The Mudcat Café TM
Thread #10276   Message #70434
Posted By: Susan A-R
12-Apr-99 - 11:35 PM
Thread Name: Songs about disability
Subject: Lyr Add: WHITE CANE SONG
Fred Small's "Talking Wheelchair Blues" is quite good. I also wrote a "White Cane song" to the tune of Erin Go Bragh (sp) which I've heard sung by Dick Goughan. (also sp?)

My Name's Susan Reid and I use a white cane
I'm legally blind, a hard term to explain
I got that white cane when I moved to "Bean Town"
To make drivers think twice before running me down

Now I've always been blunt about not seeing well
And, until they are told, I find most folks can't tell.
Ah but now with the cane, I'm amazed at the change
As I watch people scatter to get out of range

I get dragged across streets and pulled up subway stairs
I get useful directions, like "It's over there."
I get shut out of crowds like I'm some kind of ghost
I get steered by brute force around planters and posts

When I know where I'm going folks act so surprised
I try not to blurt out something too ill-advised
Like "there's more to most brains than occipital lobes"
Or "I must have forgotten my old beggar's robes

My name's Susan Reid and I use a white cane
And I find quite a few misconceptions remain
People look at that cane, and it's all that they see
Use your eyes! Behind all that white metal is me.