Folk and Traditional Song Lyrics:
Of Mice and More Mice

Of Mice and ... More Mice

Of Mice and ... More Mice
(John Price)

'Twas on the tenth of August
In nineteen hundred and ninety three
Four hundred mice from China
Decide to find the sea
     They pack their bags and leave their holes
     These stout and fearless mousekin souls
     With chopsticks, rice and tiny bowls
     On the road to freedom.

'Twas on the tenth of August
In nineteen hundred and ninety three
These rodents set out eastward
To try to find the sea
     Without a map to guide their way
     They walk the best part of the day
     And sing to keep their fears at bay
     "We're on the road to freedom"

'Twas on the tenth of August
In nineteen hundred and ninety three
The sun is slowly sinking
A long way from the sea.
     Their little paws are getting sore
     They wonder can they walk some more
     And will they ever reach the shore?
     On the road to freedom.

'Twas on the tenth of August
In nineteen hundred and ninety three
With darkness all around them
These mice can hardly sea (sorry!)
     When down the road there comes a truck
     They leap on board, a bargain's struck,
     They hardly can believe their luck
     They're on the road to freedom.

The eleventh day of August
In nineteen hundred and ninety three
With many hours of travelling
The mice have reached the sea
     They leave the truck and say "Farewell"
     They rush to paddle in the swell
     What happened next is sad to tell
     They couldn't handle freedom.

The eleventh day of August
In nineteen hundred and ninety three
The story was discovered
How these mice went to sea.
     So if you're small and like to sing
     And think the sea's a nifty thing
     Be sure to wear your water wings
     Or you'll lose more than freedom.

note: On August 11, 1993, the People's Republic of China announced that
some 400 mice in northwest China had rushed into the sea and drowned
themselves. Largely as a result of this writer's official complaint
to the Board of Governors of the International Folk Song Writers'
Union and Directorate (IFSWUD), the tragic event has been supremely
immortalized by John Price. It can, he claims, be sung to the tune 'On the
Road to Freedom' - preferably with John Kirkpatrick playing it. JP

JP
oct97