its glow
Oh, oh, oh, Mama doesn't answer so,
I gotta trust this crazy monkey and follow
The Candidates Position (J)
(our favorite political issue... apparantly)
Lord, I've got to know the candidate's position
Find a former mistress you can quote
Is he someone who'll stay firm
in his positions his whole term?
I've got to know before I cast my vote
I've got to know the candidate's position
Is he good at handling himself?
When he's all alone can he make it on his own
With a handy reference manual on the shelf?
Oh, lord, I want a man who's read the Kama Sutra
A candidate who'll flip-flop with the best
So if today's position doesn't suit ya
He'll be only too glad to try all the rest
Will he give it to us face to face?
Will he lay it on the line?
Or will he sneak up from behind
When he screws us (as is usually the case)?
Carrie's Song (SR)
I am a grandma in Oklahoma
Older than the children, younger than the earth
Somewhere between them I see the future
And I've come to speak up now for all I'm worth
Blue skies are the eyes of my children's children...
The golden wheat their hair, blowing in the sun!
You've come here today, risking our tomorrows
All for a power you say we need
But you know nothing about our land here
And you care nothing about our seed
I see you're angry at this old woman
You say I waste your time... that's where you're wrong.
We do not own time, blue skies or wheatfields
We only borrow from our children till we're gone
You think I'm crazy to sell my farmhouse
Raising the money to stop your plans
A house is nothing... just wood and windows
But this is my flesh and blood! This is my land!
Seeds from these wheatfields
blow through the blue skies
Deep in the prairie they'll drink their fill
Seeds of my children will grow up beside them
They always have here. They always will.
Singing, blue skies are the eyes
of my children's children...
I'm chasin' after moonbeams... wishin' on a star
Chasin' after moonbeams... never goin'far
I'm followin' a rainbow 'til I find the end
Followin' a rainbow 'round and back again
When I dream it always seems
Like I'm worlds away
Guess that's why I could lie
Night and day
Just chasin' after moonbeams... wishin' on a star
Cheese (J)
(Written for the Wisconsin Milk Marketing Board)
People say I'm a crazy little fella
I like to eat lotsa mozzerella
Colby, brick, and even better
Truckloads of that sharp, aged cheddar
Singin' ooh, geez... I'm crazy 'bout cheese!
Ooh, geez... I'm crazy 'bout cheese!
Put it in my belly, get a wiggle in my knees
Ooh, I'm crazy 'bout, crazy 'bout cheese!
I wake up early in the mornin'
Grab a piece of good longhornn
Chew it up... I can't resist!
Then I grab some swiss
Cheese is one of the funniest things
It comes in bricks and it comes in strings
Balls and spreads and wedges, too
And its full of holes when its brand new!
A piece of provolone or gouda
Brightens up my attitude-a
When I'm down I bounce right back
Nibblin' on muenster or monterrey jack
Makin' my lips go lickety-smack
My all-time favorite snack
Ooh, I'm crazy 'bout, crazy 'bout
Lotsa mozzerella, provolone, brick and brie
I'm crazy 'bout dairyland cheese!
Chew A Cherry (W2K)
Red-colored high-top tennis shoes
These are what the elephants use
When they hide from you and me
Way up high in the cherry trees
Chorus:
They sing, "Ooh! Ooh! Chew a cherry!"
"Ooh! Ooh! Chew a cherry!"
They sing, "Ooh! Ooh!"
Rarely will you ever see
An elephant in a cherry tree
'Cause they're so shy and well-disguised
They mostly go unrecognized, singing:
My advice to all of you
If you see a cherry as big as a shoe:
Never pick it, just leave it be
Or you might pull an elephant out of a tree
(And under and elephant's no place to be!)
Children Of The River (J)
(Written for my musical, Babar The Elephant)
We will find a way
The River's gonna run forever in the sun
Time will take us there
We are children of the river
We go on and on
Gentle as a rollin' river
And just as strong
There will come a day
Children of the river... we are
Children of the river... they are
Children of the river... you are
Children of the river...
