APHC: Saturday, October 12, 1996

A Hymn to Winter
Saturday, October 12, 1996

GK: We've suffered through three months of summer
Endured it without a complaint,
Though we are true Minnesotans
And at 80 degrees we feel faint.
But now that the leaves are falling
Our spirits are on the rebound
Now we wait for that day in November
When we wake up to snow on the ground.

CHORUS: We wake to snow on the ground
We wake up to snow on the ground
Now we wait for that day in November
When we wake up to snow on the ground.

On that morning we'll put on our parkas
And enjoy that first winter day,
The tree limbs stark and dramatic
The sky a cold dark gray.
The wind picks up and we smile,
We laugh at the hard freezing rain.
For we are northern people
And we're happier when we're in pain.

We're happier when we're in pain,
We're happier when we're in pain,
For we are a northern people
And we're happier when we're in pain.

INSTRUMENTAL

GK: Some people complain about winter,
The fancy and the effete,
The people who play New Age music
The people who cook with mesquite.
The people use the word "network"
And I know that it's not nice to say
But that is the beauty of winter
It keeps all those people away.

CHORUS: It keeps all those people away
It keeps all those people away
But that is the beauty of winter
It keeps all those people away.

In summer you get the illusion
That life must be gentle and warm,
But wisdom comes to us in winter
When we have to stay home in the storm.
When the blizzard comes out of the northwest,
You cannot do as you would do.
So winter is when nature teaches
That the world is not here to please you.

The world is not here to please you
The world is not here to please you
So winter is when nature teaches
The world is not here to please you.

INSTRUMENTAL

GK: Minnesota has music and drama,
Minnesota has love and romance.
Minnesota is big in computers,
Insurance, health care, and finance.

Wherever your travels may take you,
Wherever your story is told,
When you tell them you're from Minnesota,
They say: Oh yes. That's where it gets cold.

CHORUS: Oh yes, that's where it gets cold
Oh yes, that's where it gets cold
When you tell them you're from Minnesota
They say: Oh yes. That's where it gets cold.

And so we look forward to winter,
And setting some new record lows.
There's nothing so good for a person
As the sting of cold air in your nose.
We enjoy the long hours of darkness,
We enjoy being blasted and chilled.
The wonderful thing about suffering is:
It helps to relieve our guilt.

It helps to relieve our guilt
It helps to relieve our guilt
The wonderful thing about suffering is:
It helps to relieve our guilt.

INSTRUMENTAL

GK: We're hardy midwestern people,
Not meant for the comfortable life.
We're bred to be stubborn and sturdy
And thrive on struggle and strife.
We're happy with frostbitten faces,
With ice frozen to our eyelash,
With stuff running out of our noses,
And freezing on our moustache.

And freezing on our moustache.

We stand with our long jumper cables
Dressed in our snowmobile suits,
Wearing our scarves and our mittens
And gigantic double-lined boots.
In summer we're selfish and spoiled,
But winter is good for the heart.
No matter how cold it is, neighbor,
We'll come out and give you a start.