Chapter one, tale of Otter and Bear
An unlikely pair with hearts suspended in the air
Him just a cub, she just a toddler little otter in the water
Where he came to fish for dinner one day
Otter said, "Come and swim!" but bear replied,
"My Pah won't let me in past my paws"
And just as bear almost ran away
Otter climbed on land, and took his hand, and said
"This is what children do, this is what babies do
This is what giraffes do, they hide in love
This is what spiders do, this is what stingrays do
This is what raccoons do, they find in love, they try in love"
Chapter two, Bear and Otter, few years older
Found a spacious place up stream together
Trading weeks between land and sea
It's heavenly
And Bear hunts nine to five
While Otter finishes her degree
And they smile over dinners of sea bass and dream of
Moving to Alaska
And Bear spends too much on honey
And Otter drowns in her studies
But when the day is done
They have their fun, on and on
This is what couples do, this is what creatures do
This is what giraffes do, they hide in love
This is what plankton do, komodo dragons too
This is what baboons do, they find in love, they try in love
Chapter three, accidentally a pregnancy too soon
Baby is due in June
There's no room
Winter looms a scared, unprepared
Bear and Otter wait for someone
To tell them what to do
Do
Do
Bear picks up night shifts
A rift begins to sift
And Otter dreams
In black and white
When Bears son arrives
He has Bear's brown hair
And Otter's little eyes
They cry
Is this what grown ups do, is this what parents do
Is this what adults do
Trade time
For love
Is this what grown ups do, is this what parents do
Is this what giraffes do
Trade time for love
Trade time for love
Chapter four, Bear and Otter
Well past eighty-four
Their kid moved to Alaska, don't ask-uh
It's a sore subject
Bear retired
Bear's pancreas expire
Otter bathes him in the river
And holds him through the night
She says "Remember when we met?"
He said "How can I forget?
We rolled a pair of dice
And built our own paradise
Life didn't go
Like we tried
But it was worth it by your side"
And then he died
This is what hippos do, this is what oysters do
This is what dinosaurs did, they hid in love
This is what grown ups do, this is what babies do
This is what giraffes do, they find in love
Love
This is what people do, what else can people do?
I wanna live beside you and die
In love