Christmastime Tonight (TON)
A shiver blows along the street
A window glows, but gives no heat
A child stares... the toys are bright
It's Christmastime tonight
Her wishes frost the windowpane
Free of cost, but not in vain
If they'll come true with morning's light
Though her clothes are old and worn
The child knows that Christmas morn
Will find her worthy in love's sight
Ya viene la perdita... Feliz Navidad
Da le a la pobrecita... Feliz Navidad
And as she turns into the street
A bright star burns, but gives no heat
Still, if it shines through us, it might
'
Cigarette Smoke (J)
Cigarette smoke, man, don't you love it?
On the day you were born, who could forget:
Your mama coughed you out
and you began to shout
Skip the nipple mama, I want a cigarette!
Cigarette smoke, man, there ain't no danger
They're just ringin' false alarm bells
So-called passive smoke's just a non-smoker's joke
They all secretly like how it smells
Mmmm.... its patriotic
You're free to do as you choose
Not just to yourself, but to everyone else
Hey... the fire's red, the ash is white,
and the smoke is kinda blue
Cigarette smoke, man, it's so distinctive
You're de stink every place that you go
It ain't cheap, that's a fact... 'cause for every pack
We all got to pay through the nose
The cancer list grows and it grows
They got tombstones in row after row
Please... we love you... don't smoke!
Cinders And Cinderbugs (LSK)
(from my musical Cinderela)
Under the fireplace there is a hole:
Down where the ashes and bright embers go
Down in the dark where no wind ever blows...
Into a world only cinderbugs know
Yo ho, yo ho, yo ho, yo ho...
into a world only cinderbugs know
When the bright embers have cooled and died,
Lay your ears down by the stony hearthside
And in the silence, if your time you bide
You'll hear the cinderbugs laughing inside
Inside, inside, inside, inside...
you'll hear the cinderbugs laughing inside
Cinders and cinderbugs, cuddling warm and snug
Down in the dark where the bright embers glow
Cinders and cinderbugs, giving eachother hugs
If youre alone, it's a nice place to go
Others say that cinderbugs are ugly, dirty things
But with them I'm so warm and snug
They always make me sing... I sing, I sing...
Cinders and Cinderbugs... Cinders and Cinderbugs...
Cinders and Cinderbugs, Cinderbugs, Cinderbugs...
When I am lonely, I know I can go
Down where the Cinderbugs laugh: Yo ho ho!
Dancing all night in the safety below
Far from my troubles, where no one will know
Far from my troubles where no one will know
The Circus Kenlando (TCK)
(Originally titled "The Circus Fernando" in my musical
The Travels Of Babar)
There's a Man selling peanuts
Cotton Candy on a tray
While a girl on a trapeze swings away-ay-ay-ay
Theres a wild Tiger Tamer
Clowns juggling fire
While a man wearing slippers walks a hi-i-igh wire
This is the Circus Kenlando
The Show of all Shows
Sit down! The Big Top is up, my friends!
Everyone knows
The show's about to begin...
'bout to begin... 'bout to begin...
There's a Horse and a Monkey
There's a Trumpet playing trills
Ring of fire acrobatics give you chi-i-i-ills
Theres a Lion and aTiger
Claws itchin' to kill
Hold your breath! Theres the Drum Roll... all is still...
