Some People Think Birds Taught Us Music
By
John I. Blair
Some people think birds taught us music,
A nice story that makes sense;
After all, birds were singing
Long before primates swung around.
But when did you ever see
A monkey or a chimpanzee
Hunker down and listen by the hour
To a bird warbling in a tree?
Of all the apes I know
Only gibbons, siamangs and howlers
Make a serious show of sound;
But their din doesn’t qualify as art.
I would rather believe we humans
Make our music on our own,
A random evolutionary quirk
That doesn’t take much work.
If we try to imitate the birds
It’s just a shortcut to our goal,
Which is to let the music part
Inside our brain speak out.
I do know this without a doubt:
If you are a singer in your heart
You will find a song to sing
Even if you’ve never heard a bird.
©2003 John I. Blair
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