Waltz With a Tiger

     This appears to be a song of pure whimsy, but it stems from a day I spent checking out new pilots on the DH-82 Tiger Moth, at Gatineau. One of them had remarked, “So, are we ready to go waltz with the Tiger?” I was flying home that evening in my Fairchild when I realized it was a good idea for a song, and for the next 2 hours as we droned westward I scribbled lines on the edge of a map.

    Hidden in the images are some pretty good tips on how to survive flying that 1920’s-era biplane – an aircraft which can be docile and delightful one minute, and bite you the next. Grace with sharp teeth.

     It also works on another level – have you ever lived beside a large and sometimes turbulent neighbor? Most Canadians do…

 

Waltz With a Tiger      ©2010 Dave Hadfield

Waltz, waltz, waltz with a tiger,                  G  C  Am
Nothing you do could be anything finer.    D    G
Waltz, waltz, waltz with a tiger,  Better stay light on your toes.

Moving with grace no matter who leads
Give to the tiger whatever she needs
Bask in her smile, beware when she feeds
And never know fear for it shows

Elegant, smooth, the dance is sublime
Stay in the groove and you’ll have quite a time
But keep an eye out if she changes her mind
Remember that anything goes.

There are no brakes, you swing and you go
Dancing with Tigers is more than just show
Stay in the middle but go with the flow
No matter which way the wind blows

 Spin to and fro, looping with grace
Waltzing with Tigers you lose every race,
Who needs to go far?, such an elegant pace,
In equally elegant clothes.

    [last line]

…Better stay light on your toes

Never know fear for it shows

Remember that anything goes

No matter which way the wind blows.

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