We All Come from Africa first appeared in "Measure the World”, published by Ekstasis Editions (2020)

Lyrics by Karen Shenfeld



“Look to the Southern Cross”
He lay you down then.
That Cape of Good Hope,
A pillow for your head.

North, five thousand miles,
your right heel sunk in
The Delta's branched veins;
your left, west, lost still in

	in the wild Tebesti hills.
	Then down he lay you - 
	the blades of your shoulders
	slicing Richards Bay,

the river's Orange mouth;
the shy backs of your knees
shadowing Nubia and Cameroon
As perhaps you imagined:

the green centre of your self
at the bend of the river,
the great river redefining its course,
pushing along your spine.

	in the wild Tebesti hills.
	Then down he lay you - 
	the blades of your shoulders
	slicing Richards Bay,

The waters run deep 
east west north.
Guided by a nature wanderlust
and a new metaphor.

When they meet it's magic indeed
and no one's there to judge.
We all come from Africa,
we all come from Africa.

	in the wild Tebesti hills.
	Then down he lay you - 
	the blades of your shoulders
	slicing Richards Bay,

The Next Not-So-Great Thing

We All Come from Africa

I don't know much about Katy Perry
Top forty radio is kinda scary
So I never heard a song by Taylor Swift
Should I miss what I missed?

My eyes are good but the TV's hazy
Those reality shows they drive me crazy
And who the heck is Simon Cowell?
Is he the guy I see to buy a vowel?

	I'm a pop culture outcast
	A pop culture outcast

Well there's J Lo Jay Z and L'il John
Sometimes I wonder what planet I'm on
And I don't know and I don't care
About Miley's latest love affair


If I'm listenin' to the radio and they're playin' 
The latest and greatest singin' sensation
I'm as fast as Speedy Gonzales
Fastest in the nation at changing the station

It seems that Mister Warhol was right all along
Except for one thing where he might have been wrong
Cuz I won't give it no I have my limits 
Anywhere near the fifteen minutes

	I'm a pop culture outcast
	A pop pop culture outcast

I guess I'm not up to speed
I don't SnapChat I don't tweet
But if I hear about Kanye one more time
I'm gonna call the police and report a crime

Pop Culture Outcast

Karen Shenfeld, Andy McClelland)
Photo by Karen Shenfeld


From the Brandt’s, it's a meagre strip 
your eye skips over, drawn to Dinky toy trucks
travelling the Five Twenty's stretch 
between The Mag and the One Twenty Four --
a horizon
close enough to touch.

From the Stewart's, in every direction,
there’s but a feeble rise,
above which float folded roofs of sheds, 
their old and weathered frames 
sheltering
raw whispers of ghost

	And beyond, roll the waves,
	a chameleon sea:
	a moment to save
	for a moment in need

From the Gingrich’s,  it's just imagination,
screened behind a curtain fifty feet of spruce and pine.
From our window? Fraser’s silvered barn — 
forgotten Herefords, now stacked with two-by-fours; 
(Once, had we been others, 
in another age, it would’ve been ours.)


timothy, alfalfa,
white and purple clover,
trefoil, crown vetch and dandelions
Queen Anne's lace, hawk weed and daisies
It's a rainbow field
playing the season’s tune;

the forever field rolling up and down 
Into the seam of Jenkin’s creek, 
rolling up and on 
to the line of trees
at the edge of the world
where we would surely fall.

	And beyond, roll the waves,
	a chameleon sea:
	a moment to save
	for a moment in need

Point of View

Are you travelling up stream on the river of time
Or just holding your place in the line
Floating along to see where you go
Are you stuck in the mud and how would you know?​

Down river do you see what's there?
It's the past you have to beware
Of the eddies and flow that trap you in time
And you might be thinking that you're past your prime

	Is there a source a single stream?
	Can it be found even in a dream?
	Up a mountain a hidden spring
	Telling what the future might bring

When the river meets the sea there's a delta of doubt
Sometimes it's mired dried up in drought
The memories may be lost forever
And you wonder is this a worthy endeavour?


You might see magic in the river of time
When the currents align
Everything's quiet not a ripple in sight
And no regrets from the moon and tide

I treasure those moments they go by fast
Time stands still nothing gets past
A minute a second to take it in
Savour the moment without and within

	You might encounter a rainbow bridge
	Side to side ridge to ridge
	Presenting questions questions to ask
	Crossing future present and past 

The river of time can't change direction
Goes by once one connection
No one to blame no one is guilty
The future is not what it used to be


The River of Time

I'm Gonna Go

I'm gonna go
I'm gonna somewhere
Anywhere there's clarity
Anywhere with gravity

Cuz up is down
And down is up
Sideways words like a runaway kite
Where wrongs turn into right

	Gotta get up and go
	Find a new paradigm
	Yesterday today tomorrow
	Any day any time 

It's crazy
And too close to home
I'll go to the land of the penguins
Wear a tuxedo and call myself Edwin


