Harry Lime

THE SLOTH
Words and Music by Michael Flanders

A Bradypus or sloth am I.
I live a life of ease.
Contented not to do or die,
But idle, as I please.
I have three toes on either foot,
Or half a doz' on both.
With leaves and fruit and shoots to eat,
How sweet to be a sloth!

The world is such a cheerful place
When viewed from upside down,
It makes a rise of every fall,
A smile of every frown.
I watch the fleeting flutter by
Of butterfly or moth,
And think of all the things I’d try
If I were not a sloth.

I could climb the very highest Himalayas,
Be among the greatest ever tennis players,
Win at chess, or marry a princess, or
Study hard and be an eminent professor.
I could be a millionaire,
Play the clarinet, travel everywhere,
Learn to cook, catch a crook
Win a war then write a book about it;
I could paint a Mona Lisa.
I could be another Caesar,
Compose an oratorio that was sublime.
The door's not shut on my genius,
But I just don't have the time.

For days and days among the trees,
I sleep and dream and doze,
Just gently swaying in the breeze,
Suspended by my toes.
While eager beavers overhead
Rush through the undergrowth,
I watch the clouds beneath my feet.
How sweet to be a sloth!