Mountain Greenery

Whenever I drive through a canopy of emerald green trees, I think of this song and try to sing it, much to my companions' distress. When I drove down our lane a few days ago, my breath was taken away by the springtime green surrounding me. When I checked the lyrics out on the Internet last night, I was surprised to see it had been written in 1926! By Lorenz Hart and Richard Rodgers, the great Broadway show musical team. (But they sure labored to find rhymes for this one. I also enjoyed the slang they used!) Another surprise is how often, and how recently, it has been recorded as jazz, both vocal and instrumental.

"On the first of May

it's moving day;

Spring is here, so blow your job--

throw your job away.

Now the time to trust

to your wanderlust.

In the city's dust you wait,

Must you wait?

Just you wait;

In a mountain greenery

Where God paints the scenery,

Just two crazy people together.

While you love your lover, let

blue skies be your coverlet.

When it rains, we laugh at the weather.

And if you're good

I'll search for wood

so you can cook

while I stand looking.

Beans could get no keener reception

in a beanery.

Bless our mountain greenery home.

In a mountain greenery

Where God paints the scenery,

Just two crazy people together,

How we love sequestering,

Where no pests are pestering,

No man holds us together.

Mosquitoes here

Won't bite you, dear,

I'll let them sting

Me on my finger.

We could find no cleaner retreat

From life's machinery

Than our mountain greenery home.