Toss Off The Bark by Clifton53


The Mudcat Forum	The Mudcat Resource Pages	The Mudcat Midi Page	The Digital Tradition Folk Song Server
Back to The Mudcat Songbook		Back to The Song Challenge Winners!
Anyone is welcome to perform these songs in public without royalties; however, if any of them are recorded or published for profit, the writers/composers expect the usual royalties.

The Song Challenge: Here's a little story that Amos sent in for your 'songifying' enjoyment -- He calls it: "If I Gave Myself To You . . ." COLOMBO (Reuters) - A Sri Lankan man was seriously injured when he jumped naked into a lions' den at the national zoo, apparently offering himself up as a feast for the big cats, officials said Monday. "The man...had written a letter before jumping into the enclosure saying he wanted to give 'alms' to the lions," said Senarath Gunasena, director of the National Zoological Gardens in the Colombo suburb of Dehiwala. The man survived but the three lions in the den bit off parts of his arms, legs, chest and groin area. The incident occurred Sunday when the zoo was full of visitors. The man was rescued by zoo staff and onlookers who beat garbage cans to frighten the lions away and took him to a nearby hospital where he was in intensive care. Sri Lanka's majority Buddhist population believes that giving alms can earn merit for future incarnations.

Toss Off The Bark by Clifton53
(Tune: "'Zoological Gardens")

Thunder and lightnin' is no lark,
when 'yer a lion in a Sri Lankan park,
so if you've got an urgin' to toss off the bark,
Come to the Zoological gardens.

Say a prayer to Buddha above,
and give 'yerself up for alms and love,
there's really no question when push comes to shove,
down in the Zoological gardens.

Me and me mates was layin' about,
when all of a sudden we heard a big shout,
when we looked up there was grub in the grout,
here in the Zoological gardens.

A big slab of flesh came tumblin' down,
I says to me pals 'sure this guys no clown',
the best meal I've had in this Sri Lankan town,
right in the Zoological gardens.

I took a big bite and held with me paws,
I says to meself sure we're breakin' no laws,
and me pals did the same with their powerful jaws,
up in the Zoological gardens.

We had a few bites, just a light snack,
when I heard a loud bangin like thunder crack,
and the shifty 'ol devils they took the meat back,
here in the Zoological gardens.

So if you wish to go beyond the pale,
don't wait 'fer no cyclone, no Sri Lankan gale,
just climb up the ladder and jump o'er the rail,
up in the Zoological gardens.