Complete the Tales. 23 before 4 on WMAL with Trumbull and Core and our special
guest today has dropped by to say hi, Christine Lavin. Christine Lavin, you've
heard us play her records here on WMAL. She is a folk satirist. Folk satirist, I
guess that way. Do you have a word for what you do? I'm a Cosmo girl. A Cosmo
girl, yes, she's that Cosmo girl. And she's going to be out at the Barnes at
Wolf Trap tonight for one show only. But yeah, 8 o'clock tonight out there.
Yeah, with Bill Morrison. And I understand you've written a song especially for
Washington. Now this is not, we're not pulling anybody's leg. Christine wrote
this yesterday. She has never sung it. Mm-hmm. And this is going to be the very
first time. Are you going to sing it tonight or does it depend on how it goes
now? Yeah, this is gonna be the dress rehearsal. I wrote this on the subway in New York
yesterday. Is it bouncy or is your handwriting kind of steady on the subway? I typed it
afterwards so I could read it. So now I don't know. You weren't being mugged at the time or
anything? Oh, no, no. When you write songs on the subway people move away from you. Yes,
they do. Particularly you have the guitar there and everything, right? Yeah. All right, so for the
very first time it's called... I can't say what it's called. You can't say. That's a good
title. Mystery Song.
President Reagan, are you out there? If you are, listen to my plea.
You chose Senator Garns. You chose a schoolteacher. Won't you please consider me?
I want to be the first folk singer on the space shuttle. Wanna zoom into the blue.
I'll write songs about what it's like in outer space. Inspired by the whizzing by
of the human race. I'll sing eight miles high, ten miles up. Write songs about coffee
floating out of its cup. I'm Mr. President. The space shuttle is my aim. Here's my
resume. Remember my name. Oh, the president, he's not out there. Boulder Dash, Poppycock,
she wins. But maybe the vice president, what's his name? Maybe George Bush is. Unless he's
at a funeral of some head of state. Or bowling with a diplomat from Kuwait. But Mr. Vice
President, if you're out there, can't you just picture me in the stratosphere? I want
to be the first folk singer on the space shuttle. Wanna zoom off into the sky. I'll write songs
about the fruit fly that got away. I'll write songs about the satellite that got away. I'll
write songs about fringes that fly through the air. About women, astronauts, uncontrollable
hair. Oh, Mr. Bush, the space shuttle is my aim. Here's my resume. Please remember my
name. Oh, he's not listening either? Well, if the president's not listening, vice president's
not listening. Okay. Alexander Haig, are you out there? Oh, I forgot. You're not the next
in line. Well, maybe someone here knows some top brass who can get me into astronaut training
class. I'll study real hard. I'll stay after school discussing quantum theory, zero gravity
rules. Oh, come on, people, take a look at this space. It belongs to someone who belongs
in space. I want to be the first folk singer on the space shuttle. Ain't Tom Paxton gonna be mad?
I'll sing Ramblin' Boy a million miles an hour, play an electric guitar fueled with
solar power. You can do experiments on my brain. If they don't come out the first time, you can
do them again. Ah, because the space shuttle is my aim. Here's my resume. Remember my name.
Once you get the alliteration down. Yes. You wrote in some tongue twisters, Joan Paul.
All right, you got the big names in there, Alexander Haig and all, all the big names.
Do you think maybe this will help me get on the space shuttle? Do you think they're listening?
I think you're in. Oh, Ron listens. Oh, Ron listens. Oh, yeah. Yeah, he's during his nap.
He's got the earphones on. Here's the a.m. walk, man. Good luck, Christine. Thank you.