Lady Bird Johnson, 22 December 1912-11 July 2007.
"Every bird must hatch her own egg."
The ladybird sat in the linden tree
Sing rare up hey nonny,
The ladybird sat in the linden tree,
Her lindenchick chirping at her knee.
Ringading-ding, chirrup, chirree,
Sing rare up hey nonny.
The lindenbird sat on her daddy's limb
Sing rare up hey nonny,
The lindenbird sat on her daddy's limb
Ruffling her tail and adoring him,
Ringading-ding, chirrup, chirrim,
Sing rare up hey nonny.
The ladybird's feathers shone with sheen
Sing rare up hey nonny,
The ladybird's feathers shone with sheen;
The lindenbird's feathers were leafy green,
Ringading-ding, chirrup, chirreen,
Sing rare up hey nonny.
Why did the woodpecker frighten her
Sing rare up hey nonny?
Why did the woodpecker frighten her,
That birdchild chirping upon its sire?
Ringading-ding, chirrup chirrur,
Sing rare up hey nonny.
The linden married the ladybird
Sing rare up hey nonny.
The linden married the ladybird —
Their lindenbird was a trifle absurd.
Ringading-ding, chirrup chirrurd,
Sing rare up hey nonny!
Originally published in Sometime the Cow Kick Your Head, edited by Robert Wallace, Cleveland: Bits Press, 1988, p. 131. All rights reserved 1988 by Wesli Court; from The Collected Lyrics of Lewis Turco / Wesli Court 1953-2004, Scottsdale: www.StarCloudPress.com, copyright 2004, Lewis Turco.
