Kith 'n Kin
By Jan Harmon
words and music © 1988
1. A lady came up to me, and she chucked me on the cheek.
She patted me upon the head .. and then began to shriek.
"You cutie little sweety thing! You look just like your Pa does!
You have his chin, his nose, his yen for chicken enchiladas.
2. You have your momma's eyes and long eyelashes. And I'm tellin'
you .. you're the image of your father's cousin's Great Aunt Helen.
You can wiggle your ears exactly like your uncle's uncle's pop did.
He acquired the skill from his uncle's uncle Bill, who was adopted.
3. And from your mother's nephew Jeff's grandfather's uncle Larry,
you got your double jointed thumb, and from your cousin Kerrie's kin in
Kennebunk you got their chucky uncle's sweet tooth, he's such a glutton.
I see you got your skinny cousin Vinnie's "inny" belly button.
4. You have your twin aunt's sister's hair which she got from her mother.
Which came from her paternal uncle's father's other brother.
Which he inherited from a distant cousin of Clyde Beatty's niece's
aunty Edna's daughter's Avon lady.
5. Oh, you're such a darling little bag of borrowed bones and skins ..
it's hard to tell where some of them ends, and some of you begins!
You even got that powerful urge to ride upon a llama ..
from your mama's mama's mama's mama's mama's mama's mama!"
6. Well .. I said to her, "Hey, lady .. what you say is true. And, lordy!
You'll find bits and parts of me that date back to the soup primordial!
It's true .. I came from them and them and them and them in line.
But .. when you chuck THIS child's cheek .. that cheek you chuck .. is MINE!"
7. So . all you cheeky cheek chuckers that chuck a cheek or chin ..
or harass the hair upon the head .. and speak of kith or kin.
Remember .. as a tot you thought to tear from limb to limb
that grinning shrew, who said that you, looked just like HER or HIM.