Song #1: “Cars Drive By” : Rosstralia

Like all good dads, I keep a collection of shitty, out-of-tune guitars around for when my muse strikes.

Sometimes Zoe likes to make up songs in the car and work with the lyrics until they are perfect. Tonight she urged me to play along with some of her poetry. The muse had struck, making this the first of our recorded collaborations. She calls this “Cars Drive By” and it confronts gender and color stereotypes while blending autobiographical details with science fiction.

On this track, the discerning listener can hear the influence of Sue Tompkins via Life Without Buildings, though Zoe has said that Tompkins has a “weird” voice, and isn’t even singing at all.

Cars Drive By

Cars drive by
Cars drive by
cars cars cars cars
cars drive by
They fly
airplanes fly
…into space
that would be so weird.

Kids, if you’re watching this
you should be excited
because your car will go in space
tomorrow night, and Friday.
And that might be so cool
because you’re going to go into space
and blow up.
I wonder what that would be like, kids?
Mmmhmmmmhhhhhmmmm

Hey, does your dad and mom like purple?
Well, that could be ok.
Does your brother or mom, or even you?

Papa.
Papa, you talk.
(I like purple)

My dad likes purple and pink
My dad likes pink
Does your dad and mom like pink?

Pink is just a color and purple.

I am a girl and girls can like black and grey
I’m a girl and I like black and grey.
They are my most favorite colors.

Pink can be a boy color
It can’t just be a girl color
nothing is really a girl color
There’s no such thing as a girl color.

Is there a girl side at your school?
Do you sit next to a boy?
If you go to Lum and Miss Hare
You have to go in a pattern:
boy girl
boy girl

I hope you go there
because if you’re watching this
You’re going to be so excited if you go to Miss Hare’s this weekend.
They might be in first grade this week.
We don’t know.

Then we turned off the lights and she sang along to her playlist and breakdanced while I shined the “spotlight” on her.

Dammit: if being a dad isn’t just the best sometimes.