It was "in or around 1999" according to LGRE (click here to see what I'm talking about!)
With apologies to any Don McLean fans...
A long long time ago
I can still remember how that murrelet used to make me smile
And if I said I’d been to Hoy
Then I could claim I’d seen ‘the boy’
And maybe I’d be happy for a while
But February brought no year ticks
My Vectra went through fourteen gear sticks
Bad news on the pager
The bustard’s gone, I’ll wager
I can't remember if I cried
When I heard about the crowded hide
But something touched me deep inside
The day the birding died
So, bye-bye, missed Acadian Fly
Drove at least ten million miles
With no word of a lie
And them good old boys were tickin’ Whiskered at Cley
Singin' this’ll be the day that I die
This’ll be the day that I die
Did you write BWP
And can you tell a Western from a Semi-P
If Lars Jonsson shows you how
Do you believe I saw that swift
I’m off to Cornwall, do you want a lift
And can you teach me how to age a crow
Well, I know that I’ve seen more than you
'Cause I’m always first in every queue
You can kick that off your list
Man, I saw all the ones that you missed
I was a lonely, teenage twitchin' fool
With my suit and loafers, I was pretty cool
As I scoped that cuckoo at the pool
The day the birding died
I started singin'
Bye, bye etc
I met a guy who’d seen a rare
And I asked him if he’d tell me where
But he just smiled and turned away
I went down to the optics store
Where I'd bought my Leicas years before
But the man there said the insurance wouldn't pay
And on the down called Wingletang
A plover called, then someone rang
But not a word was spoken
My mobile phone was broken
And the birders who admire me most
Svensson and Heard (that’s not a boast)
They claimed a Steller’s off the coast
The day the birding died
But they were stringin'
Bye-bye, missed Acadian Fly
Drove at least ten million miles
With only one eye
And them good old boys were tickin’ Whiskered at Cley
Singin' this'll be the day that I die
This'll be the day that I die
8 comments:
Fucking classic. I'm writing this in floods of tears. Trying to sing it to Leigh but I can only do a few lines before I break down in fits of laughter.
Fabulous Andy... the Llamas really are alive and kicking.
PS, Leigh was howling too...
Andy.....you little lyricist you..[nice]...!
'Our' Mr.E must be in a 'things ain't wot they used to be' phase....
Being a similar descendant of 'those days'...[tho not related]...i sometimes share his sentiments..and when i do...i hit myself round the back of me head with a shovel....
As someone very wise once said...the trouble with 'history' is that itz just one fuckin thing after another...
Having read grevans 'lament', the one thing that REALLY disturbed me, after mentioning those iconic' birding characters....was that he claims to have 'badgered them relentlessly'....is that strictly legal?
Andy you are a lyrical genius. My eyes have filled with tears.
Classic
Absolutely fucking hysterical.
I doff my cap.
Top drawer Andy, top drawer.....
I havent laughed this much for ages Andy. It took me ageas to read cos of the tears! Thanks!
Andy I can't remember why I never left a comment on this but I should have done ( I did link to it) as for this alone you deserve a lifetime achievment award.
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