Ode to Winter

This is NOT part of the "Christmas song-a-day" routine I have going!
I sang this at our church talent show yesterday, and it went over fairly well, us being northerners and all. Besides, at 77 degress today, with our windows all open and short sleeves on, we actually do miss winter!

We've suffered through three months of summer
Endured it without a complaint,
Though we are true Minnesotans
And at 80 degrees we feel faint.
But now that the leaves are falling
Our spirits are on the rebound
Now we wait for that day in November
When we wake up to snow on the ground.

On that morning we'll put on our parkas
And enjoy that first winter day,
The tree limbs tstark and dramatic
The sky a cold dark gray.
The wind picks up and we smile,
We laugh at the hard freezing rain.
For we are northern people
And we're happier when we're in pain.

Some people complain about winter,
The fancy and the effete,
The people who play New Age music
The people who cook with mesquite.
The people who use the word "network"
And I know that it's not nice to say
But that is the beauty of winter
It keeps all those people away.

In summer you get the illusion
That life must be gentle and warm,
But wisdom comes to us in winter
When we have to stay home in the storm.
When the blizzard comes out of the northwest
You cannot do as you would do.
So winter is when nature teaches
That the world is not here to please you.

And so we look forward to winter,
And setting some new record lows.
There's nothing so good for a person
AS the sting of cold air in your nose.
We enjoy the long hours of darkness,
We enjoy being blasted and chilled.
The wonderful thing about suffering is:
It helps to relieve our guilt.

We're hardy midswestern people,
Not meant for the comfortable life.
We're bred to be stubborn and sturdy
And threive on sturggle and strife.
We're happy with forostbitten faces,
With ice frozen to our eyelash,
With stuff running out of our noses,
And freezing on our moustache.

We stand with our long jumper cables
Dressed in our snowmobile suits,
Wearing our scarves and our mittens
And gigantic double-lined boots.
In summer we're selfish and spoiled,
But winter is good for the heart.
No matter how cold it is, neighbor,
We'll come out and give you a start.

We'll come out and give you a start.
We'll come out and give you a start.
No matter how cold it is, neighbor,
We'll come out and give you a start.

Garrison Keillor
Prairie Home Companion