Jane Goodall and the Chimps

Jane Goodall and the Chimps
Music and Lyrics by Bruce Lazarus
Commissioned and first performed by North Cambridge Family Opera Chorus

Jane Goodall went to Gombe
to learn about chimps
never realizing she would be there to stay.
She was told, “stay aloof”
but she named them and waited.
Oh, Jane
Never despair.
We see,
We know,
that aloofness makes one simply unaware.

David Greybeard, Goliath his friend
took her into their troop.
Jane thought, “here is a boundary I can transcend.”
Then came Flo and many more,
and in time she was family.
Jane,
Never despair.
We see,
We know,
to believe apes are brute beasts is quite unfair.

Chimpanzees are Beings like us.
They laugh, they sing,
They hold hands and know life is precarious.
Say “hello” and “good night”
Getting mad, getting sad.
Oh, Jane
Never despair.
We see,
We know,
to protect life in all its forms everywhere.

cover art courtesy AnimalsClipart.com