I got tired of hearing the song some time ago (hmmm... we still lived in Virginia, and we moved here to Maryland in 1990, so it's ten years at least), so one day I was working around the house and came up with this:

My Uncle Walter's not right in the head;
He's been that way all his life, my Momma said.
It's not that he's violent, or falls down the stairs,
It's just he goes waltzing, waltzing with bears.


I makes a good first verse, functioning as an intro. And it lets you sneak up on folk who dislike the original, 'cause they won't be sure it's "WWB" you're starting until the second verse.

Bob Clayton