The Night Owl Song (subtitled).

Details

Description

We night owls are often told we're lazy. However, we don't sleep more than morning larks (if anything, we sleep less, as they often wake us up), and we may be doing something valid while they're sleeping! Besides, the genetic origins of nocturnal chronotypes are increasingly clear, and there are plausible evolutionary reasons (cf. 'the sentinel hypothesis') for the existence of a nocturnal minority. In the ancestral environment, the group which had a few members awake AND ALERT through the night, maintaining the fire which kept predators away, had an edge over the group which had nobody awake during the dangerous hours when predators prowled.

The one-note beat underlying the refrain is intended as the chime of a grandfather clock: the only sound, sometimes, at night (at least indoors). Recorded live at El Lopo wine, tapas and cocktail bar. Song and performance entirely by Ants Fujinaga / Antonia Fraser Fujinaga.

Lyrics:

Early humans needed fire to keep the predators at bay.If it fizzled out at night, they might not last another day!Hence our variation in circadian proclivities:that’s why some of us avoid matutinal activities.In the dark and silent hours when menaces abound,we descendants of the night guard keep you safe and sound.We don’t rise at bird o’clock – don’t grumble, grouse and gripe:we’re not lazy; we just have a different chronotype.As geneticists explore the roots of this variety,we know better than to charge night owls with impropriety.Variation helps the whole group: we all have something to give.Make the most of this resource, and graciously live and let live![Refrain].