Michael wrote this song a while back to chronicle the real-life events of finding the dreaded animal under his family's porch in Auburn, Maine. As a boy from the outskirts of Chicago, Michael turned to songwriting to process the traumatic event, and this humorous ditty was the outcome. Mainers and New Englanders alike will especially appreciate its text, though it may help to read along with the lyrics!
lyrics
one night last winter i woke from my bed, away away away
it smelled like a musk gland had broke o’er my head, away away away
the tracks left outside proved my fears were correct, away away away
a skunk had decided to live ‘neath our deck, away away away
chorus:
sing ho! sing ho for the skunk, that wide-body champion of smell
sing ho! sing ho for the skunk, his tail is a tale to tell - oh my
his tale is a tail to tell.
the next forty nights were a smelly affair, away away away
our clothes caught the odor and made strangers stare, away away away
we’d open our house though the furnace was on, away away away
which made no one happy except for exxon, away away away
chorus
the trap was a steel-wrought Have-a-Heart, ‘twas baited with PB&J
it took three nights for him to bite and bring himself to bay
with blanket in hand i walked up and there - he met me with buttocks exposed
oh skunk vs man, was never the plan, for a test of my testosterone
with one motion true i threw blanket in place, away away away
i picked up the cage with his butt near my face, away away away
i drove him to buckfield and let him go free, away away away
this summer i’m fencing my deck three feet deep, away away away
chorus
credits
from Kinship,
released October 11, 2019
music and lyrics by Michael Hayashida
Dennis Boyd - vocals
Julia Edwards - vocals
Michael Hayashida - lead vocals
Erin Sampson - vocals
recorded, mixed, and mastered by Jud Caswell
produced by Jud Caswell and Bold Riley
recorded at Frog Hollow Studios in Brunswick, ME
Bold Riley started as a simple music project among friends in a barn in Norway, Maine and quickly gained momentum thanks to
the group’s unbridled enthusiasm and commitment to bringing joyful acoustic folk music to the greater community. All members take turns singing lead, and songs range from classic protest folk favorites to unlikely covers to rousing originals....more
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