lyrics to 'The Ballad of the Unwanted Guests'

On a clear day on the shores of the Baltic
The immigrants gathered to start a new life.
Anticipation was fizzling the air and
They packed crates and boxes and sealed them up tight.

The crew bellowed shanties, taught kids dirty jokes,
And the women reheated the soup every night.
They all compared their big dreams and bright futures
And on every star they would wish that they might.

Their ship was suddenly tossed in the darkness!
Mothers were crying, the children held close.
Men fought each other and hoarded life jackets,
The captain spat orders and buttoned his coat.

They were waves caused by whales
Who were recklessly waltzing below-
With the swish and sway of their tails
They put on quite an excellent show-
as they sang:

"Come join our dance,
Come and join in our splashing!
We shall sings songs and dance under the stars.
Take off your shoes and your long heavy petticoats,
The water is great and the dance is not hard!"
Lalalalalala

Next thing they knew they were washed up on shore,
They were tattered and hungry and soggy and cold.
They were alone on a small desert island
With dark creepy jungles and horrors untold.

The women made shelters from grounded banana leaves,
Somewhat disheartened, they tried to make due.
The men gathered mangos, plantains, and papayas
to feed hungry families for a day or two.

to their shock, that same day
many monkeys appeared from the trees!
if you’d been there then you might say
“never has there been such thievery!”
What a shame.

“Come join our feast!” called the pilfering monkeys.
“follow us to our grand celebration,
“There at our table we’ll add this small portion
“you’re very welcome to join in the fun!”
Lalalala

Bothered and famished
They crawled to their shelters,
The women sang lullabies
The children dozed off.
The fathers extinguished small fires in the shadows,
Not quite content with thier saltwater broth.

They tossed and they turned
but the whispers around them
Made hair on their necks stand straight up nonetheless-
An uneasy feeling awakened the captain,
Feeling the presence of unwelcome guests...

They were grand pelicans
Swooping down from the ominous skies!
They grabbed men, women and children
Scooping them up to their great surprise!
And they sang:

“We’re off to the sky parade, the king has arrived!
You may ride in our beaks, we will try not to bite.
Our kingdom welcomes you, we will provide for you,
There on that island you’d not have survived.”
Lalalalalalala


(written communally by Steph Plant, Thomas Johnson, Katie Bogdanowicz, and Rachel Brown)