Braving Deep Snow at the University of Chicago (1976)

Sung to “Tradition!” from Fiddler on the Roof (1957)

This short song was never performed; I wrote it for my amusement.

First, “Tradition!” from the 1971 Hollywood film.

Braving Deep Snow at the University of Chicago

I cannot find my way,

My bearings have been lost,

For everywhere I stray,

The street signs gleam with frost.

This winter wonderland

May look like Paradise,

But soon this crystal sand

Is welcome as cakes of ice.

How can I locate Ryerson* or Harper** (*Ryerson Hall) (*Harper library)

When ev’rywhere I walk, Sir,

I feel I need a plow?

If someone can show me a passageway to freedom,

I think I’m gonna need ’im now.

I’ve spotted Regenstein* (*the massive concrete library),

A monolithic beast,

All blanketed in snow,

Its ugliness increased.

Perhaps I’ll fight my way

To its protective walls,

And there I’ll pass my day

Till snow no longer falls.

Oh, what is the use of trekking to my class if

Rockefeller’s* glass is buried under snow? (*Rockefeller Chapel, a tower)

If worse comes to worst, I’ll hibernate till springtime,

I cannot in the meantime go.