Lyrics William And His Mother Visit The Museum - Richard Dawson

William And His Mother Visit The Museum

I had a wonderful day today
I haven’t smiled so much in years
Every day has been a struggle
Since our little boy was
Born acutely blind with only
A very faint doorway of colour
Open him up to the world
We hopped on the tram up to Fawcett Street
And stopped for a haircut before
We passed through the gates of the big museum
And wandered up through the door
Oh, William, William, what can you see?
Mother, mother — I can see
Your hankerchief is wet with spit
Dappling at my cheek
The manager he bid us welcome
And patted each child on the head
And said to us this exhibition is the first of its kind in the country
He led us through a hallway
Into a foisty room
Boasting a dazzling array of
Animals, fishes and birds
The leathery nub of a badger’s snout
The papery wing of a stork
The spiralling tail of a pot-bellied pig
And the mane of a poor old horse
Oh, William, William, what can you see?
Mother, mother — I can see
A tawny owl perched in a tree
Talons around my finger
The rippling shell of a giant clam
A statue of the sea
The loggerhead turtle’s scaly feet
A minature cobbled street
A horny beetle, covered in spikes and barbs
Like holding the fossil of a fallen star
A corkscrew of tangled fur upon
The leg of a great polar bear
The notches and nodules on the crocodile’s forehead
Were more than the kids could bear
Oh, William, William, what can you see?
Mother, mother — I can see
A walrus dozing on the ice
Next to a frozen magpie
The ribs of a human skeleton
They rattle like our garden gate
Working the jawbone
And gnashing the teeth
He didn’t have too much to say
I can hardly believe that he was
Once a person, walking around on the street
On the way home we got ice-cream
Covered in monkey blood sauce
And taking the long way through the park
We slopped half of it down our clothes
Mother, mother, what can you see?
William, William, I can see the first few drops of rain in the air
Sparkling like diamonds
We had a wonderful day today
We had a wonderful day