A kindergarten graduation. The class of 2026 heading into first grade. Time passing. Spring into summer. College graduations of nieces and nephews. Schools ending. Moving to new countries. Marriages. Children. Losses. Gardens growing. Harvest.
I was talking with Tom Pease about our lives as singers/travelers/school artists. I’ve done this work for nearly thirty years, and Tom has done it for even longer. The last few years have not been easy for performers in schools, with dual blows from lack of funding and overemphasis on literacy and assessment, which doesn’t leave much room for anything not testable. I did my last school show of the year yesterday, and I have to say I had a great time. Even with all of the professional development and writing and consulting I do, I still just really enjoy singing with a bunch of kids, getting everyone up and laughing, lightening the feeling, connecting to the teachers, celebrating. Often Tom and I commiserate about getting burned out, generally about April when we’ve done six or seven shows in three days or had a long stretch of residencies, but apart from working too much sometimes, I hope I can keep singing with kids as long as I can hold the guitar and croak out a melody.
A song to celebrate it all.
The World Keeps Spinning Around
Everything is green and growing.
The world keeps spinning around.
Just last week it was snowing.
The world keeps spinning around.
The seasons find their rhythm
Between the sky and ground.
The world keeps spinning, the world keeps spinning
The world keeps spinning around.
If I’m busy and crazy
The world keeps spinning around.
Or if I’m tired and lazy
The world keeps spinning around.
I work like a madman
But I just can’t nail it down.
The world keeps spinning, the world keeps spinning
The world keeps spinning around.
Keeps spinning around like the wheel of fortune
Where fate is never fixed.
You dance and throw your hat in
as the timer ticks.
Whether it’s sunny or raining
The world keeps spinning around.
There ain’t much use in complaining
The world keeps spinning around.
If I’m on top of a mountain
Or six feet under the ground.
The world keeps spinning, the world keeps spinning
The world keeps spinning around.© Stuart Stotts 2014