Little Boxes

This is the new song we learned yesterday:

Little boxes on the hillside

Little boxes made of ticky tacky

Little boxes, little boxes, little boxes

All the same.

(I asked, "Are they all the same? The children answered, "No, they're different colors.")

(That's right!) There's a green one . . .

And a pink one . . .

And a blue one . . .

And a yellow one.

And they're all made out of ticky tacky

And they all look just the same.

And the people in their houses

All go to the university . . .

And the all get put in boxes

Little boxes, all the same.

And there's doctors, and lawyers

And business executives

And they're all made out of ticky tacky

And they all look just the same.

(Luna shouted out, "They do all look the same!)

And they all play on the golf course

And drink their martinis dry . . .

And the they all have pretty children

And the children go to school.

Then the children go to summer camp

And then to the university . . .

And they all get put in boxes . . .

And they all come out the same.

And they all go into business

Get married and raise a family . . .

And they all get put in boxes

Little boxes, all the same.

There's a green one . . .

And a pink one . . .

And a blue one . . .

And a yellow one.

And they all are made out of ticky tacky

And they all look just the same.

This is a variation on the song "Little Boxes, written and originally recorded by Malvina Reynolds (although I learned it through Pete Seeger) and I promise I had no idea that it had been made into the theme song for the TV program Weeds when I decided I wanted to sing it with the children. I've never seen the show, but apparently most of the parents in our school have.

I don't expect the kids to understand the underlying message of this song, but I do intend to sing it for the next few weeks. My hope is that it will click someday for them when they find themselves confronted in their lives with little boxes, all the same.

We then went outside with our glue-paint (mostly glue with a little paint added) and made damn sure our own little boxes were not the same.

-->