The Circus Leaves Town (TCK)
Goodbye to the music, goodbye to the clowns
Goodbye to the magic... the tent's coming down
Cages closing on the tigers and the lions
Everybody's packing... the old train whistle's sighin
The sparkling sequins and the flying trapeze
Stuffed into old trunks they close with their knees
Elephant noses twist out through the bars
Of the cages linked up on the old railroad cars
And dew drops will shine on the green grassy ground
Like tears on the morning the circus leaves town
Giraffes poke their heads up, looking all around
Old men in suspenders pull everything down
Rolling up the banners, rings for jumping through
The Ringmasters top hat and tuxedo, too
Before long the meadow will be empty again
The whistle will blow goin' round the next bend
We'll chase it awhile, but we already know
We can't dream forever... wev'e got to let go
Goodbye to the wonder, laughter and the thrills
Multi-colored memories tickling me still
Somewhere someone in a town far, far away
Is gasping just like I was only yesterday
The same thrills will lift them sky-high for awhile
As the world and its worries dissolve in their smiles
When it's all gone, only marks in the grass
From the tent-poles will show the circus went past
Someday they'll be comin' back this way again
But it won't be the same, cause... I'll be older by then
Big kids start pretending they don't really care
Yawning at the tigers, their balloons losing air
Posters are blowing away down the road
The calliope's up... it's the last thing they load
When the train pulls away and puffs down the track
It feels like the magic will never come back
THE
CIRCUS
KENLANDO
The Clouds Are Sleeping Over (SFHF)
The clouds are sleeping over
And that tag-along, the rain
Dropped in uninvited
The thunder did the same
Rattling the windows
And crashing overhead
Now Mom is gonna think it's me
Jumping up and down in bed
But I don't care what Mom may say
I want the clouds to stay and play
It's as plain as pumpkin pie
They're punching up their pillows
And stretching 'cross the sky
Flickering their flashlights
Underneath the sheets
Wasting batteries
The rain won't settle down
It's skipping on the rooftops
And running all around
It better cut it out soon
Or my Mom'll get so sore
She won't allow the clouds
To sleep over any more
No, I don't care what Mom may say
Coast To Coast (SR)
We put the pedal to the metal
'cause we're running out of gas
I guess we know we're going nowhere
we wanna be sure and get there fast
We need a little more momentum
as we're burning our last drop
Cause coast to coast we're coasting,
coasting to a stop!
A fool coulda seen it coming
across a couple of country miles
After the gasoline embargoes
conserving went right out of style
We didn't want to face the music
wanted to party til we dropped
Now coast to coast we're coasting,
It wasn't Shieks out in the desert
that put us in this awful fix
They can't help it we're addicted
to that sweet high-octane mix
We wanna rev our little engines
put back the old ragtop
This reverie of engine revving
was a right of passage we adored
Ecstasy in every Chevy
squealing wheels in every Ford
Didn't wanna talk mass transportation
needed those auto making jobs
coasting to a stop!ting to a stop!
We wanna drive our El Dorados.
we want our LTD's
We want our Lincoln Continentals
8 miles per gallon (with a breeze)
We wanna gallop in our Broncos
take little Susie to the Hop
And coast to coast we're coasting,
Look how we hung on to the Cowboy
after the Wild West was gone
And people keep on sighting Elvis
'cause they can't let go of his song
Like children clinging to the notion
that we don't have to grow up
Coast to coast we're coasting,
So let me go on guzzling
oblivious to all the signs
Talk all you want about belt tightening
as long as the belt ain't mine
Down the highway with a blindfold
so I can't see the gas gauge drop
We had fun, fun, fun...
but it's time we took the T-Bird away...
Coconut Song (CL, W)
In the northland you can go shopping
The weather forty below
As you're pushing your grocery cart
Then a tropic fever will grow
Ripe bananas from old Havana
Papayas, mangoes and such
Whisper to you with island voodoo
And then you spy: the coconut!
When the juice of the coconut calls out
Can't resist the call of the coconut!
Down at "Woodman's" is where the good ones
Wait patiently in the aisle
Dark and brown they just sit around
With their hidden coconut smiles
"I have been where you haven't been..."
You can hear them saying as much!
"Split my seam---there's a tropic dream
Waiting when you try: the coconut!"
As you're swaying, others are saying:
"I think he's had too much beer.
Dancing nude 'round the tropic food
In the coldest month of the year!"
But how could they know you couldn't say no
To the cosmic coconut touch?
Innocent till you caught the scent
Of the tropics from: the coconut!
Yah, hey!
Count On Me (W2K)
You can count on the sun to be yellow
You can count on the sky to be blue
You can count on the birds to sing in the trees
And you can count on me... I love you!
You can count on a fish to go swimmin'
You can count on a cow to go "moo"
You can count on a bee to lead you to honey
I love you... you can count on me, honey!
I love you... you can spend all my money!
I love you... though it may strike you funny
Countin' time I spend with you is all I wanna do!
