Friday, May 16, 2008

"I'm an Elder"


Recently I was reminded of a tongue-in-cheek song I wrote in 1979-80 while I was a missionary in Chile, titled "I'm an Elder." It's sung to the tune of the Spencer Davis Group's "I'm a Man," a great live version of which (from Finnish TV in 1967) can be viewed in the following Youtube embed. (The photo at left shows the Spencer Davis Group, featuring Steve Winwood, as it existed in the era of "I'm a Man" and "Gimme Some Lovin'," before Winwood left to form Traffic.)


The words reveal a measure of irreverence on my part -- I've never been one to bow down before sacred cows. In contrast, it seems like LDS church members with any kind of sense of humor are becoming a scarce commodity (especially in our ward), so it's doubtful that many of them would appreciate the irony in my lyrics. Nonetheless, I think most people who have served LDS missions can identify with my attempt at making wry observations about mission life, even if they cluck their tongues at me personally.

I'm an Elder

Well, I'm out here on my mission--
No better place to be,
If I could get my mind off
All the snakey chicks we see.
My comp is pretty silent--
Doesn't say too much to me--
But I will say one thing for the dude:
He loves to watch TV.

(Refrain)
I'm an elder, I am, and I got to put up with it.
I'm an elder, I am, and I got to put up with it.

Well, I got to keep on knockin',
'Cause we ain't got no families.
Diarrhea's got me trottin',
And I got a million fleas.
The water heater's busted,
And I'm just about to freeze.
I'll eat those fresh strawberries,
Just don't feed me no beans, please.

(Refrain.)

Well, the prez and the assistants
Are gettin' down on my case;
They think my attitude is rotten,
And my character is base.
I don't know what I did
To become such a big disgrace.
All my dreams aren't what they seemed--
It's all a big rat race.

(Refrain.)

Well, I've finally seen the light,
As you can probably tell.
I didn't think I heard right
When they told me I'm ZL.
I wasn't quite so blind
Not to see eternity,
But I blew my mind just trying to find
The spiritual side of me.

(Refrain.)