Song: A Talk With the Middle-Sized Bear

[mdlbear]

No music yet, though I have a few vague ideas. Inspired by a number of conversations over the last year.

A Talk With the Middle-Sized Bear

© 2008 Stephen Savitzky. Some Rights Reserved.

You've had a rough journey; a hellish long day;
There's a fire in your throat and an ache in your head
And you long to be back in your own cozy bed.
But the world you grew up in has vanished away.
You're weary and sick and you're frightened by change
When something wraps 'round you like a swirl of warm air
For there's no place as comforting, gentle, or strange
As the mind of the Middle-Sized Bear.

    For the Middle-Sized Bear is a creature so rare
    He'll feed you on honey and tea in his lair
    And you don't think you trust him, but maybe you'll dare
    Have a talk with the Middle-Sized Bear.

He's clumsy, forgetful, ill-tempered, and shy;
There's dust on his spectacles, gray in his fur;
Sometimes he growls when you think that he'd purr,
But he holds you so gently and just lets you cry.
He says he's not clever, but sometimes he's wise,
Sometimes he's so silent you can't tell he's there
And he quietly kisses the tears from your eyes
As you sit with the Middle-Sized Bear.

    For the Middle-Sized Bear is a creature so rare
    He'll sing you a song as he brushes your hair
    And they say it's a comfort just knowing he's there
    As you talk with the Middle-Sized Bear.

There's a line in his journal that sees through your mask
Though he says at the time that he's probably wrong;
But he sums up your fears in a few lines of song,
And answers a question you never would ask.
A letter, a message, a voice on the phone,
A song on the wire coming out thin air.
Perhaps it's enough to know you're not alone
As you talk with the Middle-Sized Bear.

    For the Middle-Sized Bear is a creature so rare
    He knows you don't love him, but he doesn't care
    And you think you could trust him, if only you'd dare
    Have a talk with the Middle-sized Bear.

    For the Middle-Sized Bear is a creature so rare
    I'd say I don't love him, but he wouldn't care
    And I think I can trust him, if only I dare
    Have a talk with the Middle-sized Bear.

The last repeat of the refrain may want to be modified or left off altogether depending on who's singing it. YMMV.

The Middle-Sized Bear is a character out of science fiction: the section ``Conversation With the Middle-Sized Bear'' in Cordwainer Smith's novella, Mark Elf. For several years I've used it to refer to the aspect of my personality that is, so people have told me, comforting to talk to and be around.

This song is very much a composite; the first verse is almost entirely out of Cordwainer Smith; the last two are more about the women in my life who have encountered the Middle-Sized Bear over the last year. The last refrain is mainly for anyone who may encounter him in the future.

Comments

[brmj.livejournal.com]

I think I caught an omitted word. "A song on the wire coming out thin air." is probably intended to be "A song on the wire coming out of thin air."

[mdlbear]

Thanks!

[rowanf.livejournal.com]

Wow. just. Wow.

[mdlbear]

*bemused silly grin* I rarely know whether a song is any good when I write it.

Thanks!

[septemberlilac.livejournal.com]

Absolutely lovely.

[mdlbear]

Thanks.

[mbumby.livejournal.com]

Very nice!

[mdlbear]

Thanks. There's audio at http://mdlbear.livejournal.com/951271.html -- the tune is still pretty approximate, but it gives you the general idea.

[mbumby.livejournal.com]

Cool. Thanks.