Adding up all our time
Every moment will be yours and mine!
You can count on pennies and nickels
You can count on fingers and toes
You can count all the stars shining in heaven
And you can count on me... I love
You can count on me... I love
You can count on me... I love you!
Coyotes (TCK)
(Written with students at Farmington Elementary, Farmington, MN)
Way out west, upon the desert sand
Where rocks and hills and cactus dot the land
Youll hear our lonely song In the moonlight drift along
Out there where the canyons are so grand
Coyotes... Whoopee-ti-yotes
Singin' Coyotes... Under the stars
Singin' Coyo-o-o-o-tes
Our heads tilt back, our throats are open wide
Our fangs let loose a howl from deep inside
Living in our dens, Armadillos are our friends
Together down the canyon slopes we slide
Out there where the rivers run so brown
Live fish who like to sing as they swim round
Under starry skiesYou can hear us harmonize
And when those fishies sing, here's how it sounds:
Singin' Coyotes... all of us are
Singin' Coyo-o-tes... Under the stars
Bubble, Bubble (ES)
Written with students from Plover-Whiting Elementary, Stevens Point, WI.
Oil spills, landfills, paper mills, whale kills
Ozone, car phones, broken bones, war zones
Oil fires, burning tires, lives lost, car exhaust
Acid rain, its insane, things are going down the drain!
Bubble, bubble, toil and trouble
Its time you wake up! Wake up on the double!
Sing it, shout it, dont dare to doubt it!
Its time to stand up and do something about it!
Spotted owl, wolves howl, think or theyll become extinct!
Elephants, rhinos, mink and fox for peoples clothes
Bald eagle, condors, dying on the ocean shore
Habitats and creatures dying,
can't you hear their voices crying?
Bringing forests to their knees,
substituting stumps for trees
Poison toxic waste solution, wa-wa-wa-water pollution
Pesticide, herbicide, fungicide, homicide
Crimes against humanity, crimes affecting you and me
Aluminum and tin cans, paper strewn across the land
Plastic bottles, motorcycles left in landfills unrecycled
Styrofoam, batteries, these are all insanities
Things we make and throw away,
just come back another day
Acid rain precipitation, fish with lots of strange mutations
Wildlife poachers, violaters, elephants and alligators
Toxic waste, midnight dumpers,
Rusty, leaky old gas-pumpers
These environmental crimes
got to stop while theres still time!
Butterfly (VF)
There was an egg stuck on a leaf up in a tree
It was so small it was difficult to see
High in the branches it clung and hung about
Until it opened and a fuzzy bug crawled out
Singin mmm, mmm... a little caterpillar
Mmm, mmm... changin everyday
Mmm, mmm... keep your eye upon it
Its gonna be a butterfly one day!
The hungry bug wanted food to eat
It looked around and spied a leaf so sweet
The tree had all the leaves a bug could want
Just like living in a tree house restaurant
The fuzzy bug wove itself a chrysalis
To undergo metamorphosis
And after many days and weeks went by
It finally came out as a soggy butterfly
Upon a leaf under the sun it dried its wings
Then flew around gathering tasty things
Like pollen, seeds and nectar sweet
Then laid its eggs, it's life-cycle complete
Bye Bye Song (W2K)
(from my musical The Travels Of Babar)
It's time to sing the Bye Bye Song
I'm gonna be back before long
Till then, be happy, well, and strong!
Bye Bye! Bye Bye!
Aufviedershein! Au revoire!
Adios! Sayonara!
Toodle Ooo! Farewell! Ta Ta!
Bye Bye! Bye Bye! Bye Bye! Bye Bye!
Arrivederci! Ciao! Adieu!
Salaam! Shalom! Good luck to you!
Hasta la vista! Ta ta, too!
Bye bye! Bye bye!
Don't forget to write a letter
A picture postcard now and then
Will make me feel a little better
Until I'm back again
Hey! Yeah! You! I'm gonna miss you!
No matter where the winds may blow
My heart will follow as you go
Until you bring it back in tow
So long! Happy Trails!
Guard your trunks! Watch your tails!
So long!
