Tuesday, September 30, 2008

I'm My Own Grandpa

The other day the whole family was gathered around the computer screen watching a video on Lady Rose's blog of a goofy song we had heard on the radio. After we watched it, she pointed out another equally goofy song called "I'm My Own Grandpa". I thought I would share the lyrics with you and then make a few comments. If you want, you can watch that video here.
Oh, many, many years agoWhen I was twenty-threeI was married to a widow
Who was pretty as can be
This widow had a grown-up daughter
Who had hair of red
My father fell in love with her
And soon the two were wed

This made my dad my son-in-law
And changed my very life
For my daughter was my mother
'Cause she was my father's wife
To complicate the matter
Though it really brought me joy
I soon became the father
Of a bouncing baby boy

This little baby then became
A brother-in-law to Dad
And so became my uncle
Though it made me very sad
For if he was my uncle
Then that also made him brother
Of the widow's grown-up daughter
WHo of course is my step-mother

Chorus
I'm my own grandpa
I'm my own grandpa
It sounds funny I know
But it really is so
Oh, I'm my own grandpa

My father's wife then had a son
Who kept them on the run
And he became my grandchild
For he was my daughter's son
My wife is now my mother's mother
And it makes me blue
Because although she is my wife
She's my grandmother too

Now if my wife is my grandmother
Then I'm her grandchild
And every time I think of it
It nearly drives me wild
For now I have become
The strangest case you ever saw
As husband of my grandma
I am my own grandpa

[chorus]


The first thing I did after reading these lyrics was scratch my head and read them again to see if I could follow what the song writer was saying. There is a good exercise in logic here. The teacher in me is going to suggest that you take out a piece of paper and a pencil and map out this family tree. I haven't done it yet, but I'm sure it would look interesting.

Once I thought I had the song figured out, we watched the video and laughed, because there is a good amount of humor here - on the surface. The more I thought about it, though, I realized how sad of a commentary it is on the complications of divorce and remarriage that is running rampant in this country. I have to believe that there are probably many cases just as equally confusing as this one out there in the "real" world. All the more reason to preach to the world about the value in making marriage a covenant and not a contract. Yeah, you guessed it, another plug to go see "Fireproof". Believe me, you won't regret it. Let us continue to pray that our country can once again embrace the true idea of marriage - marriage between a man and a woman and "till death do us part".

God Bless!

4 comments:

  1. But.... the lady is a widow, and I am assuming the fellow-who-is-his-own-grandpa's dad is a widower as well.

    Where does divorce come in?

    ReplyDelete
  2. I remember this song, Laura. The artist came to Wheaton library years ago when the kids were small. Can't wait to see the movie.

    ReplyDelete
  3. Okay, dear daughter. It never occurred to me while I was listening to the song that the father might have been a widow. My first and only thought was that he was divorced. So, I suppose he could have been a widow, however that thought doesn't flow with the rest of my post, therefore, I will go back to my assumption that he is divorced :)

    ReplyDelete