It's hard to keep up
When ya never know what
And the news is running bloopers
In a world of Dunning Krugers

What's up
And what's goin' down
Like a game of football
Being played by clowns

	Gotta get up and go
	Find a new paradigm
	Yesterday today tomorrow
	Any day any time 

I'm gonna go
To a world far away
I'm penguin bound
With no regrets or delay

I 'm Gonna Go

I've been waitin' waiting so long
Waitin' and thinking about that song
That song we sang that song we played
That song when we rode the train

Not a soul on the platform no one is left
The station master went home with no regrets
It's gettin' late later and later
But the waitin' looks good if only on paper

	Maybe you got delayed for some reason
	It happens sometimes depends on the season
	A little rain or a little snow
	Can slow ya right down you won't even know

I'm a little worried that maybe this time
You remembered but you changed your mind
But I'm gonna wait you just wait and see
Got nowhere nowhere else I wanna be

Sos I'm still here all alone
Not even thinkin' of going home
I'll stay where I'm at all night long
I'm just a guy remembering a song

	Maybe you got delayed for some reason
	It happens sometimes depends on the season
	A little rain or a little snow
	Can slow ya right down and you won't even know

Waiting

The Grammar Song


She never ever splits her infinitives
Or use too much of the imperative
And end a sentence with a preposition 
She doesn't like to see that composition

She will use on occasion a double negative
And she doesn't mean it's not relative
She knows her verbs what makes sense
What's past is past now it's future tense

	She likes speaking	
	In a meticulous manner
	Talks like her grand dad
	And she loves her grammar

She likes the king's English you would say
She's mindful with contractions in every way
Doesn't like that texting culture
Chewin' up the language like a ravenous vulture


She knows the difference 'tween there their they're
She'll keep them straight because she cares
Her adjectives have solid syntax
They don't get in the way of the facts

She always careful with her adverbs
The can easily and badly and stupidly leave a mess of words
She's so choosy with a conjunction
And or because that's it's function

	She likes speaking
	In a meticulous manner
	Talks like her grand dad
	And she loves her grammar

She acknowledges a double positive
Cuz such a thing exists
She's the one that sees the light 
When somebody says “yeah right”

The Grammar Song

Horsefeathers

Carmen's Canter

A Magic Whisper

Eyes like stardust
Bright and real
Her smile's a sunrise
One that you feel

With a passion unparalleled 
She lives for tomorrow
Yesterday is long gone
Especially the sorrow

	Wood smoke and incense the air of her life
	Refining the senses where the why is clarified

A voice clear
Steady and true
Whispering magic
For me and you



She sees everywhere
A look pure and straight
She sees all sides 
Leaves nothing to fate

Forever in motion 
Like ripples in a stream
Her world's wide open
To an endless dream

	Wood smoke and incense the air of her life
	Refining the senses where the why is clarified

Moves like moonlight
Gentle and smooth
Calm like a sunset
With nothing to prove

A Magic Whisper

The Christmas Song

Well, there is no guarantee we’ve got to move on carefully.
It’s a question of timing and procedure.

When we remove the masks, are we clear about the facts
That determine just what we have to do here?

You see the thrill for me it just might be the twinkle in your eyes,
But I sit back I start to relax and I come to realize

That I’m wide open to suggestion and upon reflection.
I'm older but still I’m none too wise

	None too wise, none too wise,
	I'm older but still I’m none too wise

Well maybe me and maybe you ought to ponder this thing through
Before we move to the next step, think it over.

Cuz there is no turning back and there may be strings attached
That'll pull ya down til you can't go any lower.

I don’t know what to say none of this was planned.
You walked right in and you sat right down please understand.

That I’m wide open to suggestion and upon reflection
I'm older but still I’m none too wise.

	None too wise, none too wise,
	I'm older but still I’m none too wise.
	I'm older but still I’m none too wise.
	I'm older but still I’m none too wise.


None Too Wise

12 God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen

'Twas The  Night Before Christmas

Tin Pan Alley

Shine on Harvest Moon

I quit smokin' pot
A wise decision it was not
Now I can't sleep at night
And I’ve lost my appetite

Yeah I put down the bong
An experiment gone wrong
I'm crabby all day long
I'm meaner than Genghis Khan

	Oh sweet Mary Jane
	Since you left I'm in pain
	Oh sweet Mary Jane
	Since I said auf Weidersehen

I thinkin' I don't need
My daily dose of weed
Just a little puff
Would surely be enough

	Oh sweet Mary Jane
	Since you left I'm in pain
	Oh sweet Mary Jane
	Since I said auf Weidersehen

Nothing would be sweeter
Than to proffer me a reefer
I just might take you up
And thank you very much

Waiting for Merlot

I Quit Smokin' Pot

With The Irregulars in the hamlet of Commanda, Ontario, Canada

Pictures by Rose Perry-McClelland.

Andy McClelland

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