Lyrics: Dave Malloy
Music: Dave Malloy
SADIE
in the game, my specialty was carpentry
my grandpa had been a luthier—
so i modeled the master carpenter on him
(grandfather appears, holding a hurdy-gurdy)
GRANDFATHER
i make mandolins
cellos, dulcimers, and lutes
i can turn a stick
into a stirring alto flute
i can make violas
that sound really purdy
and i can even make
a very special hurdy-gurdy
SADIE
grandpa’s hurdy-gurdy!
this crazy violin-in-a-box—
he kept it in the downstairs closet
underneath some shoes
he only brought it out
when i was feeling kind of blue
and every halloween
he would let me turn the crank
while he and grandma passed out
brand new pennies from the bank
my grandpa instilled in me
a deep respect for wood
GRANDFATHER
remember sadie, we don’t play the instrument
the instrument plays us
we are merely the vessels;
the conduits through which the spirit of the wood chooses to sing
SADIE
sneaking in to grandpa’s shed
just to smell the wood;
running my hand through the sawdust
watching it sift through my fingers
in the sunlight