Malvina Reynolds: Song Lyrics and Poems  

The Desert

Notes: words and music by Malvina Reynolds; copyright 1960 Schroder Music Company, renewed 1988.

I sing of the desert,
The dirt is so clean,
The air is so fair.
The folks are not mean
'Cause there's no people there.

I sing of the desert,
The bushes are brave,
On the hot sandy plain
They root and survive
Without sprinkler or rain.

I sing of the desert,
The snakes and the toads,
They're used to the clime.
If they keep off the roads,
They live a long time.

I sing of the desert,
The nights are so clear,
The air is so still,
You can reach for a star
Whenever you will.

I sing of the desert,
It's ample and wide,
And that's where I'll stay,
And that's where I'll bide,
And that's where I'll hide,
Till the tide of the cities passes away.

Malvina Reynolds songbook(s) in which the music to this song appears:
---- Little Boxes and Other Handmade Songs
---- The Malvina Reynolds Songbook
---- There's Music in the Air: Songs for the Middle-Young

Malvina Reynolds recording(s) on which this song is performed:
---- Malvina Reynolds
---- Malvina Reynolds (2007)

Recordings by other artists on which this song is performed:
---- The Singing Rainbow Youth Ensemble, with Candy Forest, Altazor and Laurie Lewis: Head First and Belly Down (Sisters' Choice SCR-468, 1992)
---- The Singing Rainbow Youth Ensemble, with Candy Forest and Laurie Lewis: Sun, Sun Shine: Songs for Curious Children (Sisters' Choice SCR-470, 2003)