Verse 1

I woke up to the sun beaming through my window
And the birds singing load and clear.
Threw on my robe,
Started some brew,
And went to grab the morning edition.

Pre-chorus

When I opened it up,
I was startled to see,
A headline that read
Most ominously.
The likes I hadn’t seen before.
It was just to bad to ignore.

Chorus

It’s bad air day.
Don’t go outside, ‘cause
It’s bad air day
The air is to dangerous
It’s bad air day
Excessive particulates
Don’t breath a whiff of it
There’s nothing more that I can say
Yes, it’s bad air day.


Verse 2

Well, I looked outside and saw a greenish haze
That made my eyes sting and burn
Pigs were flying,
The trees were toking,
And my lawn looked like a party from hell!

Pre-chorus

And then a one-eyed cockroach
Crawled across the floor.
He looked up and said
“Hey man, don’t be sore.
“This is what you get with progress.
“I’ll survive while you regress.”

Chorus

It’s bad air day.
Don’t go outside, ‘cause
It’s bad air day
The air is to dangerous
It’s bad air day
Excessive particulates
Don’t breath a whiff of it
There’s nothing more that I can say
Yes, it’s bad air day.


Refrain

And then the rain
Began to fall.
From the bright
Orange sky.
And as it washed
Our fears away.

It stripped off the paint
On my brand new car.
Lit up my chimney
Like a big cigar.
Destroyed all my yard gnomes
And my pink flamingos.

Now I don’t know what to do.
Now I don’t know what to do.
Now I don’t know what to do.
Oh, what to do?


Verse 3

Now, I said to the cockroach, “Hey man, that’s not fair.
“I mind myself and follow the rules.
“I drive my car
“And take out the garbage
“In plastic bags in plastic trash cans.”

Pre-chorus

He said “All of your rules
“Will destroy you someday.
“And we’ll still be here
“After you’ve gone away.”
I said “Your whole theory’s caput!
“Especially since you’re under my foot!”

Chorus

It’s bad air day.
Don’t go outside, ‘cause
It’s bad air day
The air is to dangerous
It’s bad air day
Excessive particulates
Don’t breath a whiff of it
There’s nothing more that I can say
Yes, it’s bad air day.

This tune was written while I was in college and is one of my favorites. It has a definite feel of a tune by the incomparable Thelonious Monk, a big influence of mine, but it was also inspired by many hours of listening to a great album by a more contemporary jazz musician, "Crazy People Music" by Branford Marsalis. It has proven to be a great warm up tune because it manages to hit every tonal key by the time it's done.