Lyrical Lockdown

During the final two weeks of term, the pupils were set various challenges, whether still at home or school, one of which was to create a song about life in lockdown. They could either do this from scratch or alter the words of a well known song.

As someone who often changes the lyrics in songs (not always intentionally), I wanted to have my own stab at this. And as I’m not very musical (more on that later), this was the easier option.

But which to choose as a starting point? I thought about ‘Trapped in a Box’ by No Doubt as an ode to cabin fever and the chorus of ‘Don’t Stand So Close To Me‘ by The Police will be a mantra for a long, long time! (Clearly the rest of the song is not appropriate subject matter for someone in education though…)

In the end, I settled on these lyrics, to the classic tune of ‘I Will Survive‘. And in case you can’t hear how these would fit, I’ve helpfully supplied you with a video. Unfortunately, I didn’t manage to scoop Gloria Gaynor for the remix, it’s myself.

Full disclosure: my vocal talents are inversely proportionate to hers and my editing skills decrease at a similar rate. So, out of tune, out of sync!

Enjoy! Maybe it’ll be a summer banger. If only I had TikTok…

I’LL STAY INSIDE
(A personal reflection on a pandemic)

First I was afraid,
I couldn’t go outside.
Kept wondering how could I ever live,
With germs all by my side?

And I spent oh so many nights,
Just wondering how to keep things clean,
From this brand new virus,
Called Covid 19!

So I bought gloves,
And lots of bleach,
But I didn’t buy my toilet roll,
It was all sold out for weeks!

I had soap and sanitiser,
Washed my hands whilst singing songs.
And the queues at supermarkets,
Went on and on and on.

Work closed,
What should I do?
I know, I’ll play a lot on Xbox,
Watch some Netflix and Youtube.

That got boring really quickly,
I had to have fresh air.
So some socially distanced exercise,
I always missed that Clap for Care..ers!

I read books,
I built a pond.
I baked a lot of cakes (and ate a lot),
But my sourdough went all wrong.

I bought a telescope to see,
The moon and far beyond.
I even tried some ballet,
But my knees didn’t last too long!

Musical interlude…

They said, “Protect the NHS”,
Don’t let it fall apart.
So we all stayed home,
To save lives and paint rainbow art.

Then they flattened down the curve,
Told us just to ‘Stay Alert’.
But how? No-one knew,
So they started not to care.

And now they’re back,
The lockdown’s through.
But I won’t be rushing to the beach,
Or down the pub with you.

Those of us still cautious,
Won’t feel sorry for ourselves.
We know, despite what Boris says,
It’s better for our health.

So, no not I,
I’ll stay inside,
For as long as I can whilst I know,
That Covid’s still alive.

If I must be nearer people,
I’ll be sure to wear a mask.
Please don’t be a Cov-idiot,
It’s the least we can ask…

To SURVIVE!

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CREDITS: Lyrics, poor vocals and badly edited video by myself!

Original music by Freddie Perrin and Dino Fekaris.

No Doubt video via Youtube.