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The ant and the grasshopper

from Powder of the stars by John Meed

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lyrics

The sun was shining brightly one September afternoon
And the ant was busy gathering his autumn harvest home
When he heard somebody playing a merry dancing tune
It was the grasshopper and he was singing
(The ant said) ‘Your coat of many colours is a beauty to behold
And you dance with all your body and you sing with all your soul
But what will you eat when the winter winds blow cold
You should be working instead of singing’
(The grasshopper replied) ‘My friend, life is too short for all this aggravation
We both of us will die be it from stress (in your case) or from starvation
And I have to father the coming generation
It may be tough but I’ll die singing’
Just then a dainty princess came by as if by chance
And the grasshopper jumped up and they both began to dance
And they went off hand in hand in search of hopeless, doomed romance
And in the distance the ant could hear them singing
The winter wind blew cold as the ant had well foreseen
And his bones ached from arthritis, and his brain from the routine
Of the endless round of chores in the service of the queen
‘Why am I working’, he said ‘when I could be singing?’
He stormed out of the anthill and he laid his burden down
He came to where the grasshopper lay buried in the ground
And with all his fading strength he danced and danced and danced around
‘My friend’, he said, ‘can you hear me singing?’
The moral of the story I would tell with apprehension
You could twist it anyway you like to suit your own contention
Like the ant I should be working to pay the mortgage and the pension
But like the grasshopper I’ll keep on singing

credits

from Powder of the stars, released January 12, 2006
John Meed: Guitar and vocals

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John Meed Cambridge

John Meed is a singer-songwriter who lives in Cambridge, UK, and writes and performs in the folk and acoustic traditions. His songwriting has been compared to that of Al Stewart, Leonard Cohen, Christy Moore, Jacques Brel and Richard Thompson. He has released eight albums and his music has been played on national and local radio. See johnmeed.net. ... more

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