A Prairie Home Companion: October 4, 2003

The Day is Short (Jump)
Saturday, October 4, 2003
Listen

Way back in my younger days
I pretended I was Hemingway,
And sat up late at night with a jug of wine
Pondering the meaning of
Life and art and love
Cause I thought I had no end of time.
And then I got this little girl
Who came and turned around my world
And now I'm 61 and she is five,
She loves jumping up and down,
Running fast and spinning round,
And she shows me a thing or two about being alive.

The day is short
The night so long
Why do you work so hard to get what you don't even want?

I don't like TV
It's too darn dumb
I just want to take your hand and stand and jump.

She comes in the door
She yells my name
We dance round the floor and play the jumping game.

She loves to sing
Loud and high
She loves jumping toward the bright blue sky

If you have a daughter
Five years old
You know you oughta jump around and not get cold.

Jump for height
Jump for long
Because the day is short and the night is long.