Song of the Semelparous

I can tell a change is coming
Something I’ve been wanting all my life
Finally I feel something new
Crawl out of my sleeping bag
Climb into the light
Rest until my wings are dry
And I will learn to fly
I will learn to fly
I will mate and die
Well I hope I have a thousand children
And I hope that they all grow up perfectly
And I hope that minds will turn to me
And they’ll look back on an ancestor
Whose face they’ll never see
And they’ll say «At last I understand
That you did it all for me
Yeah, you did it all for me
Lived and died so I might be»
I’m gonna cast my seeds upon the water
Let them drift a thousand days
Bless you all my sons and daughters
Fare thee well
Wherever you land
Go and have your own someday
Have your own someday
Have your own someday
Have your own someday