Vanilla Tin Birthday Serenade

Verse

spoken word

Snap-snap on the stairwell, Marta's knees on the floor
Her father's bandaged thumbs pat a rhythm on the door
Flour-sack curtains sway like pennants on a line
He tips powdered eggs from a paper twist, says, "Honey, that'll shine"
He hums a foundry lullaby low in his throat
Stirs condensed milk with a spoon worn smooth from a coat
A single drop of treasure from a metal tin we dug out of the hill
He whispers, "For your nine, my star," and the cellar sits still

Chorus

Scoo-bah, doo-wah, vanilla tin so dear
We clap for the cake that finally appears
Ooh-eee, la-la, in our concrete room
Sing hallelujah to this little bloom

Verse

He pats the batter with a battered tin lid hat
Slides it to an oven that once warmed a radio stat
Marta peeks through a crack and counts the slow-clocked turns
They wait with their teeth for the little miracle that still burns
The bell goes ding and they open with a careful grin
The cake fell flat like the hollow where the tin came in
Marta giggles, points, a bright small cry
"It looks like the crater where we found your vanilla! Oh my!"

Chorus

Scoo-bah, doo-wah, vanilla tin so dear
We clap for the cake that finally appears
Ooh-eee, la-la, in our concrete room
Sing hallelujah to this little bloom

Bridge

falsetto

It ain't the height, it's the story that makes it sweet
A spoonful of wonder, a memory you can eat
He slips a bandage back over a thumb of scar and tin
She sets a paper crown on him and giggles, "You're my king"

Chorus

Scoo-bah, doo-wah, vanilla tin so dear
We clap for the cake that finally appears
Ooh-eee, la-la, in our concrete room
Sing hallelujah to this little bloom