Somebody made off with my favourite toy
That I bought with my government grant
The world situation seems to be taking
A definite turn for the worse
Somebody put me in reverse
What fence would hold my pride and joy
Unless he was a man-eating plant
That mother is asking to wind up basking
In fame in the back of a hearse
Somebody made my bubble burst
Call in the guard, he's out in the yard
been lax in his duties for real
Take him to task for being so crass
As to let someone in who would steal
Great thrills are in store for us all
While the world is on such a slant
Though he's a bit funky
The girls love his trunk
He's a hit without deodorant
But somebody stole my elephant
If you should meet him please give me a call
The number is inscribed on the bathroom wall
You're bound to see him
At the beach or the be-in
Even though some people can't
Get used to believing in elephants
Call in the guard
He's out in the yard
He bungled this job up for sure
He blew it in style
But he's just a child
We'll send him away for the cure
And we'll all go away for a cure
Editors Note: - This is an unreleased song that was performed live in the
1960's. It was mentioned in an article in The Music Scene, July-August 1970, by Lee Lewis. - Submitted by Rob Caldwell.
19 September 2003 -
These two recordings [Totem Pole] may be the earliest known live recordings from a then very young Bruce Cockburn. They were recorded at the Bitter Grounds Coffee House
in Kingston Ontario on January 23, 1970. Bruce's first album simply titled Bruce Cockburn had been recorded but not yet released. It was to come out a few months later in April of that same year.
Bruce was already doing many of the songs which were to appear on 'High Winds White Sky', his second LP,
during his live shows. An also very young aspiring recording engineer
Doug McClement approached Bruce with the idea of recording his show. Doug was
still in high school at the time. Bruce said yes. The recording was done
directly to a cassette player using just one microphone. Although the
recording is very rudimentary it captures Bruce at the very beginning of his solo
career and shows the beginning of his now legendary style.
These two songs had been thought to be lost but when Doug heard we were doing a series of
reissues he went back to his archives and discovered this tape. Both of
these songs were originally considered for 'High Winds White Sky' but were never
recorded during the sessions.
Oh yes, Doug McClement and his company LiveWire Remote Recorders has gone on to be one of North Americašs leading remote recording engineers. His work can be heard on live or remote recordings by
many artists including Leonard Cohen, Steve Earle, Oscar Peterson, Blue Rodeo
and Stevie Ray Vaughan. ~~Bernie Finkelstein
6 September 2003 - This song is to be included on the 2003 remastered version of High Winds White Sky.
Known comments by Bruce Cockburn about this song, by date:
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This page is part of The Cockburn Project, a unique website that exists to document the work of Canadian singer-songwriter and musician Bruce Cockburn. The Project archives self-commentary by Cockburn on his songs and music, and supplements this core part of the website with news, tour dates, and other current information.
