Waltzing With Bears

©1986 Dale Marxen

        The story behind this delightful song is a complicated one. In 1967, Dr. Seuss published "My Uncle Terwilliger" in The Cat in the Hat Songbook, with piano score and guitar chords by Eugene Poddany. Inspired by this song, Dale Marxen wrote "Waltzing With Bears," but when he tried to copyright it as an adaptation of the Seuss song, the copyright office told him that it was NOT an adaptation, but, rather, it was a NEW song. He then applied for and was granted a copyright on the song recorded here. Tomorrow River Music, P.O. Box 165, Madison, WI 53701, is the publisher. The new song has been a big hit with many of our friends who have asked us to include it on an album, so here it is. (AMM)

Wa-wa-wa-waltzing, waltzing with bears,
Raggy bears, shaggy bears, baggy bears, too.
There's nothing on earth Uncle Walter won't do,
So he can go waltzing, wa-wa-wa-waltzing,
So he can go waltzing, waltzing with bears.

I went upstairs in the middle of the night,
I tiptoed in and I turned on the light,
But, to my surprise, there was no one in sight.
My Uncle Walter goes dancing at night.

I gave Uncle Walter a new coat to wear.
When he came home, he was covered with hair.
Lately I've noticed several new tears.
I'm sure Uncle Walter goes waltzing with bears.

We told Uncle Walter that he should be good
And do all the things that we said he should.
But I know he'd rather be out in the woods.
I'm afraid we might lose Uncle Walter for good.

We begged and we pleaded, "Oh, please, won't you stay?"
We managed to keep him at home for a day,
But the bears all barged in and took him away.
Now he's dancing with pandas
And he can't understand us.
The bears all demand at least one dance a day.

(chorus is sung twice at the end)

Waltzing With Bears is recorded on the CD Minneapolis Concert