Heidi
Liner notes
I noticed that almost all of the heroic women were having a pretty traumatic time, and I wanted to write a song about someone having an excellent day. I am a big fan of libraries, and wanted to populate one with interesting people. This had a really compelling rhythm and tune from the get-go and I could probably have written half a dozen more verses. Alternative answers to the children's question included that she'd been turned into a mermaid, had lost a fight with a volcano, and that she was a conjurer's assistant. There was also a crocodile, but the porpoise scanned better.Heidi spends her Friday volunteering at the library
Excited that she's finally allowed behind the scenes
They print her out a picture card and hang it on her lanyard
They run her through the fire drill and show her the machines
Cutting through non-fiction, she notices a visitor
A heavy metal guru looking angry and confused
He says he wants to learn a song from Hamilton the musical
But doesn't understand the dots and squiggles that they use
She finds a friendly guide to music theory and notation
And demands to see the concert once he's given it a read
There was nothing in the briefing about flirting with the visitors
But visitors are human and some days it's what they need
There's a lady looking blankly at the books about bereavement
Heidi coughs discreetly and she asks her if she'd mind
Helping her with shelving, especially the high ones
They joke about the library that Heidi would design
Heidi lets her know that she knows roughly how she's feeling
That the therapy and talking groups leave little time to grieve
Nothing in the briefing said she mustn't hug the visitors
The visitors are human and some days it's what they need
Children's section storytime, she's reading to the circle
She loves to do the voices and to make the children gasp
Heidi builds a story out of lego bricks and laughter
And the children ask a question that the parents daren't ask
She patiently explains she was half-eaten by a porpoise
That piracy is perilous, no treasure's guaranteed
There's nothing in the briefing about frightening the children
The kids are only human and some days it's what they need
Heidi spends her Friday volunteering at the library
She tidies up the crayons and she puts away the beads
She rolls off to the cafe with a satchel full of literature
Heidi's only human and some days it's what